Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Samut Prakan and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Samut Prakan: $886 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Samut Prakan
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Samut Prakan Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Samut Prakan

🇹🇭 Thailand

$886

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $886 in Samut Prakan versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Samut Prakan $886
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,378 in Samut Prakan versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Samut Prakan $1,378
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,869 in Samut Prakan versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Samut Prakan $1,869
Phuket $2,845

Living in Samut Prakan costs roughly 27% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Samut Prakan 35% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.30 ฿110

$4.40 ฿147

-25.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.12 ฿505

$32.26 ฿1,078

-53.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 ฿250

$8.76 ฿293

-14.61%

Cappuccino

$1.38 ฿46.13

$2.83 ฿94.5

-51.24%

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

$0.52 ฿17.54

$0.90 ฿30.14

-42.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 ฿8.77

$0.47 ฿15.56

-44.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.02 ฿67.6

$2.55 ฿85.2

-20.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.92 ฿97.4

$3.83 ฿128

-23.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 ฿48.92

$1.73 ฿57.7

-15.61%

White Bread (500g)

$0.98 ฿32.62

$1.47 ฿49.11

-33.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.88 ฿29.34

$1.51 ฿50.6

-41.72%

Eggs

$1.84 ฿61.5

$2.17 ฿72.7

-15.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.31 ฿411

$19.70 ฿658

-37.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.49 ฿83.1

$3.34 ฿112

-25.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.20 ฿341

$11.16 ฿373

-8.60%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 ฿61.5

$2.85 ฿95.1

-35.44%

Banana (1kg)

$0.77 ฿25.67

$1.70 ฿56.9

-54.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.31 ฿43.68

$2.19 ฿73.3

-40.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.21 ฿40.59

$2.05 ฿68.4

-40.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 ฿50.7

$1.45 ฿48.57

4.83%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 ฿25.78

$1.38 ฿46.16

-44.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.78 ฿25.99

$1.07 ฿35.69

-27.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 ฿15.01

$0.51 ฿16.91

-11.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.50 ฿151

$4.26 ฿142

5.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.10 ฿304

$18.58 ฿621

-51.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 ฿34.32

$1.78 ฿59.7

-42.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 ฿63.2

$2.85 ฿95.2

-33.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 ฿16.95

$2.26 ฿75.6

-77.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$3.01 ฿101

-42.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.61 ฿53.7

$1.06 ฿35.34

51.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.85 ฿196

$3.86 ฿129

51.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.07 ฿35.84

$1.45 ฿48.45

-26.21%

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

$12.1K ฿405.1K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

-53.96%

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

$24.3K ฿811.4K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

-9.89%

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

$83.1 ฿2,776

$96.4 ฿3,221

-13.81%

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

$9.40 ฿314

$11.04 ฿369

-14.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.35 ฿547

$17.14 ฿573

-4.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.72 ฿1,595

$52.2 ฿1,744

-8.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.06 ฿503

$11.16 ฿373

34.95%

Cinema Ticket

$6.41 ฿214

$7.81 ฿261

-17.93%

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

$148 ฿4,933

$556 ฿18.6K

-73.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,950 ฿198.9K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

-48.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$15.09 ฿504

$64.2 ฿2,146

-76.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.66 ฿1,192

$28.69 ฿959

24.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.9 ฿2,369

$95.4 ฿3,187

-25.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 ฿4,004

$88.0 ฿2,940

36.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$478 ฿16.0K

$737 ฿24.6K

-35.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$330 ฿11.0K

$462 ฿15.5K

-28.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,147 ฿38.3K

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-45.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 ฿23.1K

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-42.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,726 ฿57.7K

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-50.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,607 ฿53.7K

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-36.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$671 ฿22.4K

$501 ฿16.7K

34.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-46.14%

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

Last update for Samut Prakan: October 19, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Samut Prakan

$330 37.2%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 40.2% $133

Groceries & Markets

Samut Prakan

$182 20.5%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 47.6% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Samut Prakan

$109 12.3%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 14.5% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Samut Prakan

$109 12.3%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 14.4% $16

Eating Out

Samut Prakan

$84 9.5%

Phuket

$121 10% 43.5% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Samut Prakan

$61 6.8%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 12% $7.3

Getting Around

Samut Prakan

$12 * 1.3%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 234% $28

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $478 in Samut Prakan and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Samut Prakan pays 34% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $15.00 in Samut Prakan vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $182 vs $269 per month, with Samut Prakan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Samut Prakan

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:50 5:50 PM

Same time as Samut Prakan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

50,843

79,308

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Samut Prakan Phuket 680 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Samut Prakan
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

Samut Prakan vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Samut Prakan is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 36% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 34% higher in Samut Prakan, 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: $478 in Samut Prakan versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $148 in Samut Prakan versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Samut Prakan – a meal for two runs $15.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $886 in Samut Prakan versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Samut Prakan but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Samut Prakan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Samut Prakan is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phuket, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Samut Prakan 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 Samut Prakan 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.