Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Batangas and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Batangas: $610 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Batangas
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Batangas Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Batangas

🇵🇭 Philippines

$610

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $610 in Batangas versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Batangas $610
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $887 in Batangas versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Batangas $887
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,165 in Batangas versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Batangas $1,165
Phuket $3,154

Living in Batangas costs roughly 52% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Batangas 55% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.14 ₱137

$4.47 ฿151

-52.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ₱1,214

$32.41 ฿1,094

-41.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.63 ₱168

$8.81 ฿297

-70.15%

Cappuccino

$2.06 ₱131

$2.83 ฿95.5

-27.21%

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

$0.37 ₱23.89

$0.87 ฿29.43

-57.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 ₱17.98

$0.49 ฿16.67

-42.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.05 ₱67.0

$2.56 ฿86.4

-58.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 ₱89.2

$3.68 ฿124

-61.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 ₱109

$1.66 ฿56.0

3.01%

White Bread (500g)

$1.16 ₱74.1

$1.46 ฿49.35

-20.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 ₱49.36

$1.50 ฿50.6

-48.67%

Eggs

$1.61 ₱103

$2.09 ฿70.5

-22.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.49 ₱351

$19.07 ฿644

-71.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.09 ₱261

$3.30 ฿111

23.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.99 ₱446

$10.91 ฿368

-35.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.29 ₱146

$2.93 ฿99.0

-21.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 ₱86.1

$1.69 ฿57.1

-20.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.41 ₱154

$2.25 ฿75.8

7.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.16 ₱74.0

$2.08 ฿70.1

-44.23%

Potato (1kg)

$2.20 ₱141

$1.51 ฿51.0

45.70%

Onion (1kg)

$3.24 ₱207

$1.38 ฿46.56

134.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 ₱82.1

$1.07 ฿35.99

20.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 ₱56.6

$0.52 ฿17.52

71.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.52 ₱161

$4.20 ฿142

-40.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.55 ₱482

$18.79 ฿634

-59.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 ₱81.4

$1.82 ฿61.5

-30.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 ₱110

$2.84 ฿95.9

-39.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 ₱40.07

$1.45 ฿49.03

-56.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.76 ₱48.61

$3.02 ฿102

-74.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.36

$1.02 ฿34.36

-79.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.48 ₱158

$3.69 ฿125

-32.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.01 ₱64.3

$1.47 ฿49.81

-31.29%

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

$20.9K ₱1.3M

$26.8K ฿904.3K

-21.96%

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

$18.9K ₱1.2M

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-29.13%

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

$161 ₱10.3K

$96.4 ฿3,254

67.60%

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

$14.33 ₱916

$11.26 ฿380

27.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.93 ₱1,529

$16.85 ฿569

42.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.53 ₱1,184

$67.2 ฿2,270

-72.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.48 ₱797

$10.73 ฿362

16.31%

Cinema Ticket

$5.63 ₱360

$7.50 ฿253

-24.93%

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

$71.9 ₱4,591

$476 ฿16.1K

-84.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,239 ₱79.1K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-89.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$15.94 ₱1,018

$62.4 ฿2,106

-74.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.67 ₱1,449

$28.41 ฿959

-20.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$53.8 ₱3,440

$94.3 ฿3,184

-42.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$39.82 ₱2,544

$85.8 ฿2,898

-53.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$71.1 ₱4,544

$491 ฿16.6K

-85.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$156 ₱9,995

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-91.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$93.3 ₱5,961

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-93.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,500 ₱159.7K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-40.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,573 ₱100.5K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-48.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$185 ₱11.8K

$502 ฿17.0K

-63.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

25.67%

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

Last update for Batangas: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Batangas

$200 32.8%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 37.7% $75

Groceries & Markets

Batangas

$185 30.3%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 44% $81

Accommodation & Living

Batangas

$71 11.7%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 590% $420

Eating Out

Batangas

$60 9.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 102% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Batangas

$60 9.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 105% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Batangas

$30 4.9%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 176% $52

Getting Around

Batangas

$4.3 * 0.7%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 1534% $66

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Phuket pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Batangas vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $185 vs $266 per month, with Batangas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Batangas

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

04:22 4:22 AM

03:22 3:22 AM

1 h behind Batangas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

329,874

79,308

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.13 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Batangas Phuket 2,560 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Batangas
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

Batangas vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $610 in Batangas and $1,278 in Phuket, so Batangas is about 52% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 63% lower in Batangas. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Supermarket bills run roughly 44% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $610 per month in Batangas versus $1,278 in Phuket – Batangas is about 52% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $610 in Batangas versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Batangas but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Batangas 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.

Safety-wise, Batangas and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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