Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Arouca

For one person, living is cheaper in Arouca: $766 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Arouca
Learn more

Arouca Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Arouca

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$766

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Arouca

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $766 in Arouca.

Phuket $1,207
Arouca $766

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $1,313 in Arouca.

Phuket $2,037
Arouca $1,313

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $1,861 in Arouca.

Phuket $2,867
Arouca $1,861

Living in Phuket is roughly 58% more expensive than in Arouca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Arouca 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$10.26 TTD 69.0

-55.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$59.2 TTD 398

-45.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$8.10 TTD 54.5

5.56%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$3.75 TTD 25.22

-27.47%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$1.04 TTD 6.96

-9.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$0.77 TTD 5.16

-36.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$1.79 TTD 12.02

44.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$2.51 TTD 16.87

52.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$2.06 TTD 13.85

-15.53%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$2.26 TTD 15.20

-36.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$2.82 TTD 18.98

-45.74%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.79 TTD 25.47

-42.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$6.81 TTD 45.84

181.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$10.25 TTD 68.9

-67.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$8.80 TTD 59.2

26.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$5.43 TTD 36.54

-45.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$2.50 TTD 16.81

-32.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$3.76 TTD 25.27

-38.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$4.33 TTD 29.14

-50.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$0.78 TTD 5.22

96.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$0.72 TTD 4.84

88.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$1.47 TTD 9.88

-23.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$1.16 TTD 7.77

-52.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$5.48 TTD 36.89

-22.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$17.73 TTD 119

2.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$1.54 TTD 10.34

12.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$3.10 TTD 20.82

-10.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$0.93 TTD 6.28

212.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$0.85 TTD 5.71

18.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$14.93 TTD 100

-74.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$1.15 TTD 7.76

29.57%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$36.3K TTD 244.5K

-26.60%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$40.7K TTD 273.7K

-34.35%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$44.13 TTD 297

125.18%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$42.57 TTD 286

-73.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$45.30 TTD 305

-61.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$8.69 TTD 58.5

-12.89%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$392 TTD 2,636

42.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$10.8K TTD 72.3K

6.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$55.2 TTD 371

13.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$36.42 TTD 245

-21.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$86.9 TTD 584

10.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$87.7 TTD 590

0.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.75

-3.13%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Arouca: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Arouca

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Arouca

$319 41.7% 19.4% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Arouca

$132 17.2% 3.1% $4

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Arouca

$120 15.6% 3.5% $4.3

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Arouca

$173 22.5% 42.2% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Arouca

$17 * 2.3% 74.2% $50

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Arouca

$5.2 * 0.7% 86.7% $34

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $59.0 in Arouca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $319 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇹🇹 Arouca

🕒 Local time

03:30 3:30 AM

16:30 4:30 PM

11 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

12,054

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.132 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TTD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 6.73 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.56 TTD (1 TTD = 0.132 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Arouca 16,970 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Arouca

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 Arouca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket and Arouca differ by about 58% in total monthly costs ($1,207 vs $766 including rent). Arouca is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,811 in Phuket and $1,149 in Arouca to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $558 in Phuket versus $392 in Arouca. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Arouca – a meal for two runs $59.0 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $766 in Arouca versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Arouca but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Arouca 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 Arouca 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 Arouca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 58% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.