Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Yantai and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Yantai: $629 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Yantai
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Yantai Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Yantai

🇨🇳 China

$629

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $629 in Yantai versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Yantai $629
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $926 in Yantai versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Yantai $926
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,223 in Yantai versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Yantai $1,223
Phuket $2,867

Living in Yantai costs roughly 48% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Yantai 53% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.92 ¥19.55

$4.58 ฿153

-36.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.14 ¥121

$32.48 ฿1,086

-44.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.58 ¥30.65

$8.55 ฿286

-46.43%

Cappuccino

$2.81 ¥18.78

$2.72 ฿91.0

3.31%

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

$0.54 ¥3.58

$0.94 ฿31.25

-42.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 ¥2.15

$0.49 ฿16.39

-34.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.05 ¥7.01

$2.59 ฿86.6

-59.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.60 ¥17.39

$3.83 ฿128

-32.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.96 ¥13.11

$1.74 ฿58.1

12.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 ¥9.01

$1.43 ฿47.82

-5.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.83 ¥5.58

$1.53 ฿51.0

-45.75%

Eggs

$1.35 ¥9.02

$2.17 ฿72.7

-37.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.32 ¥109

$19.15 ฿640

-14.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.28 ¥21.94

$3.30 ฿110

-0.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.89 ¥46.04

$11.14 ฿372

-38.15%

Apples (1kg)

$1.37 ¥9.19

$2.95 ฿98.5

-53.56%

Banana (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.98

$1.68 ฿56.1

-47.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.07 ¥7.16

$2.30 ฿76.8

-53.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.74 ¥4.92

$2.13 ฿71.3

-65.26%

Potato (1kg)

$0.67 ¥4.49

$1.53 ฿51.1

-56.21%

Onion (1kg)

$0.78 ¥5.24

$1.36 ฿45.55

-42.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.58 ¥3.91

$1.12 ฿37.44

-48.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ¥4.19

$0.55 ฿18.24

14.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.65 ¥24.39

$4.26 ฿142

-14.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.68 ¥78.1

$18.19 ฿608

-35.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 ¥5.25

$1.74 ฿58.2

-55.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 ¥6.88

$2.79 ฿93.3

-63.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.21 ¥1.40

$2.22 ฿74.1

-90.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.36 ¥9.11

$2.91 ฿97.3

-53.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 ¥1.92

$1.01 ฿33.79

-71.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.48 ¥43.30

$3.83 ฿128

69.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 ¥8.20

$1.49 ฿49.85

-17.45%

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

$19.3K ¥129.0K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

-27.68%

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

$16.4K ¥109.8K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-38.54%

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

$44.64 ¥298

$99.4 ฿3,321

-55.08%

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

$6.79 ¥45.37

$11.28 ฿377

-39.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$6.09 ¥40.75

$17.36 ฿580

-64.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.60 ¥198

$52.3 ฿1,747

-43.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.43 ¥49.69

$10.85 ฿362

-31.52%

Cinema Ticket

$5.44 ¥36.37

$7.57 ฿253

-28.14%

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

$363 ¥2,426

$558 ฿18.7K

-35.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ¥111.2K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

44.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.97 ¥120

$62.9 ฿2,102

-71.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.78 ¥152

$28.58 ฿955

-20.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.7 ¥626

$96.1 ฿3,213

-2.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.2 ¥603

$88.1 ฿2,943

2.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$223 ¥1,490

$729 ฿24.4K

-69.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$151 ¥1,010

$460 ฿15.4K

-67.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$353 ¥2,358

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-83.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$147 ¥982

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-87.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,056 ¥20.4K

$3,459 ฿115.6K

-11.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,096 ¥34.1K

$2,489 ฿83.2K

104.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,063 ¥7,107

$493 ฿16.5K

115.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.37

5.57

-39.50%

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

Last update for Yantai: October 12, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Yantai

$191 30.3%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 40.2% $77

Accommodation & Living

Yantai

$151 24%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 205% $309

Clothing & Footwear

Yantai

$101 16.1%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 22.7% $23

Eating Out

Yantai

$85 13.5%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 43.2% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Yantai

$58 9.1%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 123% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Yantai

$40 6.4%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 66.6% $27

Getting Around

Yantai

$3.6 * 0.6%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 968% $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 $223 in Yantai and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Yantai pays 116% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $18.00 in Yantai vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $191 vs $268 per month, with Yantai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Yantai

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

00:17 12:17 AM

23:17 11:17 PM

1 h behind Yantai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,871,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 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 CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Yantai Phuket 4,030 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Yantai
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

Yantai vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yantai is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 92% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 116% higher in Yantai, 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: $223 in Yantai versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $363 in Yantai 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 Yantai – a meal for two runs $18.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $629 in Yantai versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Yantai but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Yantai the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Yantai 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, Yantai 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 Yantai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 92% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.