Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Wakayama

For one person, living costs are similar in Phuket and in Wakayama: $1,278 and $1,265 a month, rent and utilities included.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Wakayama
Learn more

Wakayama Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Wakayama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,265

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Wakayama

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 Wakayama actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,265 in Wakayama.

Phuket $1,278
Wakayama $1,265

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,078 in Wakayama.

Phuket $2,216
Wakayama $2,078

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,890 in Wakayama.

Phuket $3,154
Wakayama $2,890

Living in Phuket is roughly 1% more expensive than in Wakayama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Wakayama 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$6.32 ¥998

-29.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$32.23 ¥5,089

0.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.22 ¥824

68.77%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$2.61 ¥412

8.43%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.30 ¥205

-33.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.95 ¥150

-48.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$3.12 ¥493

-17.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$1.89 ¥298

94.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.52 ¥240

9.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.54 ¥243

-5.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$4.06 ¥641

-63.05%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.21 ¥348

-5.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$15.58 ¥2,460

22.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$6.93 ¥1,095

-52.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$16.97 ¥2,680

-35.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$8.61 ¥1,359

-65.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$2.99 ¥472

-43.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$5.15 ¥813

-56.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$7.67 ¥1,211

-72.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$3.91 ¥617

-61.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$4.57 ¥721

-69.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.18 ¥186

-9.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.94 ¥148

-44.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.87 ¥611

8.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$9.65 ¥1,524

94.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.52 ¥398

-27.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.11 ¥333

34.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$1.61 ¥254

-9.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$63.7 ¥10.1K

-11.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.22 ¥509

-6.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$2.93 ¥462

-65.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$15.82 ¥2,498

-76.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.10 ¥174

33.64%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$22.2K ¥3.5M

20.80%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$15.0K ¥2.4M

77.72%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$118 ¥18.6K

-18.41%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$23.84 ¥3,764

-52.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$31.84 ¥5,027

-47.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$49.43 ¥7,804

36.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$12.61 ¥1,991

-40.52%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$685 ¥108.2K

-30.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$15.0K ¥2.4M

-24.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$50.3 ¥7,942

23.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$35.61 ¥5,622

-20.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$60.8 ¥9,593

55.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$99.4 ¥15.7K

-13.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$475 ¥75.0K

50.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$311 ¥49.1K

57.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$1,147 ¥181.0K

68.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$810 ¥127.8K

76.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$4,633 ¥731.5K

-9.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$2,252 ¥355.6K

35.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$3,949 ¥623.5K

-87.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

1.67

233.53%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Wakayama: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Wakayama

$311 24.6% 36.6% $180

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Wakayama

$381 30.1% 43.1% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Wakayama

$174 13.7% 39.6% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Wakayama

$111 8.8% 9.2% $11

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Wakayama

$126 10% 3.4% $4.2

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Wakayama

$75 5.9% 9.2% $7.6

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Wakayama

$88 7% 24.7% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $475 in Wakayama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wakayama pays about 7.9 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $32 in Wakayama for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $381 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇯🇵 Wakayama

🕒 Local time

01:47 1:47 AM

03:47 3:47 AM

2 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

362,163

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Wakayama 4,770 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Wakayama

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 Wakayama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Wakayama is cheaper overall, especially in clothing and leisure. The 1% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 87% lower in Phuket. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $716 in Phuket versus $475 in Wakayama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $685 in Wakayama. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 11% less than in Wakayama. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Wakayama gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.