Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Oranjestad and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,346 in Oranjestad, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

112

Cost of Living Index in Oranjestad
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Oranjestad Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Oranjestad

🇦🇼 Aruba

$2,346

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,346 in Oranjestad versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Oranjestad $2,346
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,175 in Oranjestad versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Oranjestad $4,175
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,004 in Oranjestad versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Oranjestad $6,004
Phuket $3,154

Living in Oranjestad is roughly 84% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Oranjestad is 72% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.02 AWG 39.40

$4.47 ฿151

392.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.3 AWG 142

$32.41 ฿1,094

144.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.15 AWG 18.17

$8.81 ฿297

15.21%

Cappuccino

$4.33 AWG 7.74

$2.83 ฿95.4

53.00%

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

$1.48 AWG 2.65

$0.87 ฿29.42

70.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 AWG 2.99

$0.49 ฿16.66

240.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.97 AWG 5.32

$2.56 ฿86.3

16.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 AWG 6.99

$3.68 ฿124

6.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 AWG 3.43

$1.66 ฿56.0

15.66%

White Bread (500g)

$2.89 AWG 5.17

$1.46 ฿49.32

97.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.83 AWG 5.06

$1.50 ฿50.5

88.67%

Eggs

$5.36 AWG 9.59

$2.09 ฿70.5

156.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.53 AWG 22.42

$19.07 ฿643

-34.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.17 AWG 16.41

$3.30 ฿111

177.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.36 AWG 22.12

$10.91 ฿368

13.29%

Apples (1kg)

$4.73 AWG 8.47

$2.93 ฿98.9

61.43%

Banana (1kg)

$2.30 AWG 4.12

$1.69 ฿57.0

36.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.11 AWG 9.14

$2.25 ฿75.8

127.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.56 AWG 6.37

$2.08 ฿70.1

71.15%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 AWG 3.87

$1.51 ฿51.0

43.05%

Onion (1kg)

$2.03 AWG 3.63

$1.38 ฿46.54

47.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.59 AWG 4.63

$1.07 ฿35.97

142.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 AWG 2.84

$0.52 ฿17.51

205.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.17 AWG 18.19

$4.20 ฿142

142.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.19 AWG 18.24

$18.79 ฿634

-45.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.95 AWG 7.08

$1.82 ฿61.5

117.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 AWG 7.90

$2.84 ฿95.9

55.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.14 AWG 3.83

$1.45 ฿49.00

47.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.60 AWG 54.8

$56.7 ฿1,912

-45.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$16.76 AWG 30.00

$3.02 ฿102

454.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.90 AWG 6.98

$1.02 ฿34.34

282.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.70 AWG 44.20

$3.69 ฿125

569.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 AWG 3.67

$1.47 ฿49.78

39.46%

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

$26.3K AWG 47.1K

$26.8K ฿903.7K

-1.63%

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

$34.9K AWG 62.5K

$26.7K ฿900.8K

30.88%

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

$256 AWG 458

$96.4 ฿3,252

165.57%

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

$48.94 AWG 87.6

$11.26 ฿380

334.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$107 AWG 191

$16.85 ฿569

533.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.3 AWG 113

$67.2 ฿2,269

-5.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.89 AWG 46.32

$10.73 ฿362

141.29%

Cinema Ticket

$11.75 AWG 21.02

$7.50 ฿253

56.67%

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

$252 AWG 451

$476 ฿16.1K

-47.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,767 AWG 15.7K

$11.3K ฿380.1K

-22.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.9 AWG 105

$62.4 ฿2,105

-5.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.4 AWG 92.0

$28.41 ฿959

80.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 AWG 191

$94.3 ฿3,182

13.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 AWG 188

$85.8 ฿2,896

22.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$932 AWG 1,668

$716 ฿24.2K

30.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$967 AWG 1,731

$491 ฿16.6K

97.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,676 AWG 4,790

$1,927 ฿65.0K

38.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 AWG 5,408

$1,431 ฿48.3K

111.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,284 AWG 4,087

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-45.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,709 AWG 3,059

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-43.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,690 AWG 3,024

$502 ฿17.0K

236.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.25

5.57

12.21%

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

Last update for Oranjestad: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Oranjestad

$967 41.3%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 49.3% $477

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Oranjestad

$412 17.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 69.8% $287

Groceries & Markets

Oranjestad

$366 15.6%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 27.3% $100

Eating Out

Oranjestad

$294 12.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 58.6% $172

Clothing & Footwear

Oranjestad

$145 6.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 15.8% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Oranjestad

$87 3.7%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 5.3% $4.6

Getting Around

Oranjestad

$75 3.2%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 6.4% $4.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $932 in Oranjestad and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Oranjestad pays about 3.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $79 in Oranjestad vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $366 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇼 Oranjestad

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

02:00 2:00 AM

13:00 1:00 PM

11 h ahead of Oranjestad

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

35,000 Capital

79,308

💱 Currency

Aruban Florin AWG ƒ

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AWG = 0.559 USD

1 AWG = 0.5 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to AWG – Aruban Florin Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇼 Aruban Florin (ƒ)

Aruban Florin exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.79 AWG (1 AWG = 0.559 USD). 1 EUR = 2 AWG (1 AWG = 0.5 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to AWG in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Oranjestad Phuket 17,410 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Oranjestad
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

Oranjestad vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,346 in Oranjestad and $1,278 in Phuket, so Phuket is about 46% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Oranjestad is about 3.4 times higher, 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: $932 in Oranjestad versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Oranjestad runs roughly 46% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $252 in Oranjestad versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,346 in Oranjestad, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Oranjestad. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket 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, Oranjestad and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Oranjestad on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.