Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Guanacaste and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,534 in Guanacaste, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Guanacaste
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Guanacaste Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Guanacaste

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,534

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,534 per month in Guanacaste vs $1,278 in Phuket, rent included.

Guanacaste $1,534
Phuket $1,278

A couple spends around $2,421 per month in Guanacaste vs $2,216 in Phuket, rent included.

Guanacaste $2,421
Phuket $2,216

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Guanacaste vs $3,154 in Phuket, rent included.

Guanacaste $3,307
Phuket $3,154

Guanacaste costs about 20% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Guanacaste sits 13% above the global median, while Phuket is 6% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.77 ₡4,860

$4.47 ฿151

140.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.69 ₡21.5K

$32.41 ฿1,094

47.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 ₡5,270

$8.81 ฿297

32.58%

Cappuccino

$4.44 ₡2,003

$2.83 ฿95.5

56.89%

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

$2.70 ₡1,220

$0.87 ฿29.43

210.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 ₡871

$0.49 ฿16.67

293.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 ₡1,398

$2.56 ฿86.4

21.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,019

$3.68 ฿124

21.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.04 ₡921

$1.66 ฿56.0

22.89%

White Bread (500g)

$3.19 ₡1,439

$1.46 ฿49.35

118.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 ₡1,091

$1.50 ฿50.6

61.33%

Eggs

$3.59 ₡1,618

$2.09 ฿70.5

71.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.63 ₡2,542

$19.07 ฿644

-70.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.30 ₡1,942

$3.30 ฿111

30.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.09 ₡5,005

$10.91 ฿368

1.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.68 ₡1,210

$2.93 ฿99.0

-8.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 ₡708

$1.69 ฿57.1

-7.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.40 ₡1,988

$2.25 ฿75.8

95.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 ₡689

$2.08 ฿70.1

-26.44%

Potato (1kg)

$3.86 ₡1,744

$1.51 ฿51.0

155.63%

Onion (1kg)

$2.25 ₡1,017

$1.38 ฿46.56

63.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 ₡406

$1.07 ฿35.99

-15.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.07 ₡1,385

$0.52 ฿17.52

490.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.34 ₡1,958

$4.20 ฿142

3.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.25 ₡9,140

$18.79 ฿634

7.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 ₡1,261

$1.82 ฿61.5

53.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,202

$2.84 ฿95.9

-6.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.29 ₡584

$1.45 ฿49.03

-11.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.50 ₡1,128

$3.02 ฿102

-17.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡706

$1.02 ฿34.36

53.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.85 ₡3,996

$3.69 ฿125

139.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 ₡709

$1.47 ฿49.81

6.80%

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

$33.7K ₡15.2M

$26.8K ฿904.3K

25.88%

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

$41.3K ₡18.6M

$26.7K ฿901.3K

54.57%

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

$93.5 ₡42.2K

$96.4 ฿3,254

-2.94%

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

$36.18 ₡16.3K

$11.26 ฿380

221.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.69 ₡14.7K

$16.85 ฿569

94.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.5 ₡30.0K

$67.2 ฿2,270

-1.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.85 ₡3,542

$7.50 ฿253

4.67%

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

$968 ₡436.8K

$476 ฿16.1K

103.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.5K ₡7.9M

$11.3K ฿380.4K

55.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.5 ₡30.0K

$62.4 ฿2,106

6.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.53 ₡20.1K

$28.41 ฿959

56.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.6 ₡39.1K

$94.3 ฿3,184

-8.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 ₡35.3K

$85.8 ฿2,898

-8.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$795 ₡358.9K

$716 ฿24.2K

11.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 ₡279.6K

$491 ฿16.6K

26.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,899 ₡856.7K

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-1.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,279 ₡577.2K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-10.59%

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 %)

8.62

5.57

54.76%

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

Last update for Guanacaste: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Guanacaste

$620 40.4%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 20.8% $129

Groceries & Markets

Guanacaste

$312 20.4%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 14.8% $46

Eating Out

Guanacaste

$217 14.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 44% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Guanacaste

$162 10.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 23.3% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Guanacaste

$124 8.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 1.8% $2.2

Sport & Entertainment

Guanacaste

$82 5.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 0.1% $0.1

Getting Around

Guanacaste

$16 * 1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 355% $55

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $795 in Guanacaste versus $716 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 $48 in Guanacaste versus $32 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $312 vs $266 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Guanacaste

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

08:55 8:55 AM

21:55 9:55 PM

13 h ahead of Guanacaste

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,823

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 = 2.66 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 502 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 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 CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Guanacaste Phuket 17,970 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Guanacaste
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

Guanacaste vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Guanacaste is pricier by about 20%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,301 per month in Guanacaste and $1,917 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 $716 there versus $795 in Guanacaste.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,534 in Guanacaste and $1,278 in Phuket. That’s a gap of about 20%.

Kindergarten costs $968 per month in Guanacaste and $476 in Phuket. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Phuket, where all-in costs run around $1,278, than in Guanacaste at $1,534. In Phuket it covers expenses comfortably, while in Guanacaste 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.