Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Carenage

For one person, living is cheaper in Carenage: $770 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Carenage
Learn more

Carenage Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Carenage

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$770

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Carenage

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

A single person spends $1,278 per month in Phuket vs $770 in Carenage, rent included.

Phuket $1,278
Carenage $770

A couple spends around $2,216 per month in Phuket vs $1,322 in Carenage, rent included.

Phuket $2,216
Carenage $1,322

A family of three spends $3,154 per month in Phuket vs $1,873 in Carenage, rent included.

Phuket $3,154
Carenage $1,873

Phuket costs about 66% more than Carenage, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Phuket and Carenage are more affordable than the global median – Phuket 6% lower, Carenage 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$10.52 TTD 70.6

-57.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$60.1 TTD 403

-46.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$7.98 TTD 53.6

10.40%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$3.81 TTD 25.61

-25.72%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.00 TTD 6.72

-13.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.77 TTD 5.18

-36.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$1.88 TTD 12.64

36.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.65 TTD 17.76

38.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.99 TTD 13.38

-16.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$2.23 TTD 14.99

-34.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$2.82 TTD 18.90

-46.81%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.78 TTD 25.36

-44.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$6.52 TTD 43.78

192.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$10.18 TTD 68.3

-67.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$9.12 TTD 61.2

19.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$5.37 TTD 36.08

-45.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$2.54 TTD 17.02

-33.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$3.75 TTD 25.20

-40.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$4.39 TTD 29.50

-52.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.77 TTD 5.20

96.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$0.77 TTD 5.14

79.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.51 TTD 10.13

-29.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.21 TTD 8.12

-57.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$5.77 TTD 38.74

-27.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$17.75 TTD 119

5.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.49 TTD 10.02

22.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.96 TTD 19.88

-4.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$0.92 TTD 6.19

228.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.92 TTD 6.17

10.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$14.71 TTD 98.8

-74.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.16 TTD 7.79

26.72%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$36.7K TTD 246.7K

-27.14%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$41.9K TTD 281.5K

-36.36%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$44.12 TTD 296

118.38%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$42.12 TTD 283

-73.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$45.59 TTD 306

-63.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$8.62 TTD 57.9

-12.99%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$407 TTD 2,730

17.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$10.6K TTD 71.4K

5.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$54.8 TTD 368

13.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$37.18 TTD 250

-23.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$89.7 TTD 602

5.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$87.4 TTD 587

-1.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

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 26, 2026

Last update for Carenage: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Carenage

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Carenage

$319 41.4% 19.7% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Carenage

$132 17.1% 5.9% $7.4

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Carenage

$121 15.7% 0.7% $0.8

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Carenage

$176 22.8% 44.4% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Carenage

$17 * 2.2% 79% $65

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Carenage

$5.5 * 0.7% 92.2% $65

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Phuket versus $60 in Carenage. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $266 vs $319 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇹🇹 Carenage

🕒 Local time

02:58 2:58 AM

15:58 3:58 PM

11 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

25,370

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.134 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.71 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.47 TTD (1 TTD = 0.134 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Carenage 16,990 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Carenage

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 Carenage: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Phuket is pricier by about 66%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,917 per month in Phuket and $1,155 in Carenage. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Phuket and $60 in Carenage. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 16% cheaper in Phuket – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Carenage, where all-in costs run around $770, than in Phuket at $1,278. In Carenage it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phuket it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Phuket has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $770 in Carenage to $1,278 in Phuket. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.