Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ube and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Ube: $1,240 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $650 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

59

Cost of Living Index in Ube
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Ube Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Ube

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,240

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,240 in Ube versus $1,294 in Phuket.

Ube $1,240
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,925 in Ube versus $2,204 in Phuket.

Ube $1,925
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,610 in Ube versus $3,115 in Phuket.

Ube $2,610
Phuket $3,115

Living in Ube costs roughly 4% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ube 8% lower, Phuket 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.98 ¥1,106

$4.39 ฿148

59.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.82 ¥5,516

$32.31 ฿1,086

7.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.61 ¥889

$8.70 ฿293

-35.52%

Cappuccino

$3.20 ¥507

$2.72 ฿91.6

17.65%

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

$1.14 ¥181

$0.93 ฿31.28

22.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 ¥128

$0.50 ฿16.79

62.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.02 ¥320

$2.53 ฿85.1

-20.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 ¥489

$3.63 ฿122

-14.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 ¥240

$1.74 ฿58.5

-13.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 ¥249

$1.45 ฿48.77

8.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.80 ¥760

$1.50 ฿50.5

220.00%

Eggs

$2.20 ¥349

$2.17 ฿73.0

1.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.93 ¥1,573

$19.09 ฿642

-47.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.37 ¥1,009

$3.40 ฿114

87.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.50 ¥2,455

$10.90 ฿366

42.20%

Apples (1kg)

$5.25 ¥832

$2.94 ฿98.9

78.57%

Banana (1kg)

$2.62 ¥415

$1.69 ฿56.9

55.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.97 ¥629

$2.19 ฿73.8

81.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.46 ¥707

$2.12 ฿71.4

110.38%

Potato (1kg)

$3.31 ¥524

$1.46 ฿49.03

126.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.69 ¥427

$1.37 ฿45.99

96.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 ¥218

$1.08 ฿36.17

27.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 ¥130

$0.55 ฿18.34

49.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.04 ¥640

$4.43 ฿149

-8.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.65 ¥1,053

$18.25 ฿614

-63.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.97 ¥312

$1.77 ฿59.6

11.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.35 ¥372

$2.88 ฿96.8

-18.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 ¥253

$1.45 ฿48.66

10.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.5 ¥8,948

$54.9 ฿1,845

2.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.39 ¥537

$1.51 ฿50.9

124.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.90 ¥459

$0.78 ฿26.08

271.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.04 ¥3,333

$3.84 ฿129

447.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 ¥188

$1.49 ฿50.0

-20.81%

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

$22.8K ¥3.6M

$26.9K ฿903.7K

-15.10%

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

$17.2K ¥2.7M

$26.3K ฿885.7K

-34.61%

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

$142 ¥22.5K

$97.8 ฿3,288

45.05%

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

$27.14 ¥4,299

$11.29 ฿380

140.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.42 ¥5,453

$17.19 ฿578

100.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.7 ¥9,147

$68.3 ฿2,297

-15.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.93 ¥2,207

$10.92 ฿367

27.56%

Cinema Ticket

$12.94 ¥2,049

$7.43 ฿250

74.16%

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

$277 ¥44.0K

$530 ฿17.8K

-47.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.5K ¥2.1M

$18.8K ฿631.4K

-27.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.73 ¥6,769

$61.7 ฿2,073

-30.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.68 ¥4,702

$28.25 ฿950

5.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.0 ¥9,502

$96.0 ฿3,228

-37.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.1 ¥14.4K

$86.8 ฿2,919

4.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$462 ¥73.2K

$721 ฿24.2K

-35.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$330 ¥52.3K

$509 ฿17.1K

-35.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$860 ¥136.2K

$1,950 ฿65.6K

-55.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$648 ¥102.6K

$1,397 ฿47.0K

-53.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,856 ¥452.4K

$4,192 ฿140.9K

-31.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,757 ¥278.3K

$3,298 ฿110.9K

-46.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.81

5.57

-67.50%

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

Last update for Ube: November 1, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ube

$330 26.6%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 54.1% $179

Groceries & Markets

Ube

$306 24.7%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 12.7% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ube

$203 16.4%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 37.9% $77

Eating Out

Ube

$135 10.9%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 11.6% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Ube

$101 8.1%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 22% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Ube

$84 6.8%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 0.5% $0.4

Getting Around

Ube

$81 6.5%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 18.2% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $462 in Ube and $721 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35 in Ube vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $306 vs $267 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Ube

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

04:09 4:09 AM

02:09 2:09 AM

2 h behind Ube

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

162,570

79,308

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.31 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.31 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.69 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ube Phuket 4,440 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Ube
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

Ube vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ube is about 4% cheaper overall, especially in clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,859 in Ube and $1,940 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: $462 in Ube versus $721 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $277 in Ube versus $530 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.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Ube gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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