Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Carenage and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Carenage: $770 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

37

Cost of Living Index in Carenage
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Carenage Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Carenage

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$770

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $770 per month in Carenage vs $1,278 in Phuket, rent included.

Carenage $770
Phuket $1,278

A couple spends around $1,322 per month in Carenage vs $2,216 in Phuket, rent included.

Carenage $1,322
Phuket $2,216

A family of three spends $1,873 per month in Carenage vs $3,154 in Phuket, rent included.

Carenage $1,873
Phuket $3,154

Carenage is about 40% cheaper than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Carenage and Phuket are more affordable than the global median – Carenage 43% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.52 TTD 70.6

$4.47 ฿151

135.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.1 TTD 403

$32.41 ฿1,094

85.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.98 TTD 53.6

$8.81 ฿297

-9.42%

Cappuccino

$3.81 TTD 25.61

$2.83 ฿95.5

34.63%

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

$1.00 TTD 6.72

$0.87 ฿29.43

14.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.77 TTD 5.18

$0.49 ฿16.67

57.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.88 TTD 12.64

$2.56 ฿86.4

-26.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.65 TTD 17.76

$3.68 ฿124

-27.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.99 TTD 13.38

$1.66 ฿56.0

19.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 TTD 14.99

$1.46 ฿49.35

52.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.82 TTD 18.90

$1.50 ฿50.6

88.00%

Eggs

$3.78 TTD 25.36

$2.09 ฿70.5

80.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.52 TTD 43.78

$19.07 ฿644

-65.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.18 TTD 68.3

$3.30 ฿111

208.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.12 TTD 61.2

$10.91 ฿368

-16.41%

Apples (1kg)

$5.37 TTD 36.08

$2.93 ฿99.0

83.28%

Banana (1kg)

$2.54 TTD 17.02

$1.69 ฿57.1

50.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.75 TTD 25.20

$2.25 ฿75.8

66.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.39 TTD 29.50

$2.08 ฿70.1

111.06%

Potato (1kg)

$0.77 TTD 5.20

$1.51 ฿51.0

-49.01%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 TTD 5.14

$1.38 ฿46.56

-44.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 TTD 10.13

$1.07 ฿35.99

41.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 TTD 8.12

$0.52 ฿17.52

132.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.77 TTD 38.74

$4.20 ฿142

37.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.75 TTD 119

$18.79 ฿634

-5.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 TTD 10.02

$1.82 ฿61.5

-18.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.96 TTD 19.88

$2.84 ฿95.9

4.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 TTD 6.19

$3.02 ฿102

-69.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 TTD 6.17

$1.02 ฿34.36

-9.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.71 TTD 98.8

$3.69 ฿125

298.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.16 TTD 7.79

$1.47 ฿49.81

-21.09%

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

$36.7K TTD 246.7K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

37.24%

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

$41.9K TTD 281.5K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

57.12%

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

$44.12 TTD 296

$96.4 ฿3,254

-54.21%

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

$42.12 TTD 283

$11.26 ฿380

274.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.59 TTD 306

$16.85 ฿569

170.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$8.62 TTD 57.9

$7.50 ฿253

14.93%

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

$407 TTD 2,730

$476 ฿16.1K

-14.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.6K TTD 71.4K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-5.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.8 TTD 368

$62.4 ฿2,106

-12.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.18 TTD 250

$28.41 ฿959

30.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.7 TTD 602

$94.3 ฿3,184

-4.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.4 TTD 587

$85.8 ฿2,898

1.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.75

5.57

3.23%

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

Last update for Carenage: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Carenage

$319 41.4%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 16.5% $53

Eating Out

Carenage

$176 22.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 30.7% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Carenage

$132 17.1%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 5.6% $7.4

Clothing & Footwear

Carenage

$121 15.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 0.7% $0.8

Sport & Entertainment

Carenage

$17 * 2.2%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 377% $65

Getting Around

Carenage

$5.5 * 0.7%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 1179% $65

Accommodation & Living

Carenage

- * 0%

Phuket

$491 38.4%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $60 in Carenage versus $32 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $319 vs $266 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇹 Carenage

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

15:01 3:01 PM

02:01 2:01 AM

11 h ahead of Carenage

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

25,370

79,308

💱 Currency

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.134 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to TTD – Trinidad and Tobago Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago Dollar ($)

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.71 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.47 TTD (1 TTD = 0.134 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 TTD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Carenage Phuket 16,990 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Carenage
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

Carenage vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Phuket is pricier by about 66%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,155 per month in Carenage and $1,917 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $60 in Carenage and $32 in Phuket. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 16% cheaper in Phuket – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Carenage, where all-in costs run around $770, than in Phuket at $1,278. In Carenage it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phuket it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Phuket has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $770 in Carenage to $1,278 in Phuket. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.