Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sault Ste. Marie and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,059 in Sault Ste. Marie, rent and utilities included – about $10,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

100

Cost of Living Index in Sault Ste. Marie
Learn more

Sault Ste. Marie Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Sault Ste. Marie

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,059

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,059 in Sault Ste. Marie versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Sault Ste. Marie $2,059
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,008 in Sault Ste. Marie versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Sault Ste. Marie $3,008
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,956 in Sault Ste. Marie versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Sault Ste. Marie $3,956
Phuket $2,845

Living in Sault Ste. Marie is roughly 70% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sault Ste. Marie is 52% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.17 CA$24.28

$4.40 ฿147

290.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.6 CA$99.8

$32.26 ฿1,078

118.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.23 CA$14.46

$8.76 ฿293

16.78%

Cappuccino

$3.47 CA$4.90

$2.83 ฿94.5

22.61%

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

$1.64 CA$2.32

$0.90 ฿30.14

82.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 CA$1.91

$0.47 ฿15.56

187.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.68 CA$6.62

$2.55 ฿85.2

83.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.00 CA$7.07

$3.83 ฿128

30.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.42 CA$3.43

$1.73 ฿57.7

39.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.14 CA$3.02

$1.47 ฿49.11

45.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.27 CA$4.63

$1.51 ฿50.6

116.56%

Eggs

$2.98 CA$4.22

$2.17 ฿72.7

37.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.32 CA$11.76

$19.70 ฿658

-57.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.97 CA$14.10

$3.34 ฿112

198.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.51 CA$14.86

$11.16 ฿373

-5.82%

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 CA$4.43

$2.85 ฿95.1

10.18%

Banana (1kg)

$0.99 CA$1.40

$1.70 ฿56.9

-41.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.06 CA$4.33

$2.19 ฿73.3

39.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.54 CA$5.01

$2.05 ฿68.4

72.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 CA$2.79

$1.45 ฿48.57

35.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.69 CA$2.39

$1.38 ฿46.16

22.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.77 CA$3.92

$1.07 ฿35.69

158.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 CA$1.79

$0.51 ฿16.91

149.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$15.75 CA$22.26

$4.26 ฿142

269.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.67 CA$15.08

$18.58 ฿621

-42.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 CA$2.60

$1.78 ฿59.7

3.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 CA$3.23

$2.85 ฿95.2

-20.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.24 CA$3.16

$2.26 ฿75.6

-0.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$57.5 CA$81.2

$22.10 ฿738

159.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.47 CA$4.91

$3.01 ฿101

15.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.31 CA$3.26

$1.06 ฿35.34

117.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.97 CA$32.47

$3.86 ฿129

495.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.08 CA$1.52

$1.45 ฿48.45

-25.52%

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

$26.5K CA$37.5K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

0.62%

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

$20.3K CA$28.6K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

-24.79%

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

$174 CA$246

$96.4 ฿3,221

80.78%

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

$44.36 CA$62.7

$11.04 ฿369

301.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$76.7 CA$108

$17.14 ฿573

347.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.3 CA$71.0

$52.2 ฿1,744

-3.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.62 CA$24.90

$11.16 ฿373

57.89%

Cinema Ticket

$11.18 CA$15.80

$7.81 ฿261

43.15%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,984 CA$7,046

$11.6K ฿387.0K

-56.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.63 CA$64.5

$64.2 ฿2,146

-28.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.58 CA$50.3

$28.69 ฿959

24.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.8 CA$106

$95.4 ฿3,187

-21.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 CA$170

$88.0 ฿2,940

36.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$893 CA$1,262

$737 ฿24.6K

21.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$931 CA$1,316

$462 ฿15.5K

101.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,325 CA$1,873

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-36.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,455 CA$2,057

$1,201 ฿40.1K

21.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,868 CA$2,640

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-46.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,432 CA$7,679

$2,523 ฿84.3K

115.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,049 CA$4,310

$501 ฿16.7K

508.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.53

5.57

-0.72%

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

Last update for Sault Ste. Marie: October 20, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sault Ste. Marie

$931 45.2%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 50.4% $469

Groceries & Markets

Sault Ste. Marie

$299 14.5%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 10.2% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sault Ste. Marie

$295 14.3%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 57.8% $171

Eating Out

Sault Ste. Marie

$255 12.4%

Phuket

$121 10% 52.5% $134

Clothing & Footwear

Sault Ste. Marie

$124 6%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 0% $0

Getting Around

Sault Ste. Marie

$81 4%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 51.5% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Sault Ste. Marie

$73 3.5%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 6.6% $4.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $893 in Sault Ste. Marie and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sault Ste. Marie pays 509% 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: $71.0 in Sault Ste. Marie vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $299 vs $269 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Sault Ste. Marie

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

10:58 10:58 AM

21:58 9:58 PM

11 h ahead of Sault Ste. Marie

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

73,368

79,308

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sault Ste. Marie Phuket 13,960 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Sault Ste. Marie
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

Sault Ste. Marie vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 70% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 509% higher in Sault Ste. Marie, 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: $893 in Sault Ste. Marie versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $71.0 in Sault Ste. Marie. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 160% less than in Sault Ste. Marie. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,059 in Sault Ste. Marie, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Sault Ste. Marie. 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 Sault Ste. Marie, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Sault Ste. Marie 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 70% less than in Sault Ste. Marie. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.