Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Brasilia

For one person, living is cheaper in Brasilia: $916 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Brasilia
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Brasilia Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Brasilia

🇧🇷 Brazil

$916

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Brasilia

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $916 in Brasilia.

Phuket $1,278
Brasilia $916

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,514 in Brasilia.

Phuket $2,216
Brasilia $1,514

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,112 in Brasilia.

Phuket $3,154
Brasilia $2,112

Living in Phuket is roughly 39% more expensive than in Brasilia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Brasilia 33% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$8.44 R$45.41

-47.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$36.71 R$198

-11.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$7.98 R$42.96

10.40%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.53 R$13.59

11.86%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$1.42 R$7.64

-38.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$1.00 R$5.39

-51.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$2.20 R$11.83

16.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$3.76 R$20.21

-2.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.02 R$5.49

62.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$1.95 R$10.51

-25.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.24 R$6.68

20.97%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.27 R$12.24

-7.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$11.17 R$60.1

70.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$3.86 R$20.79

-14.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$8.58 R$46.16

27.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$2.31 R$12.41

26.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.38 R$7.42

22.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.26 R$6.77

78.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$1.52 R$8.18

36.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.11 R$5.98

36.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$0.98 R$5.25

40.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$0.76 R$4.07

40.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.93 R$5.03

-44.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$2.36 R$12.72

77.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$7.67 R$41.27

144.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.24 R$6.67

46.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.36 R$12.68

20.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$0.73 R$3.92

98.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$29.76 R$160

90.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.01 R$5.46

199.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$0.86 R$4.62

18.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$5.77 R$31.06

-36.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.25 R$6.71

17.60%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$22.0K R$118.1K

21.98%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$31.9K R$171.4K

-16.20%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$92.1 R$496

4.59%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$11.85 R$63.8

-4.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$20.93 R$113

-19.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$30.47 R$164

120.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$26.29 R$141

-59.19%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$7.46 R$40.17

0.54%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$764 R$4,114

-37.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$15.7K R$84.6K

-28.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$52.6 R$283

18.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$42.10 R$227

-32.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$79.4 R$427

18.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$83.6 R$450

2.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$517 R$2,783

38.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$242 R$1,300

103.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,156 R$6,223

66.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$580 R$3,119

146.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$2,398 R$12.9K

74.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$1,678 R$9,030

81.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$784 R$4,221

-35.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

12.12

-54.04%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Brasilia: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Brasilia

$242 26.4% 50.8% $249

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Brasilia

$201 21.9% 24.7% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Brasilia

$125 13.6% 0.3% $0.4

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Brasilia

$116 12.7% 4.9% $5.9

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Brasilia

$150 16.4% 23.2% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Brasilia

$45 5% 44.8% $37

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Brasilia

$38 4.1% 46.2% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $517 in Brasilia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brasilia pays 56% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $37 in Brasilia. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $201, with Brasilia cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇷 Brasilia

🕒 Local time

14:02 2:02 PM

04:02 4:02 AM

10 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

2,817,381 Capital

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 BRL = 0.186 USD

1 BRL = 0.166 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 5.38 BRL (1 BRL = 0.186 USD). 1 EUR = 6.01 BRL (1 BRL = 0.166 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Brasilia 16,250 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Brasilia

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 Brasilia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $916 in Brasilia, so Brasilia is about 28% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 36% 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 $517 in Brasilia. 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 $37 in Brasilia. 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 $916 in Brasilia – Brasilia is about 28% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $916 in Brasilia versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Brasilia but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Brasilia 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.