Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Vung Tau and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Vung Tau: $608 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Vung Tau
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Vung Tau Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Vung Tau

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$608

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $608 in Vung Tau versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Vung Tau $608
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,015 in Vung Tau versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Vung Tau $1,015
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,423 in Vung Tau versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Vung Tau $1,423
Phuket $2,867

Living in Vung Tau costs roughly 50% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Vung Tau 55% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.95 ₫50.5K

$4.58 ฿153

-57.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.66 ₫405.5K

$32.48 ฿1,086

-51.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.75 ₫97.0K

$8.55 ฿286

-56.14%

Cappuccino

$1.84 ₫47.6K

$2.72 ฿91.0

-32.35%

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

$0.41 ₫10.6K

$0.94 ฿31.25

-56.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ₫8,662

$0.49 ฿16.39

-32.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.78 ₫20.2K

$2.59 ฿86.6

-69.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 ₫26.3K

$3.83 ฿128

-73.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.40 ₫36.3K

$1.74 ฿58.1

-19.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 ₫28.7K

$1.43 ฿47.82

-22.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.89 ₫23.1K

$1.53 ฿51.0

-41.83%

Eggs

$1.65 ₫42.8K

$2.17 ฿72.7

-23.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.79 ₫124.0K

$19.15 ฿640

-74.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.60 ₫93.1K

$3.30 ฿110

9.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.44 ₫244.4K

$11.14 ฿372

-15.26%

Apples (1kg)

$3.06 ₫79.3K

$2.95 ฿98.5

3.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 ₫32.1K

$1.68 ฿56.1

-26.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.63 ₫16.3K

$2.30 ฿76.8

-72.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.29 ₫33.5K

$2.13 ฿71.3

-39.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.15 ₫29.8K

$1.53 ฿51.1

-24.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 ₫30.8K

$1.36 ฿45.55

-12.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.60 ₫15.7K

$1.12 ฿37.44

-46.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 ₫11.0K

$0.55 ฿18.24

-21.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.20 ₫31.1K

$4.26 ฿142

-71.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.74 ₫329.7K

$18.19 ฿608

-29.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 ₫21.1K

$1.74 ฿58.2

-53.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 ₫26.2K

$2.79 ฿93.3

-63.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.70 ₫18.1K

$2.91 ฿97.3

-75.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.59 ₫15.3K

$1.01 ฿33.79

-41.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.15 ₫29.7K

$3.83 ฿128

-69.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 ₫20.7K

$1.49 ฿49.85

-46.31%

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

$30.2K ₫782.2M

$26.7K ฿891.6K

13.24%

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

$31.4K ₫811.9M

$26.7K ฿892.7K

17.41%

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

$46.69 ₫1.2M

$99.4 ฿3,321

-53.01%

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

$5.90 ₫152.7K

$11.28 ฿377

-47.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.99 ₫206.9K

$17.36 ฿580

-53.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.04 ₫441.1K

$52.3 ฿1,747

-67.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.41 ₫243.6K

$10.85 ฿362

-13.27%

Cinema Ticket

$3.54 ₫91.6K

$7.57 ฿253

-53.24%

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

$117 ₫3.0M

$558 ฿18.7K

-79.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,586 ₫248.2M

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-16.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$21.13 ₫547.1K

$62.9 ฿2,102

-66.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.89 ₫489.1K

$28.58 ฿955

-33.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.2 ₫2.4M

$96.1 ฿3,213

-4.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.9 ₫1.8M

$88.1 ฿2,943

-22.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$304 ₫7.9M

$729 ฿24.4K

-58.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$199 ₫5.2M

$460 ฿15.4K

-56.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$752 ₫19.5M

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-64.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$504 ₫13.0M

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-58.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,301 ₫189.0M

$3,459 ฿115.6K

111.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,367 ₫113.1M

$2,489 ฿83.2K

75.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$572 ₫14.8M

$493 ฿16.5K

15.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.64

5.57

55.12%

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

Last update for Vung Tau: October 10, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Vung Tau

$199 32.7%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 131% $261

Groceries & Markets

Vung Tau

$173 28.4%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 55% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Vung Tau

$90 14.8%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 37.7% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Vung Tau

$61 10%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 111% $67

Eating Out

Vung Tau

$58 9.5%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 110% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Vung Tau

$24 4%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 180% $43

Getting Around

Vung Tau

$3.7 * 0.6%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 963% $35

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $304 in Vung Tau and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Vung Tau pays 16% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $16.00 in Vung Tau vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $173 vs $268 per month, with Vung Tau cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Vung Tau

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

07:19 7:19 AM

Same time as Vung Tau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

380,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to VND – Vietnamese Dong Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇻🇳 Vietnamese Dong (₫)

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,105 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to VND in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Vung Tau Phuket 990 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Vung Tau
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

Vung Tau vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Vung Tau is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 99% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 16% higher in Vung Tau, 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: $304 in Vung Tau versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $117 in Vung Tau versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Vung Tau – a meal for two runs $16.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $608 in Vung Tau versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Vung Tau but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Vung Tau the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Vung Tau is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phuket, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Vung Tau and Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Vung Tau gentler on the wallet – expenses run 99% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.