Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tianjin and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Tianjin: $854 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Tianjin
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Tianjin Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Tianjin

🇨🇳 China

$854

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $854 in Tianjin versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Tianjin $854
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,361 in Tianjin versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Tianjin $1,361
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,868 in Tianjin versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Tianjin $1,868
Phuket $3,154

Living in Tianjin costs roughly 33% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tianjin 37% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.18 ¥27.81

$4.47 ฿151

-6.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.41 ¥162

$32.41 ฿1,093

-24.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.85 ¥38.90

$8.81 ฿297

-33.60%

Cappuccino

$4.06 ¥26.99

$2.83 ฿95.4

43.46%

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

$0.47 ¥3.16

$0.87 ฿29.41

-45.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 ¥1.87

$0.49 ฿16.65

-42.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.00 ¥6.63

$2.56 ฿86.3

-60.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 ¥11.68

$3.68 ฿124

-52.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ¥9.57

$1.66 ฿55.9

-13.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.34 ¥15.57

$1.46 ฿49.31

60.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.67 ¥11.11

$1.50 ฿50.5

11.33%

Eggs

$1.32 ¥8.81

$2.09 ฿70.5

-36.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.78 ¥98.3

$19.07 ฿643

-22.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.74 ¥24.91

$3.30 ฿111

13.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.76 ¥65.0

$10.91 ฿368

-10.54%

Apples (1kg)

$1.64 ¥10.88

$2.93 ฿98.9

-44.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 ¥10.23

$1.69 ฿57.0

-8.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 ¥11.72

$2.25 ฿75.8

-21.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.18 ¥7.87

$2.08 ฿70.0

-43.27%

Potato (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.93

$1.51 ฿51.0

-41.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 ¥7.77

$1.38 ฿46.52

-15.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.68 ¥4.50

$1.07 ฿35.96

-36.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 ¥4.72

$0.52 ฿17.51

36.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.40 ¥35.94

$4.20 ฿142

28.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.65 ¥90.9

$18.79 ฿634

-27.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 ¥6.88

$1.82 ฿61.5

-43.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 ¥16.96

$2.84 ฿95.8

-10.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.06

$1.45 ฿48.98

-78.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.82 ¥58.7

$56.7 ฿1,912

-84.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.70 ¥11.29

$3.02 ฿102

-43.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 ¥2.54

$1.02 ฿34.33

-62.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.34 ¥42.21

$3.69 ฿125

71.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 ¥8.41

$1.47 ฿49.76

-14.29%

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

$19.1K ¥127.4K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

-28.48%

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

$17.9K ¥119.3K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

-32.83%

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

$93.1 ¥620

$96.4 ฿3,251

-3.36%

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

$6.38 ¥42.44

$11.26 ฿380

-43.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.71 ¥51.3

$16.85 ฿568

-54.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.02 ¥113

$67.2 ฿2,268

-74.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.54 ¥70.2

$10.73 ฿362

-1.77%

Cinema Ticket

$7.56 ¥50.3

$7.50 ฿253

0.80%

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

$1,293 ¥8,605

$476 ฿16.1K

171.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 ¥373

$62.4 ฿2,104

-10.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ¥190

$28.41 ฿958

0.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 ¥741

$94.3 ฿3,181

18.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ¥924

$85.8 ฿2,895

61.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$362 ¥2,406

$716 ฿24.2K

-49.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$213 ¥1,418

$491 ฿16.6K

-56.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$868 ¥5,775

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-54.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ¥3,076

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-67.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,773 ¥31.8K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

14.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,240 ¥14.9K

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-26.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,173 ¥7,803

$502 ฿16.9K

133.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.54

5.57

-36.45%

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

Last update for Tianjin: 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

Tianjin

$226 26.5%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 17.7% $40

Accommodation & Living

Tianjin

$213 24.9%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 130% $278

Clothing & Footwear

Tianjin

$151 17.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 19.1% $29

Eating Out

Tianjin

$111 13%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 9.5% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tianjin

$107 12.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 16.1% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Tianjin

$32 3.8%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 156% $50

Getting Around

Tianjin

$14 1.6%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 417% $57

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $362 in Tianjin and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tianjin pays about 2.3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $24 in Tianjin vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $266 per month, with Tianjin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Tianjin

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

03:18 3:18 AM

02:18 2:18 AM

1 h behind Tianjin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,866,009

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 = 2.65 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.43 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

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

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tianjin Phuket 3,950 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Tianjin
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

Tianjin vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tianjin is about 33% cheaper overall, especially in transport, leisure, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Tianjin is about 2.3 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: $362 in Tianjin versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,293 in Tianjin 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 18% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $854 in Tianjin versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Tianjin but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Tianjin 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 Tianjin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.