Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Chaguanas

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,287 in Chaguanas, rent and utilities included – about $960 less a year. The total is higher in Chaguanas despite lower rent and utilities.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Chaguanas
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Chaguanas Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Chaguanas

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$1,287

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Chaguanas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,287 in Chaguanas.

Phuket $1,207
Chaguanas $1,287

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $2,082 in Chaguanas.

Phuket $2,037
Chaguanas $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $2,876 in Chaguanas.

Phuket $2,867
Chaguanas $2,876

Living in Phuket costs roughly 6% less than in Chaguanas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Chaguanas 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$10.39 TTD 69.9

-55.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$59.9 TTD 403

-45.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$8.18 TTD 55.0

4.52%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$3.32 TTD 22.32

-18.07%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$1.26 TTD 8.44

-25.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$1.00 TTD 6.71

-51.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$1.73 TTD 11.64

49.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$2.63 TTD 17.69

45.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$2.39 TTD 16.07

-27.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$2.14 TTD 14.36

-33.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$2.17 TTD 14.61

-29.49%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.87 TTD 26.01

-43.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$7.33 TTD 49.31

161.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$8.03 TTD 54.0

-58.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$11.80 TTD 79.4

-5.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$2.97 TTD 19.98

-0.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$3.01 TTD 20.23

-44.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$2.86 TTD 19.22

-19.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$5.01 TTD 33.68

-57.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$2.47 TTD 16.59

-38.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$2.16 TTD 14.55

-37.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$1.99 TTD 13.37

-43.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$1.29 TTD 8.68

-57.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$2.89 TTD 19.41

47.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$19.92 TTD 134

-8.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$1.91 TTD 12.87

-8.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$2.56 TTD 17.19

8.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$0.76 TTD 5.10

192.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$2.21 TTD 14.87

31.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$1.33 TTD 8.95

-24.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$14.46 TTD 97.3

-73.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$1.12 TTD 7.52

33.04%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$33.1K TTD 223.0K

-19.51%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$33.6K TTD 226.2K

-20.57%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$103 TTD 691

-3.27%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$38.71 TTD 260

-70.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$51.3 TTD 345

-66.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

$51.3 TTD 345

1.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

$44.48 TTD 299

-75.61%

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$8.58 TTD 57.7

-11.77%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$304 TTD 2,042

83.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$45.03 TTD 303

39.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$42.30 TTD 285

-32.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$98.7 TTD 664

-2.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$106 TTD 716

-17.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$463 TTD 3,112

57.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$386 TTD 2,597

19.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$948 TTD 6,376

121.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$759 TTD 5,106

61.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$773 TTD 5,203

-36.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.40%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Chaguanas: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Chaguanas

$386 30% 16.1% $74

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Chaguanas

$326 25.3% 21.8% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Chaguanas

$193 15% 50.6% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Chaguanas

$132 10.2% 6.1% $7.6

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Chaguanas

$170 13.2% 40.4% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Chaguanas

$68 5.3% 1.5% $1

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Chaguanas

$12 * 0.9% 69.4% $27

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Phuket and $463 in Chaguanas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chaguanas pays 57% 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 $60.0 in Chaguanas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $326 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇹🇹 Chaguanas

🕒 Local time

23:17 11:17 PM

12:17 12:17 PM

11 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

83,489

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.132 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 6.73 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.56 TTD (1 TTD = 0.132 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Chaguanas 16,980 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Chaguanas

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 Chaguanas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 7% lower than in Chaguanas. 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 57% lower in Chaguanas. 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 $463 in Chaguanas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 22% higher in Chaguanas. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,207 per month in Phuket versus $1,287 in Chaguanas – a 7% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,287 in Chaguanas, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Chaguanas. 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 Chaguanas 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 7% less than in Chaguanas. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.