Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cartagena and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,427 in Cartagena, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

69

Cost of Living Index in Cartagena
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Cartagena Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Cartagena

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,427

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,427 in Cartagena versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Cartagena $1,427
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,095 in Cartagena versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Cartagena $2,095
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,762 in Cartagena versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Cartagena $2,762
Phuket $2,867

Living in Cartagena is roughly 18% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cartagena is 6% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.84 €12.31

$4.58 ฿153

202.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.0 €48.90

$32.48 ฿1,086

69.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.60 €6.76

$8.55 ฿286

-11.11%

Cappuccino

$2.56 €2.27

$2.72 ฿91.0

-5.88%

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

$2.45 €2.18

$0.94 ฿31.25

160.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 €1.64

$0.49 ฿16.39

275.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.43 €3.05

$2.59 ฿86.6

32.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.98 €3.54

$3.83 ฿128

3.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 €1.07

$1.74 ฿58.1

-30.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 €1.05

$1.43 ฿47.82

-17.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.55 €2.26

$1.53 ฿51.0

66.67%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.52

$2.17 ฿72.7

82.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.48

$19.15 ฿640

-32.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.94 €6.18

$3.30 ฿110

110.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.67 €16.60

$11.14 ฿372

67.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.39 €2.13

$2.95 ฿98.5

-18.98%

Banana (1kg)

$2.52 €2.24

$1.68 ฿56.1

50.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.61 €1.43

$2.30 ฿76.8

-30.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.09 €2.75

$2.13 ฿71.3

45.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.53 ฿51.1

-18.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.24 €1.10

$1.36 ฿45.55

-8.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 €1.40

$1.12 ฿37.44

40.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 €0.62

$0.55 ฿18.24

25.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.64 €5.02

$4.26 ฿142

32.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.24 €5.55

$18.19 ฿608

-65.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.74 ฿58.2

-28.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.13 €1.00

$2.79 ฿93.3

-59.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.43 €1.27

$2.22 ฿74.1

-35.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.14 €9.91

$22.06 ฿737

-49.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.50 €4.90

$2.91 ฿97.3

89.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.01 ฿33.79

122.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.49 €24.45

$3.83 ฿128

617.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.77 €1.58

$1.49 ฿49.85

18.79%

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

$35.1K €31.2K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

31.59%

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

$30.2K €26.8K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

12.90%

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

$210 €187

$99.4 ฿3,321

111.36%

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

$19.74 €17.56

$11.28 ฿377

75.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.70 €25.53

$17.36 ฿580

65.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.14 €36.59

$52.3 ฿1,747

-21.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.80 €11.39

$10.85 ฿362

17.97%

Cinema Ticket

$7.70 €6.85

$7.57 ฿253

1.72%

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

$416 €370

$558 ฿18.7K

-25.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,726 €2,425

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-76.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.17 €41.96

$62.9 ฿2,102

-24.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.38 €31.47

$28.58 ฿955

23.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.1 €54.3

$96.1 ฿3,213

-36.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 €89.7

$88.1 ฿2,943

14.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$591 €525

$729 ฿24.4K

-19.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$492 €438

$460 ฿15.4K

6.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$836 €743

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-60.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$708 €630

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-42.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,770 €1,574

$3,459 ฿115.6K

-48.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,433 €1,275

$2,489 ฿83.2K

-42.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,720 €1,530

$493 ฿16.5K

248.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

5.57

-27.11%

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

Last update for Cartagena: October 10, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cartagena

$492 34.5%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 6.5% $32

Groceries & Markets

Cartagena

$270 18.9%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 0.9% $2.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cartagena

$258 18.1%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 50.5% $130

Eating Out

Cartagena

$206 14.5%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 41.2% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Cartagena

$110 7.7%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 12.8% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Cartagena

$57 4%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 19.2% $11

Getting Around

Cartagena

$34 2.4%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 15.8% $5.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $591 in Cartagena and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cartagena pays 249% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $55.0 in Cartagena vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $270 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Cartagena

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

01:34 1:34 AM

06:34 6:34 AM

5 h ahead of Cartagena

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

218,050

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Cartagena Phuket 10,290 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cartagena
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

Cartagena vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 18% lower than in Cartagena. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 249% higher in Cartagena, 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: $591 in Cartagena versus $729 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 $32.00 versus $55.0 in Cartagena. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,427 per month in Cartagena versus $1,207 in Phuket – a 18% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,427 in Cartagena, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Cartagena. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Phuket delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,207 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Cartagena and Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 18% less than in Cartagena. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.