Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Upper Hutt

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,952 in Upper Hutt, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
96

Cost of Living Index in Upper Hutt
Learn more

Upper Hutt Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Upper Hutt

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,952

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Upper Hutt

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Phuket and in Upper Hutt actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,952 in Upper Hutt.

Phuket $1,278
Upper Hutt $1,952

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,954 in Upper Hutt.

Phuket $2,216
Upper Hutt $2,954

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,956 in Upper Hutt.

Phuket $3,154
Upper Hutt $3,956

Living in Phuket costs roughly 35% less than in Upper Hutt, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Upper Hutt is 43% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$8.58 NZ$15.24

-47.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$57.9 NZ$103

-44.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$8.66 NZ$15.37

1.73%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.92 NZ$5.18

-3.08%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.87 ฿29.41

$2.39 NZ$4.25

-63.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$1.74 NZ$3.09

-71.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$7.58 NZ$13.46

-66.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$6.64 NZ$11.79

-44.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.86 NZ$3.31

-10.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$2.18 NZ$3.86

-33.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.86 NZ$3.31

-19.35%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$7.09 NZ$12.58

-70.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$5.51 NZ$9.78

246.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$9.62 NZ$17.08

-65.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$15.38 NZ$27.30

-29.06%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$3.17 NZ$5.63

-7.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.26 NZ$4.02

-25.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$3.14 NZ$5.58

-28.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$6.41 NZ$11.38

-67.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.17 NZ$3.85

-30.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$1.30 NZ$2.31

6.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$2.08 NZ$3.69

-48.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.15 NZ$2.05

-54.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$25.44 NZ$45.17

-83.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$11.31 NZ$20.09

66.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$3.19 NZ$5.67

-42.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$2.77 NZ$4.92

2.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$1.89 NZ$3.36

-23.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$105 NZ$187

-46.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.82 NZ$3.23

65.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$1.84 NZ$3.27

-44.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$34.32 NZ$60.9

-89.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.83 NZ$3.24

-19.67%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$28.5K NZ$50.6K

-6.05%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$23.2K NZ$41.2K

15.11%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$96.4 ฿3,251

$113 NZ$201

-15.03%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$11.26 ฿380

$25.35 NZ$45.01

-55.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$54.8 NZ$97.2

-69.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$42.80 NZ$76.0

57.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$12.16 NZ$21.59

-38.32%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$476 ฿16.1K

$1,064 NZ$1,890

-55.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$13.3K NZ$23.6K

-15.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$78.6 NZ$140

-20.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$28.83 NZ$51.2

-1.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$104 NZ$185

-9.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$156 NZ$276

-44.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,057 NZ$1,877

-32.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$869 NZ$1,542

-43.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,498 NZ$2,659

28.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,531 NZ$2,719

-6.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$4,193 NZ$7,444

-0.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$3,357 NZ$5,960

-9.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.39

3.34%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Upper Hutt: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Upper Hutt

$869 44.5% 77% $378

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Upper Hutt

$336 17.2% 26.4% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Upper Hutt

$194 9.9% 55.5% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Upper Hutt

$165 8.5% 35.6% $43

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Upper Hutt

$197 10.1% 62.1% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Upper Hutt

$67 3.4% 18.4% $15

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Upper Hutt

$124 6.3% 75.4% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,057 in Upper Hutt. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $58 in Upper Hutt for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $336 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇳🇿 Upper Hutt

🕒 Local time

06:08 6:08 AM

12:08 12:08 PM

6 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

44,600

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Upper Hutt 9,490 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Upper Hutt

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Phuket vs Upper Hutt: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 35% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,917 in Phuket and $2,928 in Upper Hutt to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $716 in Phuket versus $1,057 in Upper Hutt. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $1,064 in Upper Hutt. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Upper Hutt. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,952 in Upper Hutt, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Upper Hutt. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Upper Hutt are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 35% less than in Upper Hutt. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.