Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taree and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,279 in Taree, rent and utilities included – about $12,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

118

Cost of Living Index in Taree
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Taree Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Taree

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,279

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,279 in Taree versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Taree $2,279
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,484 in Taree versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Taree $3,484
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,688 in Taree versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Taree $4,688
Phuket $3,154

Living in Taree is roughly 78% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Taree is 67% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.50 A$24.80

$4.47 ฿151

291.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.5 A$120

$32.41 ฿1,092

160.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.45 A$14.80

$8.81 ฿297

18.62%

Cappuccino

$3.92 A$5.55

$2.83 ฿95.3

38.52%

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

$2.83 A$4.01

$0.87 ฿29.37

225.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.18

$0.49 ฿16.64

359.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.49 A$10.61

$2.56 ฿86.2

192.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.40 A$10.48

$3.68 ฿124

101.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 A$1.73

$1.66 ฿55.9

-26.51%

White Bread (500g)

$1.51 A$2.13

$1.46 ฿49.25

3.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.82 A$1.16

$1.50 ฿50.4

-45.33%

Eggs

$3.75 A$5.31

$2.09 ฿70.4

79.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.18 A$11.59

$19.07 ฿642

-57.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 A$9.87

$3.30 ฿111

111.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.35 A$23.16

$10.91 ฿368

49.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.82 A$4.00

$2.93 ฿98.7

-3.75%

Banana (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.42

$1.69 ฿56.9

43.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 A$2.21

$2.25 ฿75.7

-30.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 A$5.34

$2.08 ฿70.0

81.25%

Potato (1kg)

$2.33 A$3.30

$1.51 ฿50.9

54.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 A$2.43

$1.38 ฿46.47

23.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.52

$1.07 ฿35.91

131.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 A$2.71

$0.52 ฿17.49

267.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$30.16 A$42.73

$4.20 ฿142

618.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.68 A$10.88

$18.79 ฿633

-59.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.45 A$3.48

$1.82 ฿61.4

34.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.34 A$7.56

$2.84 ฿95.7

88.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.92 A$4.13

$1.45 ฿48.93

101.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$79.4 A$112

$56.7 ฿1,909

40.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.80 A$5.39

$3.02 ฿102

25.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.41 A$1.99

$1.02 ฿34.29

38.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.70 A$59.1

$3.69 ฿124

1030.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 A$1.92

$1.47 ฿49.70

-7.48%

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

$26.5K A$37.6K

$26.8K ฿902.4K

-0.97%

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

$23.3K A$33.0K

$26.7K ฿899.5K

-12.73%

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

$188 A$267

$96.4 ฿3,247

95.42%

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

$26.52 A$37.57

$11.26 ฿380

135.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.64 A$70.3

$16.85 ฿568

194.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.3 A$86.8

$67.2 ฿2,266

-8.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.35 A$28.82

$10.73 ฿361

89.66%

Cinema Ticket

$12.62 A$17.88

$7.50 ฿253

68.27%

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

$2,143 A$3,035

$476 ฿16.0K

350.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.7K A$27.9K

$11.3K ฿379.6K

75.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.5 A$94.2

$62.4 ฿2,102

6.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.0 A$76.5

$28.41 ฿957

90.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 A$156

$94.3 ฿3,178

16.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 A$157

$85.8 ฿2,892

29.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,356 A$1,921

$716 ฿24.1K

89.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,093 A$1,548

$491 ฿16.5K

122.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,041 A$2,891

$1,927 ฿64.9K

5.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,980 A$2,805

$1,431 ฿48.2K

38.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,712 A$8,092

$4,175 ฿140.7K

36.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,850 A$6,871

$3,045 ฿102.6K

59.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,929 A$4,150

$502 ฿16.9K

483.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

5.57

5.92%

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

Last update for Taree: 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

Taree

$1.1K 48%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 55.1% $602

Eating Out

Taree

$291 12.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 58.2% $169

Groceries & Markets

Taree

$289 12.7%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 8% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taree

$264 11.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 52.9% $140

Clothing & Footwear

Taree

$153 6.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 20.6% $32

Getting Around

Taree

$102 4.5%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 30.7% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Taree

$87 3.8%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 5% $4.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,356 in Taree and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Taree pays about 5.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $84 in Taree vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $289 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Taree

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

19:35 7:35 PM

15:35 3:35 PM

4 h behind Taree

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

18,110

79,308

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.706 USD

1 AUD = 0.633 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.706 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.633 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.61 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Taree Phuket 7,240 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Taree
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

Taree vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 44% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, utilities, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Taree is about 5.8 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: $1,356 in Taree versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,143 in Taree 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 9% higher in Taree. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,279 in Taree, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Taree. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket 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.

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

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in Taree. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.