Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Albacete and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,562 in Albacete, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Albacete
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Albacete Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Albacete

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,562

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,562 in Albacete versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Albacete $1,562
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,228 in Albacete versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Albacete $2,228
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,893 in Albacete versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Albacete $2,893
Phuket $3,154

Living in Albacete is roughly 22% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Albacete is 15% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.56 €13.08

$4.47 ฿151

225.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.80 €42.95

$32.41 ฿1,094

47.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.33 €8.38

$8.81 ฿297

5.90%

Cappuccino

$2.09 €1.88

$2.83 ฿95.5

-26.15%

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

$2.36 €2.12

$0.87 ฿29.43

171.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 €1.48

$0.49 ฿16.67

234.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.74 €2.46

$2.56 ฿86.4

7.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 €4.09

$3.68 ฿124

23.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.91 €0.82

$1.66 ฿56.0

-45.18%

White Bread (500g)

$0.75 €0.68

$1.46 ฿49.35

-48.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.50 ฿50.6

15.33%

Eggs

$2.95 €2.65

$2.09 ฿70.5

41.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.11 €14.47

$19.07 ฿644

-15.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.47 €4.91

$3.30 ฿111

65.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.39 €15.63

$10.91 ฿368

59.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.52 €2.26

$2.93 ฿99.0

-13.99%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.69 ฿57.1

26.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.46 €2.21

$2.25 ฿75.8

9.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.51 €2.25

$2.08 ฿70.1

20.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 €2.08

$1.51 ฿51.0

52.98%

Onion (1kg)

$2.06 €1.85

$1.38 ฿46.56

49.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 €1.40

$1.07 ฿35.99

45.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 €0.51

$0.52 ฿17.52

9.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.82 €6.13

$4.20 ฿142

62.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.30 €4.76

$18.79 ฿634

-71.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 €1.09

$1.82 ฿61.5

-33.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.84 ฿95.9

-24.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.38 €1.24

$1.45 ฿49.03

-4.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.51 €14.83

$56.7 ฿1,913

-70.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 €3.31

$3.02 ฿102

22.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 €1.38

$1.02 ฿34.36

50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.69 €26.68

$3.69 ฿125

704.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 €1.48

$1.47 ฿49.81

12.24%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

23.83%

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

$28.5K €25.6K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

6.80%

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

$184 €166

$96.4 ฿3,254

91.42%

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

$17.50 €15.72

$11.26 ฿380

55.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.04 €15.31

$16.85 ฿569

1.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.41 €3.96

$10.73 ฿362

-58.90%

Cinema Ticket

$9.04 €8.12

$7.50 ฿253

20.53%

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

$681 €612

$476 ฿16.1K

43.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.8K €16.0K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

58.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$82.8 €74.4

$62.4 ฿2,106

32.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.11 €37.84

$28.41 ฿959

48.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.8 €78.9

$94.3 ฿3,184

-6.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 €100

$85.8 ฿2,898

29.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$936 €841

$716 ฿24.2K

30.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$682 €612

$491 ฿16.6K

38.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,239 €1,113

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-35.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$948 €852

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-33.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,312 €2,078

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-44.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,022 €1,817

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-33.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,952 €1,754

$502 ฿17.0K

288.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.14

5.57

-43.63%

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

Last update for Albacete: 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

Albacete

$682 43.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 28% $191

Groceries & Markets

Albacete

$256 16.4%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 4% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Albacete

$219 14%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 43.2% $95

Eating Out

Albacete

$208 13.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 41.6% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Albacete

$146 9.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 16.5% $24

Getting Around

Albacete

$33 2.1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 112% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Albacete

$18 * 1.2%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 355% $64

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 $936 in Albacete and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Albacete pays about 3.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Albacete vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $256 vs $266, with Albacete cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Albacete

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

16:45 4:45 PM

22:45 10:45 PM

6 h ahead of Albacete

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

173,206

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Albacete Phuket 10,330 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Albacete
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

Albacete vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Albacete and Phuket differ by about 22% in total monthly costs ($1,562 vs $1,278 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Albacete is about 3.9 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: $936 in Albacete versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $48 in Albacete. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,562 per month in Albacete versus $1,278 in Phuket – a 22% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,562 in Albacete, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Albacete. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Albacete on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.