Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Zhangjiakou

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhangjiakou: $776 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Zhangjiakou
Learn more

Zhangjiakou Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Zhangjiakou

🇨🇳 China

$776

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Zhangjiakou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $776 in Zhangjiakou.

Phuket $1,208
Zhangjiakou $776

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $1,223 in Zhangjiakou.

Phuket $2,027
Zhangjiakou $1,223

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $1,670 in Zhangjiakou.

Phuket $2,845
Zhangjiakou $1,670

Living in Phuket is roughly 56% more expensive than in Zhangjiakou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Zhangjiakou 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿149

$2.21 ¥14.72

99.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,090

$24.26 ¥161

32.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿296

$5.91 ¥39.37

48.22%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$3.50 ¥23.30

-19.14%

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

$0.90 ฿30.48

$0.50 ¥3.35

80.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.74

$0.26 ¥1.72

80.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿86.1

$0.92 ¥6.14

177.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿129

$1.69 ¥11.27

126.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿58.3

$1.48 ¥9.86

16.89%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.65

$2.21 ¥14.73

-33.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.1

$1.06 ¥7.07

42.45%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.5

$1.06 ¥7.03

104.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿666

$15.23 ¥101

29.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿113

$2.98 ¥19.80

12.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿377

$9.59 ¥63.8

16.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿96.1

$1.66 ¥11.02

71.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿57.6

$0.93 ¥6.16

82.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿74.1

$1.76 ¥11.70

24.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿69.1

$1.22 ¥8.10

68.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿49.10

$0.81 ¥5.37

79.01%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.67

$0.57 ¥3.80

142.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿36.09

$0.62 ¥4.13

72.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.10

$0.74 ¥4.93

-31.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿144

$3.63 ¥24.17

17.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿628

$13.60 ¥90.5

36.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿60.3

$1.07 ¥7.10

66.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿96.2

$2.43 ¥16.16

17.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿76.5

$0.29 ¥1.90

679.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿747

$17.61 ¥117

25.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿102

$1.08 ¥7.19

178.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.73

$0.33 ¥2.17

221.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿130

$6.21 ¥41.37

-37.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.99

$1.18 ¥7.83

22.88%

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

$26.3K ฿889.6K

$19.6K ¥130.6K

34.19%

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

$26.9K ฿910.4K

$17.0K ¥113.3K

58.28%

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

$96.4 ฿3,257

$95.7 ¥637

0.72%

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

$11.04 ฿373

$6.22 ¥41.40

77.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿579

$7.68 ¥51.1

123.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,763

$42.01 ¥280

24.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿377

$15.20 ¥101

-26.58%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿264

$7.30 ¥48.57

6.99%

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

$556 ฿18.8K

$342 ¥2,275

62.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿391.3K

$5,321 ¥35.4K

117.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,169

$44.73 ¥298

43.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿969

$28.35 ¥189

1.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,222

$96.5 ¥643

-1.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,973

$60.0 ¥399

46.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.9K

$294 ¥1,954

151.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.6K

$182 ¥1,214

153.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.8K

$622 ¥4,142

236.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.6K

$379 ¥2,523

216.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿117.8K

$3,446 ¥22.9K

1.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿85.2K

$1,966 ¥13.1K

28.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.9K

$382 ¥2,544

31.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.54

57.34%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Zhangjiakou: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Zhangjiakou

$182 23.5% 60.6% $280

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Zhangjiakou

$214 27.6% 20.3% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Zhangjiakou

$110 14.1% 12% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Zhangjiakou

$103 13.3% 16.9% $21

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Zhangjiakou

$88 11.4% 27% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Zhangjiakou

$57 7.3% 16.5% $11

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Zhangjiakou

$21 2.8% 45.6% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $294 in Zhangjiakou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 31% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $24 in Zhangjiakou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $214 per month, with Zhangjiakou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇳 Zhangjiakou

🕒 Local time

02:30 2:30 AM

03:30 3:30 AM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

4,345,491

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 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 October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 33.79 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.83 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 6.66 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.45 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

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Between locations

Phuket Zhangjiakou 4,010 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Zhangjiakou

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 Zhangjiakou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zhangjiakou is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 56% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 31% higher in Phuket, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $737 in Phuket versus $294 in Zhangjiakou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $342 in Zhangjiakou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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

At $776 in Zhangjiakou versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Zhangjiakou but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Zhangjiakou 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 Zhangjiakou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.