Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Batangas

For one person, living is cheaper in Batangas: $610 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in Batangas
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Batangas Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Batangas

🇵🇭 Philippines

$610

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Batangas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $610 in Batangas.

Phuket $1,278
Batangas $610

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $887 in Batangas.

Phuket $2,216
Batangas $887

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,165 in Batangas.

Phuket $3,154
Batangas $1,165

Living in Phuket is roughly 110% more expensive than in Batangas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Batangas 55% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$2.14 ₱137

108.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$19.00 ₱1,214

70.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$2.63 ₱168

234.98%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$2.06 ₱131

37.38%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$0.37 ₱23.89

135.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.28 ₱17.98

75.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$1.05 ₱67.0

143.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$1.40 ₱89.2

162.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.71 ₱109

-2.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.16 ₱74.1

25.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$0.77 ₱49.36

94.81%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.61 ₱103

29.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$5.49 ₱351

247.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$4.09 ₱261

-19.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$6.99 ₱446

56.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$2.29 ₱146

27.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.35 ₱86.1

25.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.41 ₱154

-6.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$1.16 ₱74.0

79.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.20 ₱141

-31.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$3.24 ₱207

-57.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.29 ₱82.1

-17.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.89 ₱56.6

-41.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$2.52 ₱161

66.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$7.55 ₱482

148.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.27 ₱81.4

43.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.72 ₱110

65.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.63 ₱40.07

130.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$0.76 ₱48.61

297.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.21 ₱13.36

385.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$2.48 ₱158

48.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.01 ₱64.3

45.54%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$20.9K ₱1.3M

28.14%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$18.9K ₱1.2M

41.11%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$161 ₱10.3K

-40.33%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$14.33 ₱916

-21.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$23.93 ₱1,529

-29.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$18.53 ₱1,184

262.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$12.48 ₱797

-14.02%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$5.63 ₱360

33.21%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$71.9 ₱4,591

562.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$1,239 ₱79.1K

809.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$15.94 ₱1,018

291.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$22.67 ₱1,449

25.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$53.8 ₱3,440

75.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$39.82 ₱2,544

115.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$71.1 ₱4,544

590.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$156 ₱9,995

1131.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$93.3 ₱5,961

1433.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$2,500 ₱159.7K

67.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$1,573 ₱100.5K

93.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$185 ₱11.8K

171.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-20.43%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Batangas: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Batangas

$71 11.7% 85.5% $420

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Batangas

$185 30.3% 30.6% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Batangas

$200 32.8% 60.5% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Batangas

$60 9.8% 51.2% $62

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Batangas

$60 9.9% 50.4% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Batangas

$30 4.9% 63.8% $52

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Batangas

$4.3 * 0.7% 93.9% $66

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

Cost Breakdown

Phuket pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $19 in Batangas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $185 per month, with Batangas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇵🇭 Batangas

🕒 Local time

03:22 3:22 AM

04:22 4:22 AM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

329,874

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, 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).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.13 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Batangas 2,560 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Batangas

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 Batangas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $610 in Batangas, so Batangas is about 52% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Phuket is about 2.7 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Supermarket bills run roughly 44% higher in Phuket. 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 $610 in Batangas – Batangas is about 52% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $610 in Batangas versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Batangas but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Batangas 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 Batangas are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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