Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taoyuan and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Taoyuan: $1,183 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Taoyuan
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Taoyuan Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Taoyuan

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,183

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,183 in Taoyuan versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Taoyuan $1,183
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,731 in Taoyuan versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Taoyuan $1,731
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,278 in Taoyuan versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Taoyuan $2,278
Phuket $3,154

Living in Taoyuan costs roughly 7% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Taoyuan 13% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.13 NT$135

$4.47 ฿151

-7.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.84 NT$810

$32.41 ฿1,093

-23.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.46 NT$178

$8.81 ฿297

-38.02%

Cappuccino

$3.00 NT$97.8

$2.83 ฿95.4

6.01%

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

$1.00 NT$32.66

$0.87 ฿29.41

14.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 NT$22.65

$0.49 ฿16.65

40.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.81 NT$58.9

$2.56 ฿86.3

-29.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 NT$73.3

$3.68 ฿124

-38.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.76 NT$89.9

$1.66 ฿55.9

66.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.16 NT$37.73

$1.46 ฿49.31

-20.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.58 NT$84.0

$1.50 ฿50.5

72.00%

Eggs

$2.14 NT$69.9

$2.09 ฿70.5

2.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.84 NT$288

$19.07 ฿643

-53.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.14 NT$233

$3.30 ฿111

116.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.23 NT$692

$10.91 ฿368

94.59%

Apples (1kg)

$3.77 NT$123

$2.93 ฿98.9

28.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 NT$63.3

$1.69 ฿57.0

14.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 NT$99.4

$2.25 ฿75.8

35.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.05 NT$99.5

$2.08 ฿70.0

46.63%

Potato (1kg)

$2.44 NT$79.5

$1.51 ฿51.0

61.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.91 NT$62.2

$1.38 ฿46.52

38.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.29 NT$74.6

$1.07 ฿35.96

114.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 NT$28.21

$0.52 ฿17.51

67.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.85 NT$158

$4.20 ฿142

15.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.78 NT$351

$18.79 ฿634

-42.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 NT$48.27

$1.82 ฿61.5

-18.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 NT$66.3

$2.84 ฿95.8

-28.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 NT$17.07

$1.45 ฿48.98

-64.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.11 NT$1,210

$56.7 ฿1,912

-34.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.83 NT$92.3

$3.02 ฿102

-6.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.81 NT$26.32

$1.02 ฿34.33

-20.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.89 NT$225

$3.69 ฿125

86.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 NT$31.03

$1.47 ฿49.76

-35.37%

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

$36.5K NT$1.2M

$26.8K ฿903.4K

36.25%

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

$23.0K NT$748.9K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

-13.95%

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

$66.9 NT$2,180

$96.4 ฿3,251

-30.61%

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

$17.45 NT$569

$11.26 ฿380

54.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.84 NT$712

$16.85 ฿568

29.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.19 NT$984

$67.2 ฿2,268

-55.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.09 NT$231

$10.73 ฿362

-33.92%

Cinema Ticket

$10.80 NT$352

$7.50 ฿253

44.00%

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

$521 NT$17.0K

$476 ฿16.1K

9.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$31.3K NT$1.0M

$11.3K ฿380.0K

178.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.0 NT$2,871

$62.4 ฿2,104

41.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.36 NT$794

$28.41 ฿958

-14.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.0 NT$2,707

$94.3 ฿3,181

-11.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.0 NT$3,129

$85.8 ฿2,895

11.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$641 NT$20.9K

$716 ฿24.2K

-10.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$437 NT$14.2K

$491 ฿16.6K

-10.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$777 NT$25.3K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-59.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$610 NT$19.9K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-57.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,226 NT$203.0K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

49.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,079 NT$133.0K

$3,045 ฿102.7K

33.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,507 NT$49.1K

$502 ฿16.9K

200.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.38

5.57

-57.27%

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

Last update for Taoyuan: 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

Taoyuan

$437 36.9%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 12.3% $54

Groceries & Markets

Taoyuan

$306 25.8%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 12.9% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Taoyuan

$131 11.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 7% $9.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taoyuan

$106 9%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 17.3% $18

Eating Out

Taoyuan

$106 8.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 15.1% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Taoyuan

$52 4.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 58.8% $30

Getting Around

Taoyuan

$46 3.9%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 53.2% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $641 in Taoyuan and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Taoyuan pays about 3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $25 in Taoyuan vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $306 vs $266, with Phuket cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Taoyuan

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

02:42 2:42 AM

01:42 1:42 AM

1 h behind Taoyuan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,147,763

79,308

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.41 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Taoyuan Phuket 3,090 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Taoyuan
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

Taoyuan vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Taoyuan is about 7% cheaper overall, especially in leisure, transport, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Taoyuan is about 3 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: $641 in Taoyuan versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $521 in Taoyuan versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Phuket pay roughly 13% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Taoyuan is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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