Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Wuhu

For one person, living is cheaper in Wuhu: $687 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 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
33

Cost of Living Index in Wuhu
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Wuhu Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Wuhu

🇨🇳 China

$687

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Wuhu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $687 in Wuhu.

Phuket $1,278
Wuhu $687

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,106 in Wuhu.

Phuket $2,216
Wuhu $1,106

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,525 in Wuhu.

Phuket $3,154
Wuhu $1,525

Living in Phuket is roughly 86% more expensive than in Wuhu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Wuhu 50% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$2.53 ¥16.78

76.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$22.78 ¥151

42.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$3.36 ¥22.31

162.20%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.36 ¥22.34

-15.77%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$0.65 ¥4.29

33.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$0.34 ¥2.23

44.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$1.22 ¥8.13

109.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.28 ¥15.17

61.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.90 ¥12.61

-12.63%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$1.67 ¥11.07

-12.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.01 ¥6.73

48.51%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.62 ¥10.74

29.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$19.49 ¥130

-2.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$3.78 ¥25.09

-12.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$8.14 ¥54.1

34.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$1.76 ¥11.72

66.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.31 ¥8.68

29.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.49 ¥9.88

51.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$1.55 ¥10.32

34.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.92 ¥6.14

64.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$0.99 ¥6.58

39.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$0.64 ¥4.25

67.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.57 ¥3.81

-8.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$4.17 ¥27.68

0.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$7.43 ¥49.40

152.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$0.69 ¥4.56

163.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.22 ¥8.14

132.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$0.23 ¥1.53

530.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$17.17 ¥114

229.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.22 ¥8.10

147.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$0.30 ¥1.98

240.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$7.30 ¥48.52

-49.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.27 ¥8.46

15.75%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$12.2K ¥81.3K

118.88%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$11.2K ¥74.7K

137.55%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$30.41 ¥202

216.84%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$4.96 ¥32.98

127.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$11.11 ¥73.9

51.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$42.06 ¥279

59.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$15.20 ¥101

-29.41%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$4.98 ¥33.07

50.60%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$585 ¥3,887

-18.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$35.6K ¥236.4K

-68.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$22.64 ¥150

175.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$29.62 ¥197

-4.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$74.4 ¥495

26.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$44.77 ¥297

91.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$251 ¥1,668

185.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$192 ¥1,277

155.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$609 ¥4,044

216.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$363 ¥2,411

294.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$3,254 ¥21.6K

28.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$983 ¥6,530

209.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$825 ¥5,483

-39.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.5

59.14%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Wuhu: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Wuhu

$192 28% 60.8% $299

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Wuhu

$213 31% 19.9% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Wuhu

$46 6.8% 62.6% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Wuhu

$77 11.2% 36.7% $45

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Wuhu

$85 12.4% 30% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Wuhu

$52 7.6% 36.8% $30

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Wuhu

$21 3% 70.5% $50

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $251 in Wuhu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wuhu pays 64% 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 $23 in Wuhu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $213 per month, with Wuhu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇳 Wuhu

🕒 Local time

15:00 3:00 PM

16:00 4:00 PM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

3,644,420

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.64 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Wuhu 3,340 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Wuhu

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 Wuhu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Wuhu is about 46% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 39% 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 $251 in Wuhu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $585 in Wuhu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 25% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $687 in Wuhu versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Wuhu but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Wuhu 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.

Expats usually find Wuhu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 46% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.