How Phuket and Chiang Mai compare on cost, visas, working hours, weather, internet and safety. Every figure comes from our city guides and tools, checked and dated there.
The short answer
Phuket Doesn't win on any measure here. See who it suits, below.
Chiang Mai Pick it for more comfortable months.
Everyday costsEven
What we have checked of rent, a coworking desk, weekday lunches and getting around comes to $592 to $1,470 (£445 to £1,100) a month in Phuket, against $516 to $794 (£388 to £596) in Chiang Mai. We can't call it: Phuket has no checked figure for transport, so that total leaves it out.
The visaEven
Same country, same visa: the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV), at about $14,890 in savings (THB 500,000).
A London 9 to 5Even
A late finish in both: 15:00 to 23:00 in Phuket, 15:00 to 23:00 in Chiang Mai.
A New York 9 to 5Even
A night shift in both: 20:00 to 04:00 in Phuket, 20:00 to 04:00 in Chiang Mai.
WeatherChiang Mai
Chiang Mai has more comfortable months. Comfortable months on our best-time rule: 1 in Phuket, 5 in Chiang Mai. Both are comfortable in December.
SafetyEven
Same country, same US advice: level 1.
Side by side
Measure
Phuket
Chiang Mai
Country
Thailand
Thailand
Language
Thai
Thai
Currency
Thai baht (THB)
Thai baht (THB)
Plugs
Type A, B, C and O, 230V. Most sockets take several types
Type C and O, 230V
Time zone
UTC+7 today
UTC+7 today
A month's basics
$592 to $1,470 (£445 to £1,100), with transport missing
$516 to $794 (£388 to £596)
Remote work visa
Destination Thailand Visa (DTV)
Destination Thailand Visa (DTV)
Income needed
About $14,890 in savings (THB 500,000)
About $14,890 in savings (THB 500,000)
Without a visa
British and American passports: 30 days, down from 60 on 15 September 2026
British and American passports: 30 days, down from 60 on 15 September 2026
Tax residency
180 days in a calendar year, on foreign income you bring in
180 days in a calendar year, on foreign income you bring in
Download speed
—
258 Mbps
Comfortable months
December
January, July, October, November and December
US travel advice
Level 1: normal precautions
Level 1: normal precautions
Meetups
None we could confirm
1 regular group still running
Dollars and pounds at today's exchange rate. Download speeds are the typical figure from each guide, which says where it comes from: some are for the city, some for the whole country, so treat a small gap as no gap.
What a month costs
Rent, a coworking desk, a cheap lunch on each of 22 working days, and getting around: the same four costs our budget calculator uses. The rent figures aren't always the same kind of figure (some are furnished one-beds, some are averages across every size of flat), so read the note under each.
Phuket
$592 to $1,470£445 to £1,100 a month
Rent
$387 to $1,190Furnished one-bed, inland Kathu up to Kata and Karon by the beach, asking. THB 13,000 to 40,000
A desk
$179 to $238Coworking monthly. THB 6,000 to 8,000
Weekday lunches
$26 to $39Khao gaeng, curry over rice, THB 40 to 60 each, 22 working days
Getting around
No checked figureNo checked monthly cost. No monthly pass found; TAT mentions day passes but gives no price. No checked scooter, Grab or songthaew price. The Smart Bus is THB 50 to 170 a ride
About $14,890 in savings (THB 500,000); in pounds, about £11,190 in savings
How long
Five years, 180 days a visit, extendable once by 180
What it leads to
Nowhere: no residence and no citizenship
Without a visa
British and American passports: 30 days, down from 60 on 15 September 2026
The catch. Since 31 August 2026 you need a criminal record certificate, and you must apply in a country where you are a citizen or permanent resident, so a border run no longer works.
The average high in °C each month, coloured by the rule on our best-time page: green is a high of 20 to 32°C with under 150mm of rain; red is a high of 38°C or more or under 12°C, 250mm of rain or more, or 33°C or more with 150mm of rain or more. Hover over a month for its rain.
Phuket isn't affected by any area advised against. The UK advises against all but essential travel to the far southern provinces and within 20km of the Cambodian border, none of them near Phuket.
The US level is for the whole country, as the State Department sets it, and some countries have stricter advice for particular regions.
Who each one suits
From each city guide, word for word.
Phuket
It suits
Someone with the savings for the DTV who wants a beach, a gym or Muay Thai camp and a real coworking desk, and who will ride a scooter legally with an international driving permit. Living inland in Kathu or Chalong, at THB 13,000 to 25,000 for a furnished one-bed, makes it workable on a modest budget. It suits a winter base best: December to March is dry.
It doesn't suit
Anyone who won't ride a scooter. No monthly pass found; TAT mentions day passes but gives no price. The Smart Bus costs THB 50 to 170 a ride, and in May 2026 a foreign embassy warned of 'zero tolerance' in Phuket: unlicensed drivers to be prosecuted 'without exception', and visas may be revoked in serious cases. Anyone who wants the beach on a budget: one-beds in Kata, Karon and Bang Tao ask THB 25,000 to 65,000. Anyone here for the sea from May to October, when it rains on 16 to 19 days a month and red flags fly. Anyone who needs a ready-made nomad scene: we could not find one meetup with a 2026 date. And since 15 September 2026 you cannot come visa-free for two months to try it. It is 30 days now.
Remote workers who want a cheap, calm base with a ready-made community of people doing the same thing, and who can plan the year around it: here from October to January, gone or indoors from late February to April. It suits anyone who signs a long lease rather than paying short-let rates, and who holds the 500,000 baht in savings the DTV needs and can apply from their home country.
It doesn't suit
Anyone with asthma, young children or a job that cannot move in March: readings near 190 micrograms of PM2.5 are real, and in 2026 the city opened 2,004 clean-air rooms. Anyone who needs a metro or will not ride a scooter properly licensed, because the red trucks are dwindling. Anyone treating the DTV as a tax shelter: 180 days in a calendar year makes you tax resident, and foreign income from that year is taxed when you bring it in. And since 15 September 2026 you cannot drift in visa-free for two months to try it. It is 30 days now.
