Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mar del Plata and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Mar del Plata: $1,038 a month against $1,190 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Mar del Plata
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Mar del Plata Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Mar del Plata

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,038

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,038 in Mar del Plata versus $1,190 in Phuket.

Mar del Plata $1,038
Phuket $1,190

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,787 in Mar del Plata versus $2,006 in Phuket.

Mar del Plata $1,787
Phuket $2,006

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,536 in Mar del Plata versus $2,822 in Phuket.

Mar del Plata $2,536
Phuket $2,822

Living in Mar del Plata costs roughly 13% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Mar del Plata 23% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.74 ARS 29.9K

$4.35 ฿146

353.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 ARS 91.4K

$32.45 ฿1,091

85.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.52 ARS 19.0K

$8.42 ฿283

48.69%

Cappuccino

$3.13 ARS 4,741

$2.81 ฿94.4

11.39%

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

$2.51 ARS 3,812

$0.87 ฿29.42

188.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 ARS 3,070

$0.46 ฿15.46

341.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.06 ARS 6,149

$2.59 ฿86.9

56.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 ARS 4,584

$3.64 ฿123

-17.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.08 ARS 1,634

$1.71 ฿57.4

-36.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 ARS 3,329

$1.45 ฿48.62

51.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.16 ARS 4,784

$1.56 ฿52.5

102.56%

Eggs

$2.36 ARS 3,573

$2.10 ฿70.6

12.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.86 ARS 8,882

$19.53 ฿656

-69.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 ARS 10.1K

$3.40 ฿114

95.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.52 ARS 19.0K

$11.14 ฿375

12.39%

Apples (1kg)

$3.32 ARS 5,028

$2.83 ฿95.2

17.31%

Banana (1kg)

$2.43 ARS 3,685

$1.62 ฿54.6

50.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.48 ARS 2,241

$2.22 ฿74.8

-33.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ARS 3,114

$2.15 ฿72.2

-4.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 ฿50.2

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 ARS 1,532

$1.33 ฿44.59

-24.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.87

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.08

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 ARS 5,461

$4.38 ฿147

-17.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$2.94 ARS 4,455

$18.77 ฿631

-84.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.3

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.29 ARS 1,954

$2.17 ฿72.9

-40.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.28 ฿749

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.63 ARS 2,467

$3.02 ฿101

-46.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 ARS 967

$1.06 ฿35.57

-39.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.40 ARS 9,704

$3.71 ฿125

72.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,063

$1.43 ฿48.08

-4.90%

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

$26.3K ฿885.8K

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

$26.2K ฿881.0K

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

$79.0 ARS 119.8K

$96.7 ฿3,250

-18.26%

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

$8.23 ARS 12.5K

$11.41 ฿384

-27.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.10 ARS 45.6K

$17.11 ฿575

75.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.31 ARS 47.5K

$52.8 ฿1,775

-40.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.07 ฿372

Cinema Ticket

$10.07 ARS 15.3K

$7.65 ฿257

31.63%

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

$304 ARS 460.3K

$555 ฿18.7K

-45.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.3K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 ARS 133.0K

$63.4 ฿2,132

38.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.61 ฿962

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 ARS 184.2K

$96.7 ฿3,252

25.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$54.8 ARS 83.1K

$88.6 ฿2,979

-38.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$328 ARS 497.0K

$735 ฿24.7K

-55.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$253 ARS 383.8K

$458 ฿15.4K

-44.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$801 ARS 1.2M

$2,102 ฿70.7K

-61.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 ARS 992.0K

$1,187 ฿39.9K

-44.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,493 ฿117.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,491 ฿83.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$610 ARS 925.2K

$501 ฿16.8K

21.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

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

Last update for Mar del Plata: October 4, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Eating Out

Mar del Plata

$278 27%

Phuket

$119 9.9% 57% $158

Accommodation & Living

Mar del Plata

$253 24.7%

Phuket

$458 38.1% 80.9% $205

Groceries & Markets

Mar del Plata

$198 * 19.3%

Phuket

$268 22.3% 35.1% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Mar del Plata

$119 * 11.6%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 5% $6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mar del Plata

$117 11.4%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 6.7% $7.9

Sport & Entertainment

Mar del Plata

$51 5%

Phuket

$68 5.7% 32.4% $17

Getting Around

Mar del Plata

$10 * 1%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 294% $29

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 $328 in Mar del Plata and $735 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mar del Plata pays 22% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $60.0 in Mar del Plata vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $198 vs $268, with Mar del Plata cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Mar del Plata

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

05:18 5:18 AM

15:18 3:18 PM

10 h ahead of Mar del Plata

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

593,337

79,308

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,516 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD). 1 EUR = 1,700 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.71 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mar del Plata Phuket 15,890 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Mar del Plata
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

Mar del Plata vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mar del Plata wins on cost – living expenses run 15% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Mar del Plata the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 22% higher in Mar del Plata, 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: $328 in Mar del Plata versus $735 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 $1,038 per month in Mar del Plata versus $1,190 in Phuket – a 15% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,038 in Mar del Plata versus $1,190 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Mar del Plata but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Mar del Plata the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Mar del Plata delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,038 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Mar del Plata hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Mar del Plata 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 Mar del Plata gentler on the wallet – expenses run 15% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.