Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wellington and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,313 in Wellington, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

110

Cost of Living Index in Wellington
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Wellington Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Wellington

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,313

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,313 in Wellington versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Wellington $2,313
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,422 in Wellington versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Wellington $3,422
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,530 in Wellington versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Wellington $4,530
Phuket $3,154

Living in Wellington is roughly 81% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Wellington is 70% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.02 NZ$24.90

$4.47 ฿151

213.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 NZ$118

$32.41 ฿1,093

105.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.23 NZ$16.38

$8.81 ฿297

4.77%

Cappuccino

$3.41 NZ$6.06

$2.83 ฿95.4

20.49%

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

$2.43 NZ$4.32

$0.87 ฿29.41

179.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 NZ$3.00

$0.49 ฿16.65

244.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.48 NZ$13.29

$2.56 ฿86.3

192.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.74 NZ$11.97

$3.68 ฿124

83.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 NZ$3.47

$1.66 ฿55.9

17.47%

White Bread (500g)

$2.25 NZ$4.00

$1.46 ฿49.31

54.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 NZ$3.29

$1.50 ฿50.5

23.33%

Eggs

$7.10 NZ$12.61

$2.09 ฿70.5

239.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.54 NZ$16.94

$19.07 ฿643

-49.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.62 NZ$17.08

$3.30 ฿111

191.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.26 NZ$27.09

$10.91 ฿368

39.87%

Apples (1kg)

$3.09 NZ$5.49

$2.93 ฿98.9

5.46%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 NZ$3.83

$1.69 ฿57.0

27.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 NZ$5.47

$2.25 ฿75.8

36.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.42 NZ$11.40

$2.08 ฿70.0

208.65%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 NZ$3.72

$1.51 ฿51.0

39.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.23 NZ$2.19

$1.38 ฿46.52

-10.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.01 NZ$3.57

$1.07 ฿35.96

87.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 NZ$2.06

$0.52 ฿17.51

123.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$25.37 NZ$45.04

$4.20 ฿142

504.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.48 NZ$20.39

$18.79 ฿634

-38.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.12 NZ$5.53

$1.82 ฿61.5

71.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 NZ$5.12

$2.84 ฿95.8

1.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.86 NZ$5.08

$1.45 ฿48.98

97.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$105 NZ$186

$56.7 ฿1,912

85.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.88 NZ$3.34

$3.02 ฿102

-37.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.83 NZ$3.25

$1.02 ฿34.33

79.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.31 NZ$60.9

$3.69 ฿125

829.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.84 NZ$3.27

$1.47 ฿49.76

25.17%

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

$28.4K NZ$50.4K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

6.02%

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

$23.8K NZ$42.3K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

-10.84%

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

$201 NZ$357

$96.4 ฿3,251

108.41%

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

$33.35 NZ$59.2

$11.26 ฿380

196.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.7 NZ$95.3

$16.85 ฿568

218.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.87 NZ$63.7

$67.2 ฿2,268

-46.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.18 NZ$28.73

$10.73 ฿362

50.79%

Cinema Ticket

$11.78 NZ$20.92

$7.50 ฿253

57.07%

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

$1,065 NZ$1,890

$476 ฿16.1K

123.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K NZ$23.6K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

17.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.4 NZ$143

$62.4 ฿2,104

28.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.04 NZ$49.78

$28.41 ฿958

-1.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 NZ$180

$94.3 ฿3,181

7.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 NZ$274

$85.8 ฿2,895

79.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,143 NZ$2,029

$716 ฿24.2K

59.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 NZ$1,914

$491 ฿16.6K

119.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,057 NZ$3,651

$1,927 ฿65.0K

6.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,814 NZ$3,220

$1,431 ฿48.3K

26.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,594 NZ$11.7K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

57.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,655 NZ$6,489

$3,045 ฿102.7K

20.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,785 NZ$4,945

$502 ฿16.9K

454.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

5.57

-3.23%

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

Last update for Wellington: 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

Wellington

$1.1K 46.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 54.5% $587

Groceries & Markets

Wellington

$348 15.1%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 23.6% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wellington

$288 12.4%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 56.8% $163

Eating Out

Wellington

$248 10.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 51% $126

Clothing & Footwear

Wellington

$164 7.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 25.6% $42

Getting Around

Wellington

$127 5.5%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 44.6% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Wellington

$59 2.6%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 38.4% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,143 in Wellington and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wellington pays about 5.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $66 in Wellington vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $348 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Wellington

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

10:14 10:14 AM

04:14 4:14 AM

6 h behind Wellington

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

215,900 Capital

79,308

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 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 NZD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Wellington Phuket 9,470 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Wellington
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

Wellington vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 45% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Wellington is about 5.5 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: $1,143 in Wellington versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,065 in Wellington 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 31% higher in Wellington. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,313 in Wellington, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Wellington. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Wellington 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 45% less than in Wellington. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.