Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Aracaju

For one person, living is cheaper in Aracaju: $659 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Aracaju
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Aracaju Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Aracaju

🇧🇷 Brazil

$659

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Aracaju

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 Aracaju actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $659 in Aracaju.

Phuket $1,294
Aracaju $659

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $1,043 in Aracaju.

Phuket $2,204
Aracaju $1,043

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $1,427 in Aracaju.

Phuket $3,115
Aracaju $1,427

Living in Phuket is roughly 96% more expensive than in Aracaju, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 4% lower, Aracaju 51% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿148

$4.63 R$25.28

-5.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,090

$21.63 R$118

49.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿294

$5.42 R$29.61

60.52%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.9

$1.92 R$10.48

41.67%

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

$0.93 ฿31.39

$1.07 R$5.85

-13.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.85

$0.55 R$3.02

-9.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿85.4

$1.88 R$10.25

34.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿122

$2.90 R$15.85

25.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.7

$1.03 R$5.61

68.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.95

$1.40 R$7.65

3.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$1.09 R$5.94

37.61%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.3

$1.59 R$8.66

36.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿644

$6.99 R$38.20

173.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿115

$3.60 R$19.63

-5.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿368

$6.82 R$37.24

59.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿99.2

$1.94 R$10.57

51.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.23 R$6.74

37.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿74.0

$0.66 R$3.59

231.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.7

$0.82 R$4.49

158.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿49.21

$1.03 R$5.61

41.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿46.15

$0.90 R$4.90

52.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿36.30

$0.51 R$2.79

111.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.41

$0.70 R$3.83

-21.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿149

$2.25 R$12.30

96.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿616

$5.58 R$30.48

227.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.8

$1.14 R$6.22

55.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿97.2

$1.85 R$10.13

55.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.84

$0.85 R$4.65

70.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,852

$38.97 R$213

40.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.16 R$6.33

30.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.18

$0.61 R$3.33

27.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿130

$6.05 R$33.05

-36.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿50.2

$1.19 R$6.50

25.21%

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

$26.9K ฿907.0K

$21.4K R$116.7K

25.82%

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

$26.3K ฿888.9K

$31.0K R$169.1K

-14.94%

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

$97.8 ฿3,300

$58.7 R$320

66.68%

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

$11.29 ฿381

$9.26 R$50.6

21.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿580

$15.77 R$86.1

9.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,305

$21.03 R$115

224.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿368

$25.96 R$142

-57.94%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿251

$5.85 R$31.92

27.01%

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

$530 ฿17.9K

$277 R$1,513

91.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿633.7K

$5,017 R$27.4K

274.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,081

$53.1 R$290

16.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿953

$32.44 R$177

-12.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,239

$81.1 R$443

18.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,929

$75.3 R$411

15.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.3K

$280 R$1,530

157.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.2K

$135 R$736

277.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.8K

$590 R$3,224

230.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿47.1K

$250 R$1,366

458.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿141.4K

$1,204 R$6,573

248.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿111.3K

$849 R$4,636

288.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.6K

$422 R$2,302

16.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-44.30%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Aracaju: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Aracaju

$135 20.5% 73.5% $374

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Aracaju

$154 23.4% 42.2% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Aracaju

$84 12.7% 33.7% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Aracaju

$109 16.5% 11.3% $14

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Aracaju

$98 14.9% 18% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Aracaju

$33 5% 60.7% $50

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Aracaju

$47 7.1% 29.5% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $280 in Aracaju. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 17% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $22 in Aracaju for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $154 per month, with Aracaju cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇷 Aracaju

🕒 Local time

07:15 7:15 AM

21:15 9:15 PM

10 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

602,757

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 BRL = 0.183 USD

1 BRL = 0.164 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.73 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 5.46 BRL (1 BRL = 0.183 USD). 1 EUR = 6.11 BRL (1 BRL = 0.164 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Aracaju 15,120 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Aracaju

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 Aracaju: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,294 in Phuket and $659 in Aracaju, so Aracaju is about 49% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 17% higher in Phuket, 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: $721 in Phuket versus $280 in Aracaju. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $277 in Aracaju. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 73% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $659 in Aracaju versus $1,294 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Aracaju but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Aracaju 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.

Expats usually find Aracaju gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.