Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Cartagena

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,427 in Cartagena, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
69

Cost of Living Index in Cartagena
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Cartagena Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Cartagena

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,427

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Cartagena

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,427 in Cartagena.

Phuket $1,207
Cartagena $1,427

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $2,095 in Cartagena.

Phuket $2,037
Cartagena $2,095

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $2,762 in Cartagena.

Phuket $2,867
Cartagena $2,762

Living in Phuket costs roughly 15% less than in Cartagena, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Cartagena is 6% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$13.84 €12.31

-66.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$55.0 €48.90

-40.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$7.60 €6.76

12.50%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$2.56 €2.27

6.25%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$2.45 €2.18

-61.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$1.84 €1.64

-73.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$3.43 €3.05

-24.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$3.98 €3.54

-3.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.21 €1.07

43.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$1.18 €1.05

21.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$2.55 €2.26

-40.00%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.96 €3.52

-45.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$12.91 €11.48

48.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$6.94 €6.18

-52.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$18.67 €16.60

-40.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$2.39 €2.13

23.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$2.52 €2.24

-33.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$1.61 €1.43

42.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$3.09 €2.75

-31.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$1.25 €1.11

22.40%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$1.24 €1.10

9.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$1.57 €1.40

-28.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$0.69 €0.62

-20.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$5.64 €5.02

-24.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$6.24 €5.55

191.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$1.25 €1.11

39.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$1.13 €1.00

146.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$1.43 €1.27

55.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

$11.14 €9.91

98.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$5.50 €4.90

-47.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$2.25 €2.00

-55.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$27.49 €24.45

-86.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$1.77 €1.58

-15.82%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$35.1K €31.2K

-24.01%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$30.2K €26.8K

-11.43%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$210 €187

-52.69%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$19.74 €17.56

-42.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$28.70 €25.53

-39.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

$41.14 €36.59

27.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

$12.80 €11.39

-15.23%

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$7.70 €6.85

-1.69%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$416 €370

34.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$2,726 €2,425

321.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$47.17 €41.96

33.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$35.38 €31.47

-19.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$61.1 €54.3

57.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$101 €89.7

-12.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$591 €525

23.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$492 €438

-6.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$836 €743

150.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$708 €630

72.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

$1,770 €1,574

95.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

$1,433 €1,275

73.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$1,720 €1,530

-71.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.06

37.19%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Cartagena: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Cartagena

$492 34.5% 7% $32

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Cartagena

$270 18.9% 0.9% $2.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Cartagena

$258 18.1% 102% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Cartagena

$110 7.7% 11.3% $14

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Cartagena

$206 14.5% 70.2% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Cartagena

$57 4% 16.1% $11

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Cartagena

$34 2.4% 13.6% $5.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Phuket and $591 in Cartagena. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cartagena pays 249% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $55.0 in Cartagena for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $270 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇪🇸 Cartagena

🕒 Local time

07:17 7:17 AM

02:17 2:17 AM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

218,050

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Cartagena 10,290 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Cartagena

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 Cartagena: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 18% lower than in Cartagena. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 249% lower in Cartagena. 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: $729 in Phuket versus $591 in Cartagena. 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 $32.00 versus $55.0 in Cartagena. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,207 per month in Phuket versus $1,427 in Cartagena – a 18% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,427 in Cartagena, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Cartagena. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Phuket delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,207 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Cartagena 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 Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 18% less than in Cartagena. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.