Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Desamparados and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $1,692 in Desamparados, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

81

Cost of Living Index in Desamparados
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Desamparados Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Desamparados

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,692

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,692 per month in Desamparados vs $1,294 in Phuket, rent included.

Desamparados $1,692
Phuket $1,294

A couple spends around $2,664 per month in Desamparados vs $2,204 in Phuket, rent included.

Desamparados $2,664
Phuket $2,204

A family of three spends $3,636 per month in Desamparados vs $3,115 in Phuket, rent included.

Desamparados $3,636
Phuket $3,115

Desamparados costs about 31% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Desamparados sits 25% above the global median, while Phuket is 4% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.32 ₡5,539

$4.39 ฿148

180.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.8 ₡26.4K

$32.31 ฿1,090

81.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.56 ₡5,201

$8.70 ฿294

32.87%

Cappuccino

$4.30 ₡1,936

$2.72 ฿91.9

58.09%

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

$2.66 ₡1,195

$0.93 ฿31.39

186.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.92 ₡863

$0.50 ฿16.85

284.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.22 ₡1,450

$2.53 ฿85.4

27.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 ₡1,954

$3.63 ฿122

19.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.35 ₡1,055

$1.74 ฿58.7

35.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.77 ₡1,243

$1.45 ฿48.95

91.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.50 ₡1,124

$1.50 ฿50.7

66.67%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,604

$2.17 ฿73.3

64.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.86 ₡4,886

$19.09 ฿644

-43.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.28 ₡4,624

$3.40 ฿115

202.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.19 ₡6,383

$10.90 ฿368

30.18%

Apples (1kg)

$5.22 ₡2,348

$2.94 ฿99.2

77.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 ₡716

$1.69 ฿57.1

-5.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.27 ₡1,473

$2.19 ฿74.0

49.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.44 ₡1,549

$2.12 ฿71.7

62.26%

Potato (1kg)

$3.10 ₡1,395

$1.46 ฿49.21

112.33%

Onion (1kg)

$3.23 ₡1,452

$1.37 ฿46.15

135.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.05 ₡470

$1.08 ฿36.30

-2.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.71 ₡1,220

$0.55 ฿18.41

392.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.57 ₡2,505

$4.43 ฿149

25.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.73 ₡7,526

$18.25 ฿616

-8.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.60 ₡1,169

$1.77 ฿59.8

46.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.74 ₡1,233

$2.88 ฿97.2

-4.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.30 ₡586

$1.45 ฿48.84

-10.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,852

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.50 ₡1,123

$1.51 ฿51.0

65.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 ₡694

$0.78 ฿26.18

97.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.71 ₡3,917

$3.84 ฿130

126.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$1.49 ฿50.2

2.01%

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

$33.7K ₡15.1M

$26.9K ฿907.0K

25.30%

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

$42.4K ₡19.1M

$26.3K ฿888.9K

61.07%

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

$93.1 ₡41.8K

$97.8 ฿3,300

-4.87%

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

$29.52 ₡13.3K

$11.29 ฿381

161.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.9 ₡26.5K

$17.19 ฿580

242.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.0 ₡31.0K

$68.3 ฿2,305

1.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿368

Cinema Ticket

$7.49 ₡3,368

$7.43 ฿251

0.81%

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

$845 ₡380.0K

$530 ฿17.9K

59.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.2K ₡7.7M

$18.8K ฿633.7K

-8.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.0 ₡32.4K

$61.7 ฿2,081

16.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.9K

$28.25 ฿953

96.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 ₡57.1K

$96.0 ฿3,239

32.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 ₡60.1K

$86.8 ฿2,929

54.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$800 ₡359.7K

$721 ฿24.3K

10.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$636 ₡286.1K

$509 ฿17.2K

25.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,877 ₡844.1K

$1,950 ฿65.8K

-3.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,240 ₡557.6K

$1,397 ฿47.1K

-11.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿141.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿111.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

5.57

54.76%

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

Last update for Desamparados: November 1, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Desamparados

$636 37.6%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 20% $127

Groceries & Markets

Desamparados

$372 22%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 28.3% $105

Eating Out

Desamparados

$228 13.5%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 47.6% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Desamparados

$181 10.7%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 30.4% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Desamparados

$175 10.3%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 29.7% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Desamparados

$84 5%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 1% $0.8

Getting Around

Desamparados

$15 * 0.9%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 328% $51

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $800 in Desamparados versus $721 in Phuket. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $59 in Desamparados versus $32 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $372 vs $267 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Desamparados

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

13:48 1:48 PM

02:48 2:48 AM

13 h ahead of Desamparados

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

38,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.73 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Desamparados Phuket 18,020 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Desamparados
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

Desamparados vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,692 in Desamparados, $1,294 in Phuket – Phuket comes out roughly 24% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,538 per month in Desamparados and $1,940 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Phuket, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $721 there versus $800 in Desamparados.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $59 in Desamparados and $32 in Phuket. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 40% more in Desamparados, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Phuket, where all-in costs run around $1,294, than in Desamparados at $1,692. In Phuket it covers expenses comfortably, while in Desamparados it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Phuket – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.