Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Port Moresby and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,190 a month against $1,532 in Port Moresby, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Port Moresby
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Port Moresby Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Port Moresby

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$1,532

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Port Moresby and in Phuket

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Port Moresby and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,532 in Port Moresby versus $1,190 in Phuket.

Port Moresby $1,532
Phuket $1,190

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,418 in Port Moresby versus $2,006 in Phuket.

Port Moresby $2,418
Phuket $2,006

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,305 in Port Moresby versus $2,822 in Phuket.

Port Moresby $3,305
Phuket $2,822

Living in Port Moresby is roughly 29% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Port Moresby is 14% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.76 PGK 33.98

$4.35 ฿146

78.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.89 PGK 192

$32.45 ฿1,091

35.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.38 PGK 23.58

$8.42 ฿283

-36.10%

Cappuccino

$2.44 PGK 10.69

$2.81 ฿94.4

-13.17%

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

$0.77 PGK 3.38

$0.87 ฿29.42

-11.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 PGK 2.95

$0.46 ฿15.46

45.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.91 PGK 12.74

$2.59 ฿86.9

12.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.56 PGK 15.59

$3.64 ฿123

-2.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 PGK 7.97

$1.71 ฿57.4

6.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 PGK 6.74

$1.45 ฿48.62

6.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 PGK 6.09

$1.56 ฿52.5

-10.90%

Eggs

$3.62 PGK 15.86

$2.10 ฿70.6

72.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.64 PGK 37.85

$19.53 ฿656

-55.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.60 PGK 24.55

$3.40 ฿114

64.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.92 PGK 43.46

$11.14 ฿375

-10.95%

Apples (1kg)

$4.21 PGK 18.45

$2.83 ฿95.2

48.76%

Banana (1kg)

$3.12 PGK 13.67

$1.62 ฿54.6

92.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.01 PGK 30.72

$2.22 ฿74.8

215.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.56 PGK 28.75

$2.15 ฿72.2

205.12%

Potato (1kg)

$3.40 PGK 14.92

$1.49 ฿50.2

128.19%

Onion (1kg)

$2.92 PGK 12.79

$1.33 ฿44.59

119.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.33 PGK 10.20

$1.07 ฿35.87

117.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 PGK 5.64

$0.51 ฿17.08

152.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.26 PGK 27.45

$4.38 ฿147

42.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.73 PGK 47.04

$18.77 ฿631

-42.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.54 PGK 11.11

$1.74 ฿58.5

45.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.51 PGK 15.38

$2.78 ฿93.3

26.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 PGK 1.86

$2.17 ฿72.9

-80.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.95 PGK 96.2

$22.28 ฿749

-1.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.43 PGK 23.79

$3.02 ฿101

79.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.25 PGK 9.87

$1.06 ฿35.57

112.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.47 PGK 67.8

$3.71 ฿125

316.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.94 PGK 4.13

$1.43 ฿48.08

-34.27%

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

$49.2K PGK 215.6K

$26.3K ฿885.8K

86.72%

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

$17.3K PGK 75.6K

$26.2K ฿881.0K

-34.15%

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

$117 PGK 513

$96.7 ฿3,250

21.17%

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

$22.67 PGK 99.4

$11.41 ฿384

98.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.2 PGK 399

$17.11 ฿575

432.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.2 PGK 264

$52.8 ฿1,775

14.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.04 PGK 96.6

$11.07 ฿372

99.10%

Cinema Ticket

$8.74 PGK 38.31

$7.65 ฿257

14.25%

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

$836 PGK 3,665

$555 ฿18.7K

50.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,242 PGK 27.4K

$11.3K ฿379.3K

-44.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.86 PGK 144

$63.4 ฿2,132

-48.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.67 PGK 139

$28.61 ฿962

10.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$136 PGK 595

$96.7 ฿3,252

40.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$160 PGK 702

$88.6 ฿2,979

80.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,577 PGK 6,911

$735 ฿24.7K

114.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$551 PGK 2,414

$458 ฿15.4K

20.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,049 PGK 13.4K

$2,102 ฿70.7K

45.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,129 PGK 4,945

$1,187 ฿39.9K

-4.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,035 PGK 8,917

$3,493 ฿117.4K

-41.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,755 PGK 16.5K

$2,491 ฿83.8K

50.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$429 PGK 1,881

$501 ฿16.8K

-14.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.17

5.57

118.49%

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

Last update for Port Moresby: October 6, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Port Moresby

$551 36.3%

Phuket

$458 38.1% 16.9% $93

Groceries & Markets

Port Moresby

$320 21.1%

Phuket

$268 22.3% 16.2% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Port Moresby

$231 15.2%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 45.8% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Port Moresby

$162 10.7%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 23% $37

Eating Out

Port Moresby

$135 8.9%

Phuket

$119 9.9% 11.6% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Port Moresby

$78 5.1%

Phuket

$68 5.7% 12.4% $9.6

Getting Around

Port Moresby

$40 2.7%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 2.7% $1.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,577 in Port Moresby and $735 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 17% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $44.00 in Port Moresby vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇬 Port Moresby

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

20:40 8:40 PM

17:40 5:40 PM

3 h behind Port Moresby

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

364,145 Capital

79,308

💱 Currency

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 PGK = 0.228 USD

1 PGK = 0.204 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to PGK – Papua New Guinean Kina Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinean Kina (K)

Papua New Guinean Kina exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.38 PGK (1 PGK = 0.228 USD). 1 EUR = 4.91 PGK (1 PGK = 0.204 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to PGK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Port Moresby Phuket 5,740 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Port Moresby
Phuket

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

Port Moresby vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 29% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 17% 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: $1,577 in Port Moresby versus $735 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $836 in Port Moresby versus $555 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Port Moresby. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,190 in Phuket versus $1,532 in Port Moresby, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Port Moresby. 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 Port Moresby, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Port Moresby and Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Port Moresby. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.