Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bilbao and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,166 in Bilbao, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

104

Cost of Living Index in Bilbao
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Bilbao Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Bilbao

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,166

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,166 in Bilbao versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Bilbao $2,166
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,118 in Bilbao versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Bilbao $3,118
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,069 in Bilbao versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Bilbao $4,069
Phuket $3,154

Living in Bilbao is roughly 69% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bilbao is 59% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.64 €20.21

$4.47 ฿151

406.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.0 €65.2

$32.41 ฿1,092

125.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.47 €11.14

$8.81 ฿297

41.54%

Cappuccino

$2.67 €2.39

$2.83 ฿95.2

-5.65%

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

$3.12 €2.78

$0.87 ฿29.36

258.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 €1.71

$0.49 ฿16.63

289.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.30 €2.95

$2.56 ฿86.2

28.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 €2.95

$3.68 ฿124

-10.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.66 ฿55.9

-21.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.65 €1.47

$1.46 ฿49.24

13.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.38

$1.50 ฿50.4

2.67%

Eggs

$3.31 €2.96

$2.09 ฿70.4

58.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.55 €13.89

$19.07 ฿642

-18.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.97 €7.12

$3.30 ฿111

141.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.56 €13.00

$10.91 ฿368

33.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.76 €2.47

$2.93 ฿98.7

-5.80%

Banana (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.69 ฿56.9

23.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.25 ฿75.7

12.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.65 €2.37

$2.08 ฿69.9

27.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.64 €1.46

$1.51 ฿50.9

8.61%

Onion (1kg)

$2.43 €2.17

$1.38 ฿46.45

76.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.07 ฿35.90

19.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 €0.83

$0.52 ฿17.48

78.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.57 €5.87

$4.20 ฿142

56.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.59 €6.78

$18.79 ฿633

-59.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.82 ฿61.4

-17.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 €2.31

$2.84 ฿95.7

-8.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.95 €1.74

$1.45 ฿48.91

34.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.7 €45.28

$56.7 ฿1,909

-10.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.37 €4.80

$3.02 ฿102

77.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 €0.92

$1.02 ฿34.28

0.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.32 €28.86

$3.69 ฿124

775.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.83 €1.63

$1.47 ฿49.69

24.49%

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

$33.3K €29.7K

$26.8K ฿902.1K

24.32%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$26.7K ฿899.2K

20.89%

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

$145 €129

$96.4 ฿3,246

50.39%

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

$19.91 €17.78

$11.26 ฿380

76.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.47 €26.32

$16.85 ฿568

74.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 €45.38

$67.2 ฿2,265

-24.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.21 €13.58

$10.73 ฿361

41.75%

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 €9.09

$7.50 ฿253

35.73%

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

$534 €477

$476 ฿16.0K

12.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K €10.5K

$11.3K ฿379.5K

4.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$105 €93.5

$62.4 ฿2,101

67.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.56 €32.65

$28.41 ฿957

28.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.0 €67.9

$94.3 ฿3,177

-19.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$143 €128

$85.8 ฿2,891

66.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,366 €1,220

$716 ฿24.1K

90.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,093 €976

$491 ฿16.5K

122.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,008 €1,793

$1,927 ฿64.9K

4.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,559 €1,392

$1,431 ฿48.2K

9.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,880 €5,251

$4,175 ฿140.7K

40.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,707 €3,310

$3,045 ฿102.6K

21.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,346 €2,095

$502 ฿16.9K

367.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.98

5.57

-46.50%

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

Last update for Bilbao: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bilbao

$1.1K 50.4%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 55.1% $602

Eating Out

Bilbao

$294 13.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 58.6% $172

Groceries & Markets

Bilbao

$283 13.1%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 5.9% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bilbao

$194 9%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 35.9% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Bilbao

$162 7.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 24.8% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Bilbao

$71 3.3%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 15.5% $11

Getting Around

Bilbao

$69 3.2%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 2.3% $1.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,366 in Bilbao and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bilbao pays about 4.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $73 in Bilbao vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Bilbao

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

19:13 7:13 PM

01:13 1:13 AM

6 h ahead of Bilbao

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

346,096

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Bilbao Phuket 10,310 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Bilbao
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

Bilbao vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,166 in Bilbao and $1,278 in Phuket, so Phuket is about 41% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Bilbao is about 4.7 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: $1,366 in Bilbao versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $534 in Bilbao versus $476 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 Bilbao. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,166 in Bilbao, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Bilbao. 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, Bilbao on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.