Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Colonia

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,527 in Colonia, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Colonia
Learn more

Colonia Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Colonia

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Colonia

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,527 in Colonia.

Phuket $1,278
Colonia $1,527

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,494 in Colonia.

Phuket $2,216
Colonia $2,494

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,462 in Colonia.

Phuket $3,154
Colonia $3,462

Living in Phuket costs roughly 16% less than in Colonia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Colonia is 12% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$16.42 UYU 660

-72.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$74.3 UYU 2,986

-56.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$13.02 UYU 523

-32.33%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$6.04 UYU 243

-53.15%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$1.94 UYU 78.1

-55.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$1.40 UYU 56.4

-65.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$5.02 UYU 202

-49.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$4.89 UYU 197

-24.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.18 UYU 47.51

40.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$2.22 UYU 89.2

-34.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.24 UYU 49.67

20.97%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.53 UYU 142

-40.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$9.86 UYU 396

93.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$12.66 UYU 509

-73.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$11.08 UYU 445

-1.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$2.20 UYU 88.5

33.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.84 UYU 73.8

-8.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.23 UYU 49.63

82.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$5.57 UYU 224

-62.66%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.04 UYU 82.1

-25.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$2.01 UYU 81.0

-31.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$1.28 UYU 51.6

-16.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.27 UYU 50.9

-59.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$7.26 UYU 292

-42.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$12.36 UYU 497

52.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$4.59 UYU 184

-60.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$2.55 UYU 103

11.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$0.99 UYU 39.72

46.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$0.93 UYU 37.19

224.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$2.43 UYU 97.7

-58.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$2.06 UYU 82.7

-28.64%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$32.3K UYU 1.3M

-17.00%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$40.4K UYU 1.6M

-34.01%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$127 UYU 5,089

-23.91%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$18.64 UYU 749

-39.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$39.38 UYU 1,583

-57.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$41.76 UYU 1,679

60.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$12.44 UYU 500

-13.75%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$7.86 UYU 316

-4.58%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$57.7 UYU 2,320

8.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$50.3 UYU 2,021

-43.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$113 UYU 4,542

-16.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$200 UYU 8,030

-57.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$617 UYU 24.8K

16.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$470 UYU 18.9K

4.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,134 UYU 45.6K

69.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,001 UYU 40.2K

42.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.5

23.78%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Colonia: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Colonia

$470 30.7% 4.4% $21

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Colonia

$317 20.8% 19.2% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Colonia

$185 12.1% 48.3% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Colonia

$189 12.4% 55.4% $67

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Colonia

$291 19.1% 139% $169

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Colonia

$57 3.8% 30.1% $25

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Colonia

$17 * 1.1% 75.9% $54

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 $716 in Phuket and $617 in Colonia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $74 in Colonia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $317 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇺🇾 Colonia

🕒 Local time

17:28 5:28 PM

07:28 7:28 AM

10 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

26,231

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.23 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 40.19 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 44.88 UYU (100 UYU = 2.23 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Colonia 16,190 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Colonia

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 Colonia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 16% lower than in Colonia. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,917 in Phuket and $2,290 in Colonia to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $716 in Phuket versus $617 in Colonia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,278 per month in Phuket versus $1,527 in Colonia – Phuket is about 16% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Colonia. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,527 in Colonia, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Colonia. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket 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.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Colonia are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.