Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Arrecife and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,549 in Arrecife, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Arrecife
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Arrecife Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Arrecife

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,549

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,549 in Arrecife versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Arrecife $1,549
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,279 in Arrecife versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Arrecife $2,279
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,009 in Arrecife versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Arrecife $3,009
Phuket $3,154

Living in Arrecife is roughly 21% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Arrecife is 14% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.07 €9.91

$4.47 ฿151

147.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.64 €40.87

$32.41 ฿1,093

40.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.23 €8.27

$8.81 ฿297

4.77%

Cappuccino

$2.51 €2.24

$2.83 ฿95.4

-11.31%

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

$2.18 €1.95

$0.87 ฿29.41

150.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 €1.50

$0.49 ฿16.65

240.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 €2.82

$2.56 ฿86.3

23.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.58 €3.20

$3.68 ฿124

-2.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 €0.99

$1.66 ฿55.9

-33.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 €1.34

$1.46 ฿49.31

2.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.50 ฿50.5

-14.00%

Eggs

$3.57 €3.20

$2.09 ฿70.5

70.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.28 €11.00

$19.07 ฿643

-35.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.07 €6.34

$3.30 ฿111

114.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.84 €12.40

$10.91 ฿368

26.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.63 €2.35

$2.93 ฿98.9

-10.24%

Banana (1kg)

$2.52 €2.26

$1.69 ฿57.0

49.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.28 €2.04

$2.25 ฿75.8

1.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.58 €2.31

$2.08 ฿70.0

24.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 €1.64

$1.51 ฿51.0

21.19%

Onion (1kg)

$2.41 €2.16

$1.38 ฿46.52

74.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.79 €1.60

$1.07 ฿35.96

67.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 €0.74

$0.52 ฿17.51

59.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.39 €3.93

$4.20 ฿142

4.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.68 €5.99

$18.79 ฿634

-64.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 €1.45

$1.82 ฿61.5

-11.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.84 ฿95.8

-4.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.87 €1.68

$1.45 ฿48.98

28.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$32.75 €29.33

$56.7 ฿1,912

-42.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.40 €3.04

$3.02 ฿102

12.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.31 €2.07

$1.02 ฿34.33

126.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.58 €20.22

$3.69 ฿125

511.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.59 €1.42

$1.47 ฿49.76

8.16%

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

$30.3K €27.2K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

13.30%

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

$32.2K €28.8K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

20.55%

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

$114 €102

$96.4 ฿3,251

18.36%

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

$19.30 €17.28

$11.26 ฿380

71.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.47 €25.50

$16.85 ฿568

68.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.63 €39.97

$67.2 ฿2,268

-33.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.64 €14.01

$10.73 ฿362

45.76%

Cinema Ticket

$8.07 €7.22

$7.50 ฿253

7.60%

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

$467 €418

$476 ฿16.1K

-1.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,521 €5,840

$11.3K ฿380.0K

-42.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.6 €77.6

$62.4 ฿2,104

38.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.05 €30.50

$28.41 ฿958

19.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.7 €80.3

$94.3 ฿3,181

-4.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$85.8 ฿2,895

44.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$846 €758

$716 ฿24.2K

18.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$673 €602

$491 ฿16.6K

37.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 €1,260

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-27.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 €916

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-28.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,328 €2,981

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-20.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,237 €2,003

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-26.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,683 €1,508

$502 ฿16.9K

235.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.15

5.57

-43.45%

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

Last update for Arrecife: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Arrecife

$673 43.4%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 27% $182

Groceries & Markets

Arrecife

$264 17%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 1% $2.5

Eating Out

Arrecife

$185 11.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 34.1% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Arrecife

$162 10.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 23.1% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Arrecife

$150 9.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 19% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Arrecife

$61 3.9%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 35.3% $21

Getting Around

Arrecife

$55 3.6%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 27.9% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $846 in Arrecife and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Arrecife pays about 3.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $46 in Arrecife vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $264 vs $266, with Arrecife cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Arrecife

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

20:17 8:17 PM

03:17 3:17 AM

7 h ahead of Arrecife

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

64,826

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Arrecife Phuket 11,670 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Arrecife
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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

Arrecife vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,549 in Arrecife and $1,278 in Phuket, so Phuket is about 17% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Arrecife is about 3.4 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: $846 in Arrecife versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $467 in Arrecife versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $46 in Arrecife. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,549 in Arrecife, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Arrecife. 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, Arrecife on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.