Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu: $708 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu
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Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

🇨🇳 China

$708

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $708 in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu $708
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,174 in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu $1,174
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,639 in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu $1,639
Phuket $3,154

Living in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu costs roughly 45% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu 48% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.71 ¥24.71

$4.47 ฿151

-17.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.88 ¥173

$32.41 ฿1,094

-20.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.68 ¥31.22

$8.81 ฿297

-46.88%

Cappuccino

$3.18 ¥21.20

$2.83 ฿95.5

12.37%

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

$0.44 ¥2.94

$0.87 ฿29.43

-49.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ¥2.21

$0.49 ฿16.67

-32.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.88 ¥5.85

$2.56 ฿86.4

-65.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 ¥9.91

$3.68 ฿124

-59.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 ¥12.12

$1.66 ฿56.0

9.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 ¥7.91

$1.46 ฿49.35

-18.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.87 ¥5.81

$1.50 ฿50.6

-42.00%

Eggs

$1.99 ¥13.26

$2.09 ฿70.5

-4.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.03 ¥127

$19.07 ฿644

-0.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.78 ¥25.21

$3.30 ฿111

14.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.11 ¥40.72

$10.91 ฿368

-44.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.28 ¥15.20

$2.93 ฿99.0

-22.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 ¥9.32

$1.69 ฿57.1

-17.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.48 ¥9.89

$2.25 ฿75.8

-34.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 ¥8.82

$2.08 ฿70.1

-36.54%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 ¥6.14

$1.51 ฿51.0

-39.07%

Onion (1kg)

$0.94 ¥6.30

$1.38 ฿46.56

-31.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.67 ¥4.44

$1.07 ฿35.99

-37.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ¥3.86

$0.52 ฿17.52

11.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.68 ¥24.56

$4.20 ฿142

-12.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.30 ¥88.7

$18.79 ฿634

-29.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 ¥5.44

$1.82 ฿61.5

-54.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.52 ¥10.16

$2.84 ฿95.9

-46.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.92

$1.45 ฿49.03

-80.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.68 ¥111

$56.7 ฿1,913

-70.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.96 ¥13.07

$3.02 ฿102

-35.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 ¥2.37

$1.02 ฿34.36

-64.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.05 ¥46.97

$3.69 ฿125

91.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 ¥8.21

$1.47 ฿49.81

-16.33%

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

$17.6K ¥117.6K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

-34.12%

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

$18.1K ¥121.0K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-32.01%

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

$18.87 ¥126

$96.4 ฿3,254

-80.42%

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

$10.02 ¥66.8

$11.26 ฿380

-11.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.05 ¥73.7

$16.85 ฿569

-34.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$59.0 ¥393

$67.2 ฿2,270

-12.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.56 ¥104

$10.73 ฿362

45.01%

Cinema Ticket

$7.46 ¥49.72

$7.50 ฿253

-0.53%

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

$299 ¥1,993

$476 ฿16.1K

-37.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.7K ¥118.2K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

57.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.39 ¥303

$62.4 ฿2,106

-27.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.76 ¥278

$28.41 ฿959

46.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.8 ¥398

$94.3 ฿3,184

-36.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.6 ¥397

$85.8 ฿2,898

-30.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$260 ¥1,730

$716 ฿24.2K

-63.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$172 ¥1,143

$491 ฿16.6K

-65.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$604 ¥4,023

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-68.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$369 ¥2,461

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-74.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,998 ¥20.0K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-28.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,945 ¥13.0K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-36.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.5

5.57

-37.16%

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

Last update for Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

$216 30.5%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 23.2% $50

Accommodation & Living

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

$172 24.2%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 186% $319

Clothing & Footwear

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

$93 13.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 31.1% $29

Eating Out

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

$92 13%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 31.8% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

$74 10.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 11.2% $8.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

$40 5.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 212% $85

Getting Around

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

$22 3%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 227% $49

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $260 in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $26 in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $216 vs $266 per month, with Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

16:21 4:21 PM

15:21 3:21 PM

1 h behind Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

831,113

79,308

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.67 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu Phuket 3,520 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu
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

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and eating out. The 80% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,063 in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu and $1,917 in Phuket to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $260 in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $299 in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 23% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $708 in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 45% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.