Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Caruaru

For one person, living is cheaper in Caruaru: $611 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 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
29

Cost of Living Index in Caruaru
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Caruaru Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Caruaru

🇧🇷 Brazil

$611

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Caruaru

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $611 in Caruaru.

Phuket $1,294
Caruaru $611

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $1,000 in Caruaru.

Phuket $2,204
Caruaru $1,000

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $1,388 in Caruaru.

Phuket $3,115
Caruaru $1,388

Living in Phuket is roughly 112% more expensive than in Caruaru, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 4% lower, Caruaru 55% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿148

$5.36 R$29.29

-18.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,090

$27.77 R$152

16.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿294

$7.57 R$41.36

14.93%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.9

$1.48 R$8.10

83.78%

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

$0.93 ฿31.39

$0.97 R$5.32

-4.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.85

$0.60 R$3.25

-16.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿85.4

$1.55 R$8.45

63.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿122

$2.25 R$12.29

61.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.7

$1.08 R$5.88

61.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.95

$1.03 R$5.61

40.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$1.26 R$6.89

19.05%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.3

$1.88 R$10.28

15.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿644

$4.19 R$22.86

355.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿115

$4.51 R$24.64

-24.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿368

$6.99 R$38.19

55.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿99.2

$1.26 R$6.89

133.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$0.91 R$4.98

85.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿74.0

$0.76 R$4.17

188.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.7

$1.08 R$5.89

96.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿49.21

$1.49 R$8.16

-2.01%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿46.15

$1.18 R$6.45

16.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿36.30

$0.69 R$3.76

56.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.41

$0.77 R$4.19

-28.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿149

$2.71 R$14.81

63.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿616

$7.41 R$40.47

146.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.8

$1.57 R$8.56

12.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿97.2

$2.17 R$11.83

32.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.84

$0.80 R$4.35

81.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,852

$24.98 R$136

119.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.07 R$5.84

41.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.18

$1.82 R$9.92

-57.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿130

$2.88 R$15.75

33.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿50.2

$1.22 R$6.68

22.13%

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

$26.9K ฿907.0K

$21.8K R$119.3K

23.09%

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

$26.3K ฿888.9K

$30.4K R$166.2K

-13.43%

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

$97.8 ฿3,300

$51.8 R$283

88.71%

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

$11.29 ฿381

$7.32 R$39.99

54.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿580

$9.16 R$50.1

87.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,305

$13.86 R$75.7

393.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿368

$27.91 R$152

-60.87%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿251

$6.75 R$36.88

10.07%

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

$530 ฿17.9K

$102 R$558

419.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿633.7K

$6,162 R$33.7K

204.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,081

$36.72 R$200

67.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿953

$45.83 R$250

-38.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,239

$81.4 R$445

17.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,929

$60.0 R$328

44.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.3K

$152 R$829

374.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.2K

$119 R$648

328.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.8K

$329 R$1,795

493.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿47.1K

$235 R$1,285

493.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿141.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿111.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.6K

$238 R$1,302

106.22%

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: November 2, 2026

Last update for Caruaru: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Caruaru

$119 19.4% 76.7% $390

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Caruaru

$156 25.5% 41.6% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Caruaru

$68 11.2% 45.9% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Caruaru

$101 16.5% 17.9% $22

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Caruaru

$102 16.7% 14.7% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Caruaru

$27 4.5% 67.1% $56

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Caruaru

$38 6.3% 42% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $152 in Caruaru. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays about 2.1 times 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 in Phuket vs $28 in Caruaru for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $156 per month, with Caruaru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇷 Caruaru

🕒 Local time

21:01 9:01 PM

11:01 11:01 AM

10 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

377,911

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 BRL = 0.183 USD

1 BRL = 0.164 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 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.77 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 5.46 BRL (1 BRL = 0.183 USD). 1 EUR = 6.11 BRL (1 BRL = 0.164 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Caruaru 14,990 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Caruaru

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 Caruaru: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,294 in Phuket and $611 in Caruaru, so Caruaru is about 53% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Phuket is about 2.1 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $721 in Phuket versus $152 in Caruaru. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $102 in Caruaru. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 71% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $611 in Caruaru versus $1,294 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Caruaru but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Caruaru 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.

Expats usually find Caruaru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 53% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.