Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Alicante and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,814 in Alicante, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Alicante
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Alicante Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Alicante

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,814

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,814 in Alicante versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Alicante $1,814
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,801 in Alicante versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Alicante $2,801
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,788 in Alicante versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Alicante $3,788
Phuket $2,867

Living in Alicante is roughly 50% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Alicante is 34% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.14 €17.03

$4.58 ฿153

317.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.0 €58.7

$32.48 ฿1,086

103.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.24 €10.00

$8.55 ฿286

31.46%

Cappuccino

$2.21 €1.97

$2.72 ฿91.0

-18.75%

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

$2.06 €1.83

$0.94 ฿31.25

119.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 €1.16

$0.49 ฿16.39

165.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.34 €2.97

$2.59 ฿86.6

28.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 €2.94

$3.83 ฿128

-13.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 €0.99

$1.74 ฿58.1

-36.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 €1.46

$1.43 ฿47.82

14.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 €1.43

$1.53 ฿51.0

5.23%

Eggs

$3.26 €2.90

$2.17 ฿72.7

50.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.37 €15.45

$19.15 ฿640

-9.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.79 €8.71

$3.30 ฿110

196.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.86 €14.11

$11.14 ฿372

42.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 €2.30

$2.95 ฿98.5

-12.54%

Banana (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.68 ฿56.1

23.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.79 €1.59

$2.30 ฿76.8

-22.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.63 €2.34

$2.13 ฿71.3

23.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.53 ฿51.1

24.18%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 €1.79

$1.36 ฿45.55

47.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 €1.10

$1.12 ฿37.44

9.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 €0.58

$0.55 ฿18.24

20.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.46 €5.75

$4.26 ฿142

51.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.42 €4.82

$18.19 ฿608

-70.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 €1.06

$1.74 ฿58.2

-31.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 €1.83

$2.79 ฿93.3

-26.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.65 €1.47

$2.22 ฿74.1

-25.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.30 €23.39

$22.06 ฿737

19.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.10 €2.76

$2.91 ฿97.3

6.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.01 ฿33.79

28.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.96 €15.09

$3.83 ฿128

342.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.76 €1.56

$1.49 ฿49.85

18.12%

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

$35.6K €31.7K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

33.57%

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

$29.1K €25.9K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

9.05%

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

$141 €125

$99.4 ฿3,321

41.44%

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

$18.27 €16.25

$11.28 ฿377

61.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.69 €26.41

$17.36 ฿580

71.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.64 €36.15

$52.3 ฿1,747

-22.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.59 €14.76

$10.85 ฿362

52.90%

Cinema Ticket

$9.07 €8.06

$7.57 ฿253

19.82%

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

$708 €629

$558 ฿18.7K

26.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,120 €8,113

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-20.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.1 €76.5

$62.9 ฿2,102

36.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.13 €31.25

$28.58 ฿955

22.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.7 €83.3

$96.1 ฿3,213

-2.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 €92.0

$88.1 ฿2,943

17.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,003 €892

$729 ฿24.4K

37.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$846 €752

$460 ฿15.4K

83.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,685 €1,499

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-19.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,519 €1,351

$1,222 ฿40.8K

24.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,155 €3,696

$3,459 ฿115.6K

20.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,008 €1,786

$2,489 ฿83.2K

-19.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,900 €1,690

$493 ฿16.5K

285.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.99

5.57

-46.32%

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

Last update for Alicante: October 12, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Alicante

$846 46.6%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 45.6% $386

Groceries & Markets

Alicante

$285 15.7%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 6% $17

Eating Out

Alicante

$250 13.8%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 51.5% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Alicante

$189 10.4%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 32.1% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Alicante

$143 7.9%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 13.4% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Alicante

$59 3.2%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 14.7% $8.6

Getting Around

Alicante

$43 2.3%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 8.5% $3.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,003 in Alicante and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Alicante pays 285% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $66.0 in Alicante vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $285 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Alicante

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

23:57 11:57 PM

04:57 4:57 AM

5 h ahead of Alicante

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

349,282

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Alicante Phuket 10,230 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Alicante
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

Alicante vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 50% lower than in Alicante. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 285% higher in Alicante, 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: $1,003 in Alicante versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $708 in Alicante versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 6% higher in Alicante. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,814 in Alicante, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Alicante. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Phuket delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,207 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Alicante 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 Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Alicante. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.