Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Zhuhai

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhuhai: $787 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Zhuhai
Learn more

Zhuhai Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Zhuhai

🇨🇳 China

$787

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Zhuhai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $787 in Zhuhai.

Phuket $1,294
Zhuhai $787

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $1,308 in Zhuhai.

Phuket $2,204
Zhuhai $1,308

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $1,828 in Zhuhai.

Phuket $3,115
Zhuhai $1,828

Living in Phuket is roughly 64% more expensive than in Zhuhai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 4% lower, Zhuhai 42% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

$2.74 ¥18.27

60.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,078

$30.04 ¥200

7.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿290

$5.23 ¥34.81

66.35%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿90.9

$3.19 ¥21.21

-14.73%

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

$0.93 ฿31.06

$0.50 ¥3.34

86.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.67

$0.32 ¥2.16

56.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿84.5

$1.23 ¥8.16

105.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿121

$2.16 ¥14.38

68.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.58 ¥10.49

10.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.42

$1.31 ¥8.69

10.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.1

$1.14 ¥7.59

31.58%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.5

$1.64 ¥10.89

32.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿637

$4.30 ¥28.61

343.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿113

$2.29 ¥15.22

48.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿364

$3.87 ¥25.76

181.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.2

$1.31 ¥8.69

124.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.5

$0.58 ¥3.83

191.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.2

$0.44 ¥2.91

397.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿70.9

$1.47 ¥9.78

44.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.68

$0.73 ¥4.88

100.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.66

$0.47 ¥3.11

191.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿35.91

$0.29 ¥1.91

272.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.21

$0.44 ¥2.93

25.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿148

$2.95 ¥19.63

50.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿609

$3.72 ¥24.80

390.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.2

$0.58 ¥3.88

205.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.2

$1.78 ¥11.86

61.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.32

$0.15 ¥0.98

866.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,832

$9.11 ¥60.7

502.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.5

$1.47 ¥9.79

2.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿25.90

$0.38 ¥2.51

105.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿128

$7.24 ¥48.20

-46.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.65

$1.25 ¥8.32

19.20%

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

$26.9K ฿897.3K

$15.5K ¥103.2K

73.49%

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

$26.3K ฿879.4K

$13.6K ¥90.7K

93.31%

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

$97.8 ฿3,265

$57.0 ¥380

71.57%

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

$11.29 ฿377

$9.84 ¥65.5

14.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿574

$16.64 ¥111

3.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,281

$82.8 ¥551

-17.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿365

$32.05 ¥213

-65.93%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿248

$7.63 ¥50.8

-2.62%

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

$530 ฿17.7K

$525 ¥3,493

1.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿626.9K

$40.3K ¥268.3K

-53.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,059

$29.72 ¥198

107.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿943

$40.26 ¥268

-29.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,204

$73.5 ¥489

30.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,898

$82.6 ¥550

5.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.1K

$438 ¥2,917

64.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.0K

$283 ¥1,881

80.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.1K

$905 ¥6,024

115.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.6K

$655 ¥4,358

113.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿139.9K

$4,619 ¥30.8K

-9.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.1K

$2,911 ¥19.4K

13.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.4K

$1,072 ¥7,134

-54.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.36

65.77%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Zhuhai: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Zhuhai

$283 35.9% 44.5% $226

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Zhuhai

$118 15.1% 55.6% $148

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Zhuhai

$83 10.6% 33.9% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Zhuhai

$102 12.9% 17.1% $21

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Zhuhai

$90 11.4% 25% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Zhuhai

$98 12.5% 17.9% $15

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Zhuhai

$13 1.7% 80.2% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $438 in Zhuhai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zhuhai pays about 2.2 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 $30 in Zhuhai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $118 per month, with Zhuhai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇳 Zhuhai

🕒 Local time

17:06 5:06 PM

18:06 6:06 PM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

2,207,090

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 3 USD

100 THB = 2.67 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 33.38 THB (100 THB = 3 USD). 1 EUR = 37.49 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 6.66 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.48 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

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Phuket Zhuhai 2,280 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Zhuhai

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 Zhuhai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zhuhai is about 39% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 54% 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: $721 in Phuket versus $438 in Zhuhai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $525 in Zhuhai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 125% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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 Zhuhai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 39% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.