Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Brasilia and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Brasilia: $916 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Brasilia
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Brasilia Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Brasilia

🇧🇷 Brazil

$916

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $916 in Brasilia versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Brasilia $916
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,514 in Brasilia versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Brasilia $1,514
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,112 in Brasilia versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Brasilia $2,112
Phuket $3,154

Living in Brasilia costs roughly 28% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Brasilia 33% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.44 R$45.15

$4.47 ฿151

88.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.71 R$196

$32.41 ฿1,094

13.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.98 R$42.72

$8.81 ฿297

-9.42%

Cappuccino

$2.53 R$13.51

$2.83 ฿95.5

-10.60%

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

$1.42 R$7.60

$0.87 ฿29.43

63.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R$5.36

$0.49 ฿16.67

104.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.20 R$11.77

$2.56 ฿86.4

-14.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.76 R$20.10

$3.68 ฿124

2.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 R$5.45

$1.66 ฿56.0

-38.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.95 R$10.45

$1.46 ฿49.35

33.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.24 R$6.64

$1.50 ฿50.6

-17.33%

Eggs

$2.27 R$12.17

$2.09 ฿70.5

8.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.17 R$59.8

$19.07 ฿644

-41.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.86 R$20.68

$3.30 ฿111

16.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.58 R$45.90

$10.91 ฿368

-21.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.31 R$12.34

$2.93 ฿99.0

-21.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 R$7.38

$1.69 ฿57.1

-18.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.73

$2.25 ฿75.8

-44.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.52 R$8.14

$2.08 ฿70.1

-26.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.11 R$5.95

$1.51 ฿51.0

-26.49%

Onion (1kg)

$0.98 R$5.22

$1.38 ฿46.56

-28.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 R$4.04

$1.07 ฿35.99

-28.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 R$5.00

$0.52 ฿17.52

78.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 R$12.65

$4.20 ฿142

-43.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 R$41.04

$18.79 ฿634

-59.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 R$6.64

$1.82 ฿61.5

-31.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 R$12.60

$2.84 ฿95.9

-16.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.73 R$3.90

$1.45 ฿49.03

-49.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.76 R$159

$56.7 ฿1,913

-47.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.01 R$5.43

$3.02 ฿102

-66.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.86 R$4.59

$1.02 ฿34.36

-15.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.77 R$30.89

$3.69 ฿125

56.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 R$6.68

$1.47 ฿49.81

-14.97%

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

$22.0K R$117.5K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

-18.02%

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

$31.9K R$170.4K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

19.34%

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

$92.1 R$493

$96.4 ฿3,254

-4.39%

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

$11.85 R$63.4

$11.26 ฿380

5.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.93 R$112

$16.85 ฿569

24.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.47 R$163

$67.2 ฿2,270

-54.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.29 R$141

$10.73 ฿362

145.01%

Cinema Ticket

$7.46 R$39.95

$7.50 ฿253

-0.53%

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

$764 R$4,091

$476 ฿16.1K

60.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.7K R$84.1K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

39.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 R$282

$62.4 ฿2,106

-15.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.10 R$225

$28.41 ฿959

48.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.4 R$425

$94.3 ฿3,184

-15.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.6 R$447

$85.8 ฿2,898

-2.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$517 R$2,767

$716 ฿24.2K

-27.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$242 R$1,292

$491 ฿16.6K

-50.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,156 R$6,188

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-39.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$580 R$3,102

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-59.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,398 R$12.8K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-42.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 R$8,979

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-44.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$784 R$4,197

$502 ฿17.0K

56.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.12

5.57

117.59%

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

Last update for Brasilia: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Brasilia

$242 26.4%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 103% $249

Groceries & Markets

Brasilia

$201 21.9%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 32.8% $66

Eating Out

Brasilia

$150 16.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 18.8% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Brasilia

$125 13.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 0.3% $0.4

Clothing & Footwear

Brasilia

$116 12.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 5.1% $5.9

Sport & Entertainment

Brasilia

$45 5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 81.1% $37

Getting Around

Brasilia

$38 4.1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 85.8% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $517 in Brasilia and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brasilia pays 56% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37 in Brasilia vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $201 vs $266, with Brasilia cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Brasilia

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

06:12 6:12 AM

16:12 4:12 PM

10 h ahead of Brasilia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,817,381 Capital

79,308

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.96 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Brasilia Phuket 16,250 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Brasilia
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

Brasilia vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brasilia and Phuket differ by about 39% in total monthly costs ($916 vs $1,278 including rent). Brasilia is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 56% higher in Brasilia, 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: $517 in Brasilia 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 $37 in Brasilia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $916 per month in Brasilia versus $1,278 in Phuket – a 39% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $916 in Brasilia versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Brasilia but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Brasilia 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.