Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shiga and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Shiga: $1,207 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $850 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Shiga
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Shiga Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Shiga

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,207

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Shiga versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Shiga $1,207
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,897 in Shiga versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Shiga $1,897
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,588 in Shiga versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Shiga $2,588
Phuket $3,154

Living in Shiga costs roughly 6% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Shiga 11% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.19 ¥975

$4.47 ฿151

38.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.73 ¥4,998

$32.41 ฿1,093

-2.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.96 ¥781

$8.81 ฿297

-43.70%

Cappuccino

$2.95 ¥465

$2.83 ฿95.4

4.24%

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

$1.31 ¥206

$0.87 ฿29.41

50.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.70 ¥110

$0.49 ฿16.65

42.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.76 ¥435

$2.56 ฿86.3

7.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.53 ¥556

$3.68 ฿124

-4.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.28 ¥202

$1.66 ฿55.9

-22.89%

White Bread (500g)

$1.24 ¥195

$1.46 ฿49.31

-15.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.89 ¥613

$1.50 ฿50.5

159.33%

Eggs

$2.04 ¥321

$2.09 ฿70.5

-2.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.45 ¥1,488

$19.07 ฿643

-50.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.19 ¥1,448

$3.30 ฿111

178.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.48 ¥2,911

$10.91 ฿368

69.39%

Apples (1kg)

$3.44 ¥541

$2.93 ฿98.9

17.41%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 ¥320

$1.69 ฿57.0

20.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.04 ¥322

$2.25 ฿75.8

-9.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.97 ¥625

$2.08 ฿70.0

90.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 ¥239

$1.51 ฿51.0

0.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 ¥179

$1.38 ฿46.52

-17.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 ¥215

$1.07 ฿35.96

27.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 ¥137

$0.52 ฿17.51

67.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.97 ¥625

$4.20 ฿142

-5.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.77 ¥1,539

$18.79 ฿634

-48.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 ¥300

$1.82 ฿61.5

4.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 ¥492

$2.84 ฿95.8

10.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.16 ¥183

$1.45 ฿48.98

-20.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.2 ¥8,854

$56.7 ฿1,912

-0.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ¥609

$3.02 ฿102

27.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.20 ¥504

$1.02 ฿34.33

213.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.98 ¥3,463

$3.69 ฿125

495.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 ¥172

$1.47 ฿49.76

-25.85%

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

$22.7K ¥3.6M

$26.8K ฿903.4K

-15.30%

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

$15.3K ¥2.4M

$26.7K ฿900.5K

-42.83%

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

$137 ¥21.6K

$96.4 ฿3,251

42.28%

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

$24.58 ¥3,872

$11.26 ฿380

118.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.76 ¥2,954

$16.85 ฿568

11.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.0 ¥8,194

$67.2 ฿2,268

-22.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$12.55 ¥1,977

$7.50 ฿253

67.33%

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

$697 ¥109.9K

$476 ฿16.1K

46.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K ¥2.1M

$11.3K ฿380.0K

18.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.59 ¥7,654

$62.4 ฿2,104

-22.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.84 ¥4,858

$28.41 ฿958

8.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.3 ¥11.6K

$94.3 ฿3,181

-22.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.1 ¥14.2K

$85.8 ฿2,895

5.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$551 ¥86.8K

$716 ฿24.2K

-23.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$337 ¥53.0K

$491 ฿16.6K

-31.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$998 ¥157.1K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-48.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$727 ¥114.5K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-49.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,617 ¥727.2K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

10.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,022 ¥318.4K

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-33.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,210 ¥190.7K

$502 ฿16.9K

140.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.21

5.57

-60.32%

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

Last update for Shiga: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Shiga

$337 27.9%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 45.8% $154

Groceries & Markets

Shiga

$294 24.4%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 9.5% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shiga

$180 15%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 31% $56

Eating Out

Shiga

$129 10.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 5.4% $7

Clothing & Footwear

Shiga

$109 9.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 11.5% $13

Getting Around

Shiga

$81 6.7%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 12.6% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Shiga

$77 6.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 6.6% $5.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $551 in Shiga and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shiga pays about 2.4 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Shiga vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $294 vs $266, with Phuket cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Shiga

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

19:18 7:18 PM

17:18 5:18 PM

2 h behind Shiga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

23,836

79,308

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.65 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

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Between locations

Shiga Phuket 4,880 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Shiga
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

Shiga vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shiga is about 6% cheaper overall, especially in clothing and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Shiga is about 2.4 times higher, 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: $551 in Shiga versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Phuket pay roughly 9% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Childcare runs $697 in Shiga versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Shiga gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

Safety-wise, Shiga and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.