Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sapporo and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $1,404 in Sapporo, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

68

Cost of Living Index in Sapporo
Learn more

Sapporo Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Sapporo

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,404

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,404 in Sapporo versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Sapporo $1,404
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,097 in Sapporo versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Sapporo $2,097
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,791 in Sapporo versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Sapporo $2,791
Phuket $2,845

Living in Sapporo is roughly 16% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sapporo is 4% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.20 ¥980

$4.40 ฿147

40.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.04 ¥4,430

$32.26 ฿1,078

-13.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.30 ¥837

$8.76 ฿293

-39.50%

Cappuccino

$4.85 ¥767

$2.83 ฿94.5

71.38%

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

$1.65 ¥261

$0.90 ฿30.14

83.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.88 ¥139

$0.47 ฿15.56

87.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.38 ¥693

$2.55 ฿85.2

71.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.62 ¥889

$3.83 ฿128

46.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 ¥244

$1.73 ฿57.7

-10.40%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 ¥213

$1.47 ฿49.11

-8.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.91 ¥618

$1.51 ฿50.6

158.94%

Eggs

$1.76 ¥279

$2.17 ฿72.7

-18.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.42 ¥1,489

$19.70 ฿658

-52.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.76 ¥1,068

$3.34 ฿112

102.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.61 ¥4,046

$11.16 ฿373

129.48%

Apples (1kg)

$3.19 ¥504

$2.85 ฿95.1

11.93%

Banana (1kg)

$3.12 ¥494

$1.70 ฿56.9

83.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.20 ¥506

$2.19 ฿73.3

46.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.19 ¥663

$2.05 ฿68.4

104.39%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 ¥331

$1.45 ฿48.57

44.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 ¥275

$1.38 ฿46.16

26.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 ¥235

$1.07 ฿35.69

39.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 ¥70.8

$0.51 ฿16.91

-11.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.00 ¥633

$4.26 ฿142

-6.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.19 ¥1,293

$18.58 ฿621

-55.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 ¥303

$1.78 ฿59.7

7.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 ¥501

$2.85 ฿95.2

11.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 ¥253

$2.26 ฿75.6

-29.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.16 ¥7,609

$22.10 ฿738

117.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.02 ¥635

$3.01 ฿101

33.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 ¥257

$1.06 ฿35.34

53.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.05 ¥2,536

$3.86 ฿129

315.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 ¥175

$1.45 ฿48.45

-23.45%

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

$21.8K ¥3.4M

$26.3K ฿879.9K

-17.34%

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

$14.5K ¥2.3M

$26.9K ฿900.4K

-46.26%

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

$336 ¥53.0K

$96.4 ฿3,221

248.39%

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

$25.59 ¥4,042

$11.04 ฿369

131.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.75 ¥7,544

$17.14 ฿573

178.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.58 ¥7,674

$52.2 ฿1,744

-6.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.22 ¥509

$11.16 ฿373

-71.15%

Cinema Ticket

$12.12 ¥1,915

$7.81 ฿261

55.19%

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

$319 ¥50.4K

$556 ฿18.6K

-42.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,987 ¥1.6M

$11.6K ฿387.0K

-13.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.38 ¥5,905

$64.2 ฿2,146

-41.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.18 ¥3,978

$28.69 ฿959

-12.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$47.33 ¥7,478

$95.4 ฿3,187

-50.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 ¥18.0K

$88.0 ฿2,940

29.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$453 ¥71.6K

$737 ฿24.6K

-38.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$275 ¥43.4K

$462 ฿15.5K

-40.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$824 ¥130.2K

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-60.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$641 ¥101.3K

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-46.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,168 ¥342.5K

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-37.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,559 ¥246.4K

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-38.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,233 ¥352.9K

$501 ฿16.7K

346.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.57

5.57

-53.86%

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

Last update for Sapporo: October 18, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sapporo

$409 29.2%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 69.6% $285

Groceries & Markets

Sapporo

$312 22.3%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 14% $44

Accommodation & Living

Sapporo

$275 19.6%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 68.3% $188

Eating Out

Sapporo

$167 11.9%

Phuket

$121 10% 27.4% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Sapporo

$101 7.2%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 23.4% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Sapporo

$73 5.2%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 6.9% $5

Getting Around

Sapporo

$67 4.8%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 40.9% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $453 in Sapporo and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sapporo pays 346% 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: $28.00 in Sapporo vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $312 vs $269, with Phuket cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Sapporo

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

19:48 7:48 PM

17:48 5:48 PM

2 h behind Sapporo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,973,395

79,308

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sapporo Phuket 5,720 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Sapporo
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

Sapporo vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 16% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 346% higher in Sapporo, 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: $453 in Sapporo versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $319 in Sapporo versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 16% higher in Sapporo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,404 in Sapporo, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Sapporo. 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 Sapporo, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Sapporo 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 16% less than in Sapporo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.