Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Songdo-dong and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $1,415 in Songdo-dong, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Songdo-dong
Learn more

Songdo-dong Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Songdo-dong

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,415

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,415 in Songdo-dong versus $1,294 in Phuket.

Songdo-dong $1,415
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,248 in Songdo-dong versus $2,204 in Phuket.

Songdo-dong $2,248
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,080 in Songdo-dong versus $3,115 in Phuket.

Songdo-dong $3,080
Phuket $3,115

Living in Songdo-dong is roughly 9% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Songdo-dong is 5% above, Phuket is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.86 ₩7,877

$4.39 ฿148

33.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.02 ₩47.1K

$32.31 ฿1,090

8.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.60 ₩8,871

$8.70 ฿294

-24.14%

Cappuccino

$3.71 ₩4,992

$2.72 ฿91.9

36.40%

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

$1.58 ₩2,117

$0.93 ฿31.38

69.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 ₩833

$0.50 ฿16.85

24.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.04 ₩4,089

$2.53 ฿85.4

20.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 ₩6,132

$3.63 ฿122

25.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.28 ₩3,066

$1.74 ฿58.7

31.03%

White Bread (500g)

$3.07 ₩4,119

$1.45 ฿48.93

111.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.62 ₩3,523

$1.50 ฿50.7

74.67%

Eggs

$3.29 ₩4,426

$2.17 ฿73.3

51.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.41 ₩20.7K

$19.09 ฿644

-19.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.39 ₩14.0K

$3.40 ฿115

205.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.08 ₩14.9K

$10.90 ฿368

1.65%

Apples (1kg)

$6.99 ₩9,389

$2.94 ฿99.2

137.76%

Banana (1kg)

$2.45 ₩3,295

$1.69 ฿57.1

44.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.47 ₩6,013

$2.19 ฿74.0

104.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.96 ₩9,354

$2.12 ฿71.6

228.30%

Potato (1kg)

$3.25 ₩4,373

$1.46 ฿49.19

122.60%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 ₩3,429

$1.37 ฿46.14

86.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.03 ₩2,726

$1.08 ฿36.29

87.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 ₩1,977

$0.55 ฿18.40

167.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.43 ₩4,614

$4.43 ฿149

-22.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.63 ₩18.3K

$18.25 ฿616

-25.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.8

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿97.2

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,851

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.54 ₩4,763

$1.51 ฿51.0

134.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.66 ₩886

$0.78 ฿26.17

-15.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿129

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 ₩1,889

$1.49 ฿50.2

-5.37%

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

$28.8K ₩38.7M

$26.9K ฿906.7K

7.16%

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

$35.8K ₩48.0M

$26.3K ฿888.6K

35.70%

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

$214 ₩287.4K

$97.8 ฿3,299

118.67%

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

$42.76 ₩57.5K

$11.29 ฿381

278.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.06 ₩28.3K

$17.19 ฿580

22.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,305

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿368

Cinema Ticket

$11.11 ₩14.9K

$7.43 ฿251

49.53%

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

$367 ₩493.1K

$530 ฿17.9K

-30.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K ₩23.6M

$18.8K ฿633.5K

-6.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.3 ₩89.1K

$61.7 ฿2,080

7.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$63.7 ₩85.6K

$28.25 ฿953

125.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.3 ₩101.2K

$96.0 ฿3,238

-21.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$100.0 ₩134.4K

$86.8 ฿2,928

15.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 ₩602.1K

$509 ฿17.2K

-11.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,934 ₩2.6M

$1,950 ฿65.8K

-0.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,048 ₩1.4M

$1,397 ฿47.1K

-25.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿141.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿111.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,341 ₩4.5M

$492 ฿16.6K

579.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.1

5.57

-26.39%

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

Last update for Songdo-dong: November 3, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Songdo-dong

$448 31.7%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 13.6% $61

Groceries & Markets

Songdo-dong

$379 * 26.8%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 29.5% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Songdo-dong

$278 19.6%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 54.5% $151

Eating Out

Songdo-dong

$144 10.2%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 17.2% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Songdo-dong

$137 9.7%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 10.7% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Songdo-dong

$22 * 1.6%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 275% $61

Getting Around

Songdo-dong

$6.8 * 0.5%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 866% $59

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

Cost Breakdown

Songdo-dong pays about 6.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $35 in Songdo-dong vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $379 vs $267 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Songdo-dong

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

14:47 2:47 PM

12:47 12:47 PM

2 h behind Songdo-dong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.44 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.65 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to KRW – South Korean Won Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇷 South Korean Won (₩)

South Korean Won exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 1,344 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.44 USD). 1 EUR = 1,503 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.65 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.72 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to KRW in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Songdo-dong Phuket 4,340 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Songdo-dong
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

Songdo-dong vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 9% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, utilities, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Songdo-dong is about 6.8 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $367 in Songdo-dong versus $530 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $35 in Songdo-dong. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Songdo-dong on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.