Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Wellington

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,313 in Wellington, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 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
110

Cost of Living Index in Wellington
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Wellington Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Wellington

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,313

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Wellington

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,313 in Wellington.

Phuket $1,278
Wellington $2,313

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $3,422 in Wellington.

Phuket $2,216
Wellington $3,422

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $4,530 in Wellington.

Phuket $3,154
Wellington $4,530

Living in Phuket costs roughly 45% less than in Wellington, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Wellington is 70% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$14.02 NZ$24.90

-68.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$66.5 NZ$118

-51.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$9.23 NZ$16.38

-4.55%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.41 NZ$6.06

-17.01%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$2.43 NZ$4.32

-64.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$1.69 NZ$3.00

-71.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$7.48 NZ$13.29

-65.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$6.74 NZ$11.97

-45.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.95 NZ$3.47

-14.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$2.25 NZ$4.00

-35.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.85 NZ$3.29

-18.92%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$7.10 NZ$12.61

-70.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$9.54 NZ$16.94

99.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$9.62 NZ$17.08

-65.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$15.26 NZ$27.09

-28.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$3.09 NZ$5.49

-5.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.15 NZ$3.83

-21.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$3.08 NZ$5.47

-26.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$6.42 NZ$11.40

-67.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.10 NZ$3.72

-28.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$1.23 NZ$2.19

12.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$2.01 NZ$3.57

-46.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.16 NZ$2.06

-55.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$25.37 NZ$45.04

-83.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$11.48 NZ$20.39

63.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$3.12 NZ$5.53

-41.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$2.89 NZ$5.12

-1.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$2.86 NZ$5.08

-49.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$105 NZ$186

-45.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.88 NZ$3.34

60.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$1.83 NZ$3.25

-44.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$34.31 NZ$60.9

-89.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.84 NZ$3.27

-20.11%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$28.4K NZ$50.4K

-5.68%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$23.8K NZ$42.3K

12.15%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$201 NZ$357

-52.02%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$33.35 NZ$59.2

-66.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$53.7 NZ$95.3

-68.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$35.87 NZ$63.7

87.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$16.18 NZ$28.73

-33.68%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$11.78 NZ$20.92

-36.33%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$1,065 NZ$1,890

-55.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$13.3K NZ$23.6K

-15.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$80.4 NZ$143

-22.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$28.04 NZ$49.78

1.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$102 NZ$180

-7.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$154 NZ$274

-44.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,143 NZ$2,029

-37.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$1,078 NZ$1,914

-54.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$2,057 NZ$3,651

-6.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,814 NZ$3,220

-21.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$6,594 NZ$11.7K

-36.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$3,655 NZ$6,489

-16.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$2,785 NZ$4,945

-81.97%

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 Wellington: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Wellington

$1.1K 46.6% 120% $587

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Wellington

$348 15.1% 30.8% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Wellington

$288 12.4% 131% $163

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Wellington

$164 7.1% 34.4% $42

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Wellington

$248 10.7% 104% $126

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Wellington

$59 2.6% 27.7% $23

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Wellington

$127 5.5% 80.4% $57

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,143 in Wellington. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wellington pays about 5.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $66 in Wellington for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $348 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇳🇿 Wellington

🕒 Local time

04:14 4:14 AM

10:14 10:14 AM

6 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

215,900 Capital

💱 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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Between locations

Phuket Wellington 9,470 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Wellington

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 Wellington: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 45% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 82% 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 $1,143 in Wellington. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $1,065 in Wellington. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Wellington. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,313 in Wellington, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Wellington. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Wellington, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Wellington 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 45% less than in Wellington. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.