🇹🇭 Thailand vs 🇵🇭 Philippines
Side by side on the data that actually changes your life: prices, taxes, climate, air, safety. Every number has a source and a date.
Climate (capital)
Open-Meteo historical weather
Jan 27° · Jul 28° · Bangkok
—
Sunny days (capital)
Open-Meteo, days with over 4.5h of sunshine
339 days / yr
—
Air quality (capital)
WAQI, capital station
AQI 57 · Moderate
—
Big Mac price
The Economist Big Mac index (euro-area countries share one euro-area price)
$4.30
$2.84
Special tax regimes
Official tax authorities, verified June 2026
Remittance-based taxation (tightened)
None curated
Inflation
World Bank
-0.1% / yr (2025)
1.7% / yr (2025)
Unemployment
World Bank, ILO-modelled estimate
0.8% (2025)
2.2% (2025)
Internet (median fixed)
Ookla Speedtest Global Index
~230 Mbps
~95 Mbps
English proficiency
EF English Proficiency Index
low
high
Messenger apps
OONI network measurements, last 6 months
No known issues
Issues: Facebook Messenger
Safety advisory
U.S. State Department travel advisory
Level 2 · Exercise Increased Caution
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Population
World Bank total population
71.6M (2025)
116.8M (2025)
Population density
World Bank, people per km²
140 / km² (2023)
385 / km² (2023)
Foreign-born residents
World Bank migrant stock
4.4% of population (2024)
0.1% of population (2024)
Life expectancy
WHO
75 yrs
66 yrs
Currency
ISO 4217
THB
PHP
Timezone (capital)
Open-Meteo
UTC+7
—
Crypto-friendly
Legal
Short-term gains
0%
15%
Long-term gains
0%
15%
Long-term holding period
—
—
Staking income
35%
32%
Mining income
35%
35%
General rates, not personal tax advice.
Climate, inflation and life expectancy verified 12 July 2026. Prices, taxes and air quality verified 7 July 2026. Sources shown per row.
Bottom line: which should you choose?
Pick 🇵🇭 Philippines if you want
lower day-to-day costs.
Based only on the sourced metrics above. Visa eligibility and paperwork depend on your passport — build a free plan for the full picture.
Frequently asked questions
Is Thailand or Philippines cheaper?
Philippines is the cheaper of the two on our comparable cost measure (Big Mac $2.84 vs $4.30). Your real cost depends on the city and lifestyle — see the full table above, then generate a free plan for a budget matched to your exact move.
Special tax regimes, verified
Regimes change often and many sites still advertise closed ones. We link the official source for each.
🇹🇭 Thailand
Foreign income is taxed when remitted to Thailand
Verified June 2026 · Revenue Department
Numbers are half the story
Your visa route, paperwork and deadlines depend on where you hold a passport. Get a free checklist personalized to your exact move.