Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Quanzhou and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Quanzhou: $809 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Quanzhou
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Quanzhou Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Quanzhou

🇨🇳 China

$809

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Quanzhou 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 Quanzhou and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $809 in Quanzhou versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Quanzhou $809
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,193 in Quanzhou versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Quanzhou $1,193
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,578 in Quanzhou versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Quanzhou $1,578
Phuket $3,154

Living in Quanzhou costs roughly 37% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Quanzhou 41% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.27 ¥15.14

$4.47 ฿151

-49.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.03 ¥200

$32.41 ฿1,094

-7.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.89 ¥32.54

$8.81 ฿297

-44.49%

Cappuccino

$3.34 ¥22.24

$2.83 ฿95.5

18.02%

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

$0.46 ¥3.07

$0.87 ฿29.43

-47.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ¥1.94

$0.49 ฿16.67

-40.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.97 ¥19.77

$2.56 ฿86.4

16.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 ¥12.32

$3.68 ฿124

-49.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 ¥10.12

$1.66 ฿56.0

-8.43%

White Bread (500g)

$0.84 ¥5.56

$1.46 ฿49.35

-42.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.20

$1.50 ฿50.6

-38.00%

Eggs

$1.55 ¥10.34

$2.09 ฿70.5

-25.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.48 ¥49.80

$19.07 ฿644

-60.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.28 ¥15.16

$3.30 ฿111

-30.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.13 ¥34.15

$10.91 ฿368

-52.98%

Apples (1kg)

$1.48 ¥9.86

$2.93 ฿99.0

-49.49%

Banana (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.16

$1.69 ฿57.1

-44.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.76 ¥5.07

$2.25 ฿75.8

-66.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.09 ¥7.23

$2.08 ฿70.1

-47.60%

Potato (1kg)

$0.43 ¥2.88

$1.51 ฿51.0

-71.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 ¥6.69

$1.38 ฿46.56

-27.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.17 ¥1.12

$1.07 ฿35.99

-84.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ¥3.43

$0.52 ฿17.52

-1.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.26 ¥21.70

$4.20 ฿142

-22.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.60 ¥50.6

$18.79 ฿634

-59.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 ¥6.14

$1.82 ฿61.5

-49.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 ¥8.80

$2.84 ฿95.9

-53.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$1.45 ฿49.03

-78.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.35 ¥162

$56.7 ฿1,913

-57.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 ¥7.79

$3.02 ฿102

-61.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.34 ¥2.26

$1.02 ฿34.36

-66.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.81 ¥58.6

$3.69 ฿125

138.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 ¥8.35

$1.47 ฿49.81

-14.97%

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

$18.1K ¥120.4K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

-32.43%

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

$15.8K ¥105.1K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-40.83%

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

$51.8 ¥345

$96.4 ฿3,254

-46.23%

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

$8.13 ¥54.1

$11.26 ฿380

-27.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.28 ¥81.7

$16.85 ฿569

-27.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.9 ¥372

$67.2 ฿2,270

-16.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.53 ¥123

$10.73 ฿362

72.69%

Cinema Ticket

$5.96 ¥39.67

$7.50 ฿253

-20.53%

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

$522 ¥3,475

$476 ฿16.1K

9.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ¥79.2K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

5.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$20.68 ¥138

$62.4 ฿2,106

-66.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.21 ¥221

$28.41 ฿959

16.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.0 ¥605

$94.3 ฿3,184

-3.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.1 ¥639

$85.8 ฿2,898

11.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$270 ¥1,795

$716 ฿24.2K

-62.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$300 ¥1,998

$491 ฿16.6K

-38.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$490 ¥3,259

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-74.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$400 ¥2,662

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-72.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,041 ¥20.2K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-27.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,972 ¥13.1K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-35.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$827 ¥5,504

$502 ฿17.0K

64.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.15

5.57

-43.45%

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

Last update for Quanzhou: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Quanzhou

$300 37.1%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 63.5% $191

Groceries & Markets

Quanzhou

$137 16.9%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 94.6% $129

Clothing & Footwear

Quanzhou

$108 13.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 12.4% $13

Eating Out

Quanzhou

$95 11.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 28.7% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Quanzhou

$72 8.9%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 72.3% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Quanzhou

$68 8.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 21.2% $14

Getting Around

Quanzhou

$28 3.5%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 148% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $270 in Quanzhou and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Quanzhou pays 65% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $30 in Quanzhou vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $137 vs $266 per month, with Quanzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Quanzhou

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

02:43 2:43 AM

01:43 1:43 AM

1 h behind Quanzhou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,128,530

79,308

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Quanzhou Phuket 2,860 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Quanzhou
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

Quanzhou vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Quanzhou is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and eating out. The 58% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 65% higher in Quanzhou, 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: $270 in Quanzhou versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $522 in Quanzhou versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 95% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $809 in Quanzhou versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Quanzhou but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Quanzhou 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 Quanzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.