Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Acosta

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,712 in Acosta, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Acosta
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Acosta Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Acosta

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,712

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Acosta

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Phuket and in Acosta actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,712 in Acosta.

Phuket $1,278
Acosta $1,712

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,673 in Acosta.

Phuket $2,216
Acosta $2,673

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,633 in Acosta.

Phuket $3,154
Acosta $3,633

Living in Phuket costs roughly 25% less than in Acosta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Acosta is 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$12.26 ₡5,531

-63.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$57.1 ₡25.8K

-43.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$11.80 ₡5,325

-25.34%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$4.16 ₡1,875

-31.97%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$2.64 ₡1,193

-67.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$1.86 ₡838

-73.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$3.37 ₡1,521

-24.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$4.50 ₡2,029

-18.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$2.40 ₡1,083

-30.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$2.84 ₡1,283

-48.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$2.68 ₡1,208

-44.03%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.16 ₡1,428

-33.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$11.58 ₡5,226

64.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$11.34 ₡5,117

-70.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$14.80 ₡6,677

-26.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$4.67 ₡2,107

-37.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.75 ₡790

-3.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$3.77 ₡1,701

-40.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$3.89 ₡1,756

-46.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$3.21 ₡1,450

-52.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$2.68 ₡1,208

-48.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.05 ₡474

1.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$3.02 ₡1,362

-82.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$5.50 ₡2,484

-23.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$17.96 ₡8,105

4.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.33 ₡1,053

-21.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.80 ₡1,264

1.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$1.29 ₡580

12.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$2.49 ₡1,123

21.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$1.37 ₡618

-25.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$9.86 ₡4,448

-62.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.62 ₡731

-9.26%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$37.4K ₡16.9M

-28.31%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$42.0K ₡19.0M

-36.52%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$100 ₡45.2K

-3.85%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$30.43 ₡13.7K

-63.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$52.6 ₡23.7K

-67.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$58.8 ₡26.5K

14.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$7.48 ₡3,374

0.27%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$778 ₡350.9K

-38.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$17.2K ₡7.8M

-34.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$64.4 ₡29.1K

-3.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$63.7 ₡28.7K

-55.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$135 ₡61.1K

-30.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$148 ₡66.8K

-42.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$905 ₡408.5K

-20.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$640 ₡288.8K

-23.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$2,161 ₡975.1K

-10.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,210 ₡545.9K

18.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$1,959 ₡883.9K

113.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,479 ₡667.4K

-66.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

8.62

-35.38%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Acosta: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Acosta

$640 37.4% 30.4% $149

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Acosta

$389 22.7% 46% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Acosta

$183 10.7% 47.2% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Acosta

$185 10.8% 51.9% $63

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Acosta

$227 13.3% 86.7% $105

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Acosta

$74 4.3% 10.3% $8.5

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Acosta

$14 * 0.9% 79.5% $56

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 $716 in Phuket and $905 in Acosta. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Acosta pays about 2.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $57 in Acosta for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $389 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇷 Acosta

🕒 Local time

06:45 6:45 AM

17:45 5:45 PM

13 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

3,072

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 502 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Acosta 18,030 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Acosta

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

Phuket vs Acosta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $1,712 in Acosta, so Phuket is about 25% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 66% lower in Phuket. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $716 in Phuket versus $905 in Acosta. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 46% higher in Acosta. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,278 per month in Phuket versus $1,712 in Acosta – Phuket is about 25% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,712 in Acosta, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Acosta. 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, Phuket and Acosta are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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