Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shillong and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Shillong: $402 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Shillong
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Shillong Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Shillong

🇮🇳 India

$402

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $402 in Shillong versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Shillong $402
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $638 in Shillong versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Shillong $638
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $874 in Shillong versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Shillong $874
Phuket $2,867

Living in Shillong costs roughly 67% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Shillong 70% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.35 ₹318

$4.58 ฿153

-26.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$11.44 ₹1,086

$32.48 ฿1,086

-64.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.81 ₹457

$8.55 ฿286

-43.74%

Cappuccino

$1.66 ₹157

$2.72 ฿91.0

-38.97%

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

$0.41 ₹38.89

$0.94 ฿31.25

-56.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.15 ₹13.94

$0.49 ฿16.39

-69.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 ₹116

$2.59 ฿86.6

-52.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.49 ₹331

$3.83 ฿128

-8.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.61 ₹57.9

$1.74 ฿58.1

-64.94%

White Bread (500g)

$0.31 ₹29.07

$1.43 ฿47.82

-78.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.58 ₹55.4

$1.53 ฿51.0

-62.09%

Eggs

$0.92 ₹86.9

$2.17 ฿72.7

-57.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.86 ₹366

$19.15 ฿640

-79.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.43 ₹231

$3.30 ฿110

-26.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

Apples (1kg)

$2.16 ₹205

$2.95 ฿98.5

-26.78%

Banana (1kg)

$0.68 ₹64.4

$1.68 ฿56.1

-59.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.93 ₹88.4

$2.30 ฿76.8

-59.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.52 ₹49.22

$2.13 ฿71.3

-75.59%

Potato (1kg)

$0.31 ₹29.25

$1.53 ฿51.1

-79.74%

Onion (1kg)

$0.35 ₹32.78

$1.36 ฿45.55

-74.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.22 ₹20.91

$1.12 ฿37.44

-80.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.25 ₹23.68

$0.55 ฿18.24

-54.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.11 ₹485

$4.26 ฿142

19.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.83 ₹458

$18.19 ฿608

-73.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 ₹121

$1.74 ฿58.2

-26.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 ₹187

$2.79 ฿93.3

-29.39%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$4.78 ₹454

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₹70.3

$2.91 ฿97.3

-74.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.28 ₹26.52

$1.01 ฿33.79

-72.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.29 ₹123

$3.83 ฿128

-66.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 ₹104

$1.49 ฿49.85

-26.85%

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

$12.6K ₹1.2M

$26.7K ฿891.6K

-52.67%

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

$16.0K ₹1.5M

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-39.91%

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

$34.74 ₹3,299

$99.4 ฿3,321

-65.04%

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

$3.29 ₹313

$11.28 ฿377

-70.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$6.12 ₹581

$17.36 ฿580

-64.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$9.99 ₹948

$52.3 ฿1,747

-80.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.11 ₹486

$10.85 ฿362

-52.90%

Cinema Ticket

$3.10 ₹294

$7.57 ฿253

-59.05%

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

$27.65 ₹2,626

$558 ฿18.7K

-95.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,164 ₹110.5K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-89.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.41 ₹1,653

$62.9 ฿2,102

-72.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.11 ₹2,100

$28.58 ฿955

-22.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$36.74 ₹3,489

$96.1 ฿3,213

-61.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$27.45 ₹2,606

$88.1 ฿2,943

-68.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$210 ₹19.9K

$729 ฿24.4K

-71.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$131 ₹12.4K

$460 ฿15.4K

-71.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$727 ₹69.0K

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-65.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$284 ₹27.0K

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-76.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$442 ₹41.9K

$493 ฿16.5K

-10.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.38

5.57

32.50%

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

Last update for Shillong: October 11, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Shillong

$131 32.5%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 252% $329

Groceries & Markets

Shillong

$86 21.3%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 213% $182

Eating Out

Shillong

$76 19%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 58.8% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Shillong

$47 11.6%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 166% $77

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shillong

$44 11%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 190% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Shillong

$16 4%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 317% $51

Getting Around

Shillong

$2.1 * 0.5%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 1717% $37

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 $210 in Shillong and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 12% 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: $11.00 in Shillong vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $86.0 vs $268 per month, with Shillong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇳 Shillong

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

10:37 10:37 AM

12:07 12:07 PM

1 h 30 min ahead of Shillong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

143,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Indian Rupee INR ₹

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to INR – Indian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇳 Indian Rupee (₹)

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to INR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Shillong Phuket 2,080 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Shillong
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

Shillong vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shillong is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 201% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 12% lower in Phuket. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $210 in Shillong versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $27.65 in Shillong versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Shillong – a meal for two runs $11.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $402 in Shillong versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Shillong but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Shillong the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Shillong 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, Shillong 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 Shillong gentler on the wallet – expenses run 201% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.