Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Yangzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Yangzhou: $686 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
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Yangzhou
Learn more

Yangzhou Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Yangzhou

🇨🇳 China

$686

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Yangzhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $686 in Yangzhou.

Phuket $1,278
Yangzhou $686

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,102 in Yangzhou.

Phuket $2,216
Yangzhou $1,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,517 in Yangzhou.

Phuket $3,154
Yangzhou $1,517

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$2.28 ¥15.17

96.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$11.15 ¥74.1

190.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$3.08 ¥20.45

186.04%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.50 ¥16.60

13.20%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$0.44 ¥2.92

97.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$0.21 ¥1.39

133.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$1.03 ¥6.85

148.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.01 ¥13.33

83.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.23 ¥8.15

34.96%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$2.03 ¥13.48

-28.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$0.81 ¥5.39

85.19%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.02 ¥6.75

104.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$14.12 ¥93.8

35.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$2.68 ¥17.80

23.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$6.74 ¥44.77

61.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$0.75 ¥4.97

290.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.69 ¥11.25

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$0.44 ¥2.89

411.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$1.05 ¥6.95

98.10%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.72 ¥4.79

109.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$0.62 ¥4.14

122.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$0.78 ¥5.20

37.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.72 ¥4.76

-27.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$2.98 ¥19.82

40.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$12.03 ¥79.9

56.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$0.89 ¥5.89

104.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$1.91 ¥12.69

48.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$0.35 ¥2.35

314.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$19.84 ¥132

185.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.18 ¥7.85

155.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$0.26 ¥1.72

292.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$3.54 ¥23.51

4.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.16 ¥7.74

26.72%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$19.7K ¥130.9K

35.89%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$16.8K ¥111.8K

58.60%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$49.69 ¥330

93.90%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$8.29 ¥55.1

35.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$12.09 ¥80.3

39.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$38.28 ¥254

75.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$16.92 ¥112

-36.58%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$6.39 ¥42.46

17.37%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$242 ¥1,611

96.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$7,398 ¥49.2K

52.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$91.4 ¥607

-31.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$32.42 ¥215

-12.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$65.0 ¥432

45.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$91.1 ¥606

-5.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$254 ¥1,687

181.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$162 ¥1,077

202.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$609 ¥4,045

216.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$388 ¥2,578

268.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$2,595 ¥17.2K

60.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$1,777 ¥11.8K

71.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$1,260 ¥8,373

-60.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.1

79.68%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Yangzhou: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Yangzhou

$162 23.6% 67% $329

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Yangzhou

$184 26.8% 30.8% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Yangzhou

$70 10.2% 43.7% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Yangzhou

$126 18.4% 3.3% $4.1

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Yangzhou

$69 10.1% 43.1% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Yangzhou

$51 7.4% 37.9% $31

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Yangzhou

$24 3.5% 66.4% $47

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $254 in Yangzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Yangzhou pays about 2.5 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 $11 in Yangzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $184 per month, with Yangzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇳 Yangzhou

🕒 Local time

21:10 9:10 PM

22:10 10:10 PM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

4,559,797

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 1, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Yangzhou 3,480 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Yangzhou

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 Yangzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

On paper, salaries run 60% 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 $254 in Yangzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $242 in Yangzhou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 45% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $686 in Yangzhou versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Yangzhou but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Yangzhou 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 Yangzhou 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.