Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Iquique and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Iquique: $1,009 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Iquique
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Iquique Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Iquique

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,009

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,009 in Iquique versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Iquique $1,009
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,595 in Iquique versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Iquique $1,595
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,181 in Iquique versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Iquique $2,181
Phuket $2,845

Living in Iquique costs roughly 17% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Iquique 26% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.52 CLP 7,405

$4.40 ฿147

70.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.89 CLP 40.3K

$32.26 ฿1,078

26.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.09 CLP 6,979

$8.76 ฿293

-19.06%

Cappuccino

$3.45 CLP 3,400

$2.83 ฿94.5

21.91%

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

$1.24 CLP 1,219

$0.90 ฿30.14

37.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 CLP 1,002

$0.47 ฿15.56

117.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 CLP 3,141

$2.55 ฿85.2

25.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.62 CLP 3,562

$3.83 ฿128

-5.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 CLP 1,102

$1.73 ฿57.7

-35.26%

White Bread (500g)

$1.17 CLP 1,148

$1.47 ฿49.11

-20.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.30 CLP 1,275

$1.51 ฿50.6

-13.91%

Eggs

$2.97 CLP 2,928

$2.17 ฿72.7

36.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.38 CLP 10.2K

$19.70 ฿658

-47.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.13 CLP 9,973

$3.34 ฿112

203.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 CLP 2,263

$2.85 ฿95.1

-19.30%

Banana (1kg)

$2.24 CLP 2,205

$1.70 ฿56.9

31.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.49 CLP 1,466

$2.19 ฿73.3

-31.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.09 CLP 1,071

$2.05 ฿68.4

-46.83%

Potato (1kg)

$0.73 CLP 722

$1.45 ฿48.57

-49.66%

Onion (1kg)

$0.58 CLP 574

$1.38 ฿46.16

-57.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.05 CLP 1,030

$1.07 ฿35.69

-1.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 CLP 1,328

$0.51 ฿16.91

164.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.01 CLP 6,904

$4.26 ฿142

64.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.60 CLP 7,477

$18.58 ฿621

-59.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 CLP 793

$2.85 ฿95.2

-71.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 CLP 666

$2.26 ฿75.6

-69.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 CLP 1,419

$1.45 ฿48.45

-0.69%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

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

$85.7 CLP 84.4K

$96.4 ฿3,221

-11.09%

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

$15.04 CLP 14.8K

$11.04 ฿369

36.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.18 CLP 22.8K

$17.14 ฿573

35.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.1 CLP 49.3K

$52.2 ฿1,744

-4.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$6.87 CLP 6,764

$7.81 ฿261

-12.04%

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

$251 CLP 247.1K

$556 ฿18.6K

-54.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$30.07 CLP 29.6K

$64.2 ฿2,146

-53.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.86 CLP 22.5K

$28.69 ฿959

-20.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$45.02 CLP 44.3K

$95.4 ฿3,187

-52.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.8 CLP 56.9K

$88.0 ฿2,940

-34.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$413 CLP 406.6K

$737 ฿24.6K

-43.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$394 CLP 388.3K

$462 ฿15.5K

-14.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$690 CLP 679.5K

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-67.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$781 CLP 769.1K

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-34.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,709 CLP 1.7M

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-51.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,902 CLP 1.9M

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-24.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$934 CLP 919.7K

$501 ฿16.7K

86.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.5

5.57

34.65%

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

Last update for Iquique: October 18, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Iquique

$394 39.1%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 17.2% $68

Groceries & Markets

Iquique

$199 * 19.7%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 35.3% $70

Eating Out

Iquique

$155 15.4%

Phuket

$121 10% 21.8% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Iquique

$124 12.3%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 0.5% $0.7

Clothing & Footwear

Iquique

$70 7%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 77.4% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Iquique

$64 6.3%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 6.2% $4

Getting Around

Iquique

$2.7 * 0.3%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 1355% $37

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 $413 in Iquique and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Iquique pays 87% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $41.00 in Iquique vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $199 vs $269, with Iquique cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇱 Iquique

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

10:18 10:18 AM

20:18 8:18 PM

10 h ahead of Iquique

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

188,003

79,308

💱 Currency

Chilean Peso CLP $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 CLP = 10.16 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CLP – Chilean Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇱 Chilean Peso ($)

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 984 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,107 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CLP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Iquique Phuket 18,170 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Iquique
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

Iquique vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Iquique and Phuket differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($1,009 vs $1,208 including rent). Iquique is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 87% higher in Iquique, 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: $413 in Iquique versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,009 per month in Iquique versus $1,208 in Phuket – a 20% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,009 in Iquique versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Iquique but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Iquique the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Iquique 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 Iquique gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.