Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Palmas and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Palmas: $830 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Palmas
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Palmas Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Palmas

🇧🇷 Brazil

$830

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $830 per month in Palmas vs $1,294 in Phuket, rent included.

Palmas $830
Phuket $1,294

A couple spends around $1,281 per month in Palmas vs $2,204 in Phuket, rent included.

Palmas $1,281
Phuket $2,204

A family of three spends $1,733 per month in Palmas vs $3,115 in Phuket, rent included.

Palmas $1,733
Phuket $3,115

Palmas is about 36% cheaper than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Palmas and Phuket are more affordable than the global median – Palmas 39% lower, Phuket 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.83 R$21.01

$4.39 ฿148

-12.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.86 R$120

$32.31 ฿1,090

-32.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.41 R$40.65

$8.70 ฿294

-14.83%

Cappuccino

$1.73 R$9.48

$2.72 ฿91.9

-36.40%

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

$1.63 R$8.96

$0.93 ฿31.38

75.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 R$4.45

$0.50 ฿16.85

62.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.46 R$7.99

$2.53 ฿85.4

-42.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 R$14.91

$3.63 ฿122

-25.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 R$5.60

$1.74 ฿58.7

-41.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.34 R$7.36

$1.45 ฿48.93

-7.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.76 R$15.15

$1.50 ฿50.7

84.00%

Eggs

$2.41 R$13.24

$2.17 ฿73.3

11.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.62 R$36.36

$19.09 ฿644

-65.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.95 R$16.20

$3.40 ฿115

-13.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.75 R$31.58

$10.90 ฿368

-47.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.18 R$11.97

$2.94 ฿99.2

-25.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 R$8.57

$1.69 ฿57.1

-7.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.13 R$6.21

$2.19 ฿74.0

-48.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.08 R$5.93

$2.12 ฿71.6

-49.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.19 R$6.51

$1.46 ฿49.19

-18.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.72

$1.37 ฿46.14

-24.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$4.13

$1.08 ฿36.29

-30.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 R$3.90

$0.55 ฿18.40

29.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.06 R$11.30

$4.43 ฿149

-53.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.42 R$35.25

$18.25 ฿616

-64.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 R$6.81

$1.77 ฿59.8

-29.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 R$11.02

$2.88 ฿97.2

-30.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.74 R$4.09

$1.45 ฿48.82

-48.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.72 R$229

$54.9 ฿1,851

-23.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.30 R$7.14

$1.51 ฿51.0

-13.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.70 R$3.83

$0.78 ฿26.17

-10.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.26 R$34.35

$3.84 ฿129

63.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 R$6.08

$1.49 ฿50.2

-25.50%

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

$19.7K R$108.0K

$26.9K ฿906.7K

-26.80%

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

$30.8K R$169.3K

$26.3K ฿888.6K

17.09%

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

$106 R$581

$97.8 ฿3,299

8.20%

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

$10.92 R$59.9

$11.29 ฿381

-3.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.50 R$102

$17.19 ฿580

7.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.99 R$121

$68.3 ฿2,305

-67.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.12 R$143

$10.92 ฿368

139.19%

Cinema Ticket

$6.13 R$33.62

$7.43 ฿251

-17.50%

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

$142 R$779

$530 ฿17.9K

-73.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,428 R$35.3K

$18.8K ฿633.5K

-65.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.94 R$186

$61.7 ฿2,080

-44.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.29 R$271

$28.25 ฿953

74.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 R$582

$96.0 ฿3,238

10.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.9 R$367

$86.8 ฿2,928

-22.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$309 R$1,696

$721 ฿24.3K

-57.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$233 R$1,276

$509 ฿17.2K

-54.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$611 R$3,354

$1,950 ฿65.8K

-68.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$461 R$2,532

$1,397 ฿47.1K

-66.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,616 R$8,869

$4,192 ฿141.4K

-61.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,140 R$6,257

$3,298 ฿111.3K

-65.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

97.49%

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

Last update for Palmas: November 2, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Palmas

$233 28%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 119% $276

Groceries & Markets

Palmas

$167 20.1%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 60.1% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Palmas

$135 16.3%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 6.6% $9

Clothing & Footwear

Palmas

$115 13.9%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 6.4% $7.4

Eating Out

Palmas

$96 11.6%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 24.5% $23

Getting Around

Palmas

$49 6%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 33.5% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Palmas

$34 4.1%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 143% $49

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $309 in Palmas versus $721 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 $22 in Palmas versus $32 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $167 vs $267 – making Palmas the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Palmas

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

03:22 3:22 AM

13:22 1:22 PM

10 h ahead of Palmas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

302,692

79,308

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 5.49 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.14 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.72 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Palmas Phuket 16,350 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Palmas
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

Palmas vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $830 in Palmas, $1,294 in Phuket – Palmas comes out roughly 36% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,244 per month in Palmas and $1,940 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Palmas, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $309 there versus $721 in Phuket.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $22 in Palmas and $32 in Phuket. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $830 in Palmas and $1,294 in Phuket. That makes Palmas about 36% cheaper.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Palmas, where all-in costs run around $830, than in Phuket at $1,294. In Palmas it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phuket it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Palmas – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

For expats, Palmas is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 36% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.