Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Barbados

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,835 in Barbados, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 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
89

Cost of Living Index in Barbados
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Barbados Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Barbados

🇧🇧 Barbados

$1,835

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Barbados

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,835 in Barbados.

Phuket $1,278
Barbados $1,835

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $4,058 in Barbados.

Phuket $2,216
Barbados $4,058

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $6,280 in Barbados.

Phuket $3,154
Barbados $6,280

Living in Phuket costs roughly 30% less than in Barbados, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Barbados is 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$24.59 BBD 49.18

-81.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$112 BBD 224

-71.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$12.57 BBD 25.15

-29.91%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$4.63 BBD 9.26

-38.88%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$2.17 BBD 4.34

-59.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$1.80 BBD 3.60

-72.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$3.08 BBD 6.16

-16.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$4.03 BBD 8.06

-8.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$3.61 BBD 7.22

-54.02%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$2.60 BBD 5.19

-43.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$3.99 BBD 7.98

-62.41%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$6.08 BBD 12.16

-65.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$6.57 BBD 13.14

190.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$10.07 BBD 20.14

-67.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$11.38 BBD 22.75

-4.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$5.04 BBD 10.08

-41.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$4.32 BBD 8.63

-60.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$5.36 BBD 10.71

-58.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$5.66 BBD 11.32

-63.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$6.94 BBD 13.88

-78.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$4.75 BBD 9.50

-70.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$2.70 BBD 5.40

-60.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$2.68 BBD 5.37

-80.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$6.87 BBD 13.74

-38.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$15.80 BBD 31.61

18.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.71 BBD 3.43

6.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$3.05 BBD 6.10

-6.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$1.74 BBD 3.48

-16.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$4.99 BBD 9.97

-39.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$3.33 BBD 6.66

-69.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.99 BBD 3.97

-26.13%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$49.2K BBD 98.3K

-45.54%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$39.2K BBD 78.5K

-31.96%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$101 BBD 203

-4.91%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$49.42 BBD 98.8

-77.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$86.9 BBD 174

-80.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$73.6 BBD 147

-8.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$8.66 BBD 17.32

-13.39%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$45.91 BBD 91.8

35.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$20.07 BBD 40.13

41.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$61.0 BBD 122

54.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$655 BBD 1,309

9.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$665 BBD 1,330

-26.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,814 BBD 3,629

6.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$3,391 BBD 6,782

-57.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,318 BBD 2,636

-61.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-49.36%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Barbados: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Barbados

$665 36.2% 35.4% $174

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Barbados

$427 23.3% 60.4% $161

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Barbados

$238 13% 90.9% $113

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Barbados

$57 * 3.1% 53.1% $65

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Barbados

$329 17.9% 171% $208

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Barbados

$91 5% 10.6% $8.7

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Barbados

$29 * 1.6% 59.5% $42

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 $655 in Barbados. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barbados pays about 2.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $112 in Barbados for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $427 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇧 Barbados

🕒 Local time

10:59 10:59 AM

23:59 11:59 PM

11 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

623

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Barbados Dollar BBD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 BBD = 0.5 USD

1 BBD = 0.448 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BBD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

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).

Barbados Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 2 BBD (1 BBD = 0.5 USD). 1 EUR = 2.23 BBD (1 BBD = 0.448 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Barbados 16,640 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Barbados

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 Barbados: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $1,835 in Barbados, so Phuket is about 30% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 62% 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 $655 in Barbados. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $112 in Barbados. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,278 per month in Phuket versus $1,835 in Barbados – Phuket is about 30% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,835 in Barbados, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Barbados. 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 Barbados are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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