Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Isabela and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Isabela: $1,258 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $430 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

61

Cost of Living Index in Isabela
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Isabela Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Isabela

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$1,258

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,258 in Isabela versus $1,294 in Phuket.

Isabela $1,258
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,974 in Isabela versus $2,204 in Phuket.

Isabela $1,974
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,690 in Isabela versus $3,115 in Phuket.

Isabela $2,690
Phuket $3,115

Living in Isabela costs roughly 3% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Isabela 7% lower, Phuket 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.01 $19.01

$4.39 ฿148

333.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.5 $81.5

$32.31 ฿1,086

152.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.95 $8.95

$8.70 ฿293

2.87%

Cappuccino

$3.62 $3.62

$2.72 ฿91.6

33.09%

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

$1.91 $1.91

$0.93 ฿31.28

105.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.51 $1.51

$0.50 ฿16.79

202.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.02 $3.02

$2.53 ฿85.1

19.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.09 $5.09

$3.63 ฿122

40.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 $1.97

$1.74 ฿58.5

13.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.81 $2.81

$1.45 ฿48.77

93.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.21 $1.21

$1.50 ฿50.5

-19.33%

Eggs

$2.95 $2.95

$2.17 ฿73.0

35.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.82 $10.82

$19.09 ฿642

-43.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.46 $6.46

$3.40 ฿114

90.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.50 $13.50

$10.90 ฿366

23.85%

Apples (1kg)

$4.37 $4.37

$2.94 ฿98.9

48.64%

Banana (1kg)

$2.62 $2.62

$1.69 ฿56.9

55.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.89 $4.89

$2.19 ฿73.8

123.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.71 $4.71

$2.12 ฿71.4

122.17%

Potato (1kg)

$3.85 $3.85

$1.46 ฿49.03

163.70%

Onion (1kg)

$4.07 $4.07

$1.37 ฿45.99

197.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.52 $3.52

$1.08 ฿36.17

225.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 $1.64

$0.55 ฿18.34

198.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.76 $11.76

$4.43 ฿149

165.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.43 $15.43

$18.25 ฿614

-15.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.99 $2.99

$1.77 ฿59.6

68.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.96 $3.96

$2.88 ฿96.8

37.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.66

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,845

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.46 $2.46

$1.51 ฿50.9

62.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 $1.54

$0.78 ฿26.08

97.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.55 $41.55

$3.84 ฿129

982.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.88 $0.88

$1.49 ฿50.0

-40.94%

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

$34.8K $34.8K

$26.9K ฿903.7K

29.36%

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

$28.1K $28.1K

$26.3K ฿885.7K

6.62%

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

$315 $315

$97.8 ฿3,288

221.87%

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

$68.8 $68.8

$11.29 ฿380

509.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.2 $70.2

$17.19 ฿578

308.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,297

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿367

Cinema Ticket

$10.38 $10.38

$7.43 ฿250

39.70%

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

$837 $837

$530 ฿17.8K

57.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.7K $12.7K

$18.8K ฿631.4K

-32.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.7 $56.7

$61.7 ฿2,073

-8.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.7 $61.7

$28.25 ฿950

118.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 $110

$96.0 ฿3,228

14.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 $115

$86.8 ฿2,919

32.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿47.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.55

5.57

17.59%

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

Last update for Isabela: November 3, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Isabela

$454 36.1%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 72.2% $328

Groceries & Markets

Isabela

$358 28.4%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 25.4% $91

Eating Out

Isabela

$261 20.8%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 54.3% $142

Clothing & Footwear

Isabela

$154 12.3%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 20.4% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Isabela

$21 * 1.7%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 301% $62

Getting Around

Isabela

$10 * 0.8%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 549% $56

Accommodation & Living

Isabela

- * 0%

Phuket

$509 39.3%

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $81 in Isabela vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $358 vs $267 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇷 Isabela

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:08 5:08 PM

04:08 4:08 AM

11 h ahead of Isabela

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

45,000

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.888 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.13 USD (1 USD = 0.888 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.85 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Isabela Phuket 16,670 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Isabela
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

Isabela vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Isabela wins on cost – living expenses run 3% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Isabela the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,887 in Isabela and $1,940 in Phuket to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $837 in Isabela versus $530 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 versus $81 in Isabela. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Isabela is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Isabela and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.