Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Estepona and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,807 in Estepona, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Estepona
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Estepona Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Estepona

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,807

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,807 in Estepona versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Estepona $1,807
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,759 in Estepona versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Estepona $2,759
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,712 in Estepona versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Estepona $3,712
Phuket $2,867

Living in Estepona is roughly 50% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Estepona is 34% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.42 €17.28

$4.58 ฿153

324.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.0 €69.4

$32.48 ฿1,086

140.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.05 €8.94

$8.55 ฿286

17.54%

Cappuccino

$2.67 €2.37

$2.72 ฿91.0

-1.84%

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

$2.37 €2.11

$0.94 ฿31.25

152.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 €1.81

$0.49 ฿16.39

314.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.34 €3.86

$2.59 ฿86.6

67.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 €3.93

$3.83 ฿128

15.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 €1.10

$1.74 ฿58.1

-28.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.67 €1.49

$1.43 ฿47.82

16.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.53 ฿51.0

0.65%

Eggs

$3.47 €3.09

$2.17 ฿72.7

59.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.51 €12.01

$19.15 ฿640

-29.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.15 €7.25

$3.30 ฿110

146.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.81 €14.07

$11.14 ฿372

41.92%

Apples (1kg)

$3.54 €3.15

$2.95 ฿98.5

20.00%

Banana (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.68 ฿56.1

23.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$2.30 ฿76.8

-4.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.11 €2.77

$2.13 ฿71.3

46.01%

Potato (1kg)

$2.24 €2.00

$1.53 ฿51.1

46.41%

Onion (1kg)

$2.17 €1.93

$1.36 ฿45.55

59.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.68 €1.50

$1.12 ฿37.44

50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.55 ฿18.24

98.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.72 €5.97

$4.26 ฿142

57.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.92 €5.27

$18.19 ฿608

-67.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.74 ฿58.2

-15.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.90 €2.58

$2.79 ฿93.3

3.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.76 €2.46

$2.22 ฿74.1

24.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.75 €1.55

$2.91 ฿97.3

-39.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.04 €0.93

$1.01 ฿33.79

2.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.38 €11.90

$3.83 ฿128

249.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.84 €1.64

$1.49 ฿49.85

23.49%

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

$35.5K €31.6K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

33.04%

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

$29.2K €26.0K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

9.34%

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

$120 €107

$99.4 ฿3,321

20.70%

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

$15.97 €14.21

$11.28 ฿377

41.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 €27.34

$17.36 ฿580

77.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.96 €40.00

$52.3 ฿1,747

-14.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.60 €20.11

$10.85 ฿362

108.29%

Cinema Ticket

$11.29 €10.04

$7.57 ฿253

49.14%

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

$554 €493

$558 ฿18.7K

-0.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,051 €7,162

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-29.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.5 €50.3

$62.9 ฿2,102

-10.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.50 €36.91

$28.58 ฿955

45.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.9 €85.3

$96.1 ฿3,213

-0.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.5 €88.5

$88.1 ฿2,943

12.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,186 €1,055

$729 ฿24.4K

62.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$869 €773

$460 ฿15.4K

88.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,227 €1,981

$2,096 ฿70.0K

6.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,421 €1,264

$1,222 ฿40.8K

16.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,673 €4,157

$3,459 ฿115.6K

35.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,540 €4,038

$2,489 ฿83.2K

82.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,459 €1,298

$493 ฿16.5K

195.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.5

5.57

-37.16%

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

Last update for Estepona: October 12, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Estepona

$869 48.1%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 47% $409

Groceries & Markets

Estepona

$288 16%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 7.2% $21

Eating Out

Estepona

$266 14.7%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 54.3% $144

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Estepona

$167 9.2%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 23.2% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Estepona

$132 7.3%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 6% $8

Sport & Entertainment

Estepona

$68 3.7%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 0.2% $0.1

Getting Around

Estepona

$18 * 1%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 116% $21

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,186 in Estepona and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Estepona pays 196% 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: $78.0 in Estepona vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Estepona

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

19:16 7:16 PM

00:16 12:16 AM

5 h ahead of Estepona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

76,975

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

Estepona Phuket 10,680 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Estepona
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

Estepona vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 50% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 196% higher in Estepona, 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: $1,186 in Estepona versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $554 in Estepona versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $78.0 in Estepona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,807 in Estepona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Estepona. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Estepona, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Estepona 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 50% less than in Estepona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.