Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Cucuta

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $1,351 in Cucuta, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
64

Cost of Living Index in Cucuta
Learn more

Cucuta Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Cucuta

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,351

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Cucuta

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,351 in Cucuta.

Phuket $1,208
Cucuta $1,351

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $2,116 in Cucuta.

Phuket $2,027
Cucuta $2,116

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $2,880 in Cucuta.

Phuket $2,845
Cucuta $2,880

Living in Phuket costs roughly 11% less than in Cucuta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Cucuta is 0% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$9.99 COP 31.7K

-55.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$46.93 COP 148.8K

-31.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$9.66 COP 30.6K

-9.32%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$2.60 COP 8,234

8.85%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$1.47 COP 4,670

-38.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$1.03 COP 3,267

-54.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$3.21 COP 10.2K

-20.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$3.87 COP 12.3K

-1.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.62 COP 5,123

6.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$2.50 COP 7,929

-41.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$1.69 COP 5,363

-10.65%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.23 COP 10.2K

-32.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$7.96 COP 25.2K

147.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$10.62 COP 33.7K

-68.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$12.64 COP 40.1K

-11.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$4.19 COP 13.3K

-31.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.40 COP 4,454

21.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$2.02 COP 6,396

8.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$1.83 COP 5,789

12.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$1.79 COP 5,683

-18.99%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$1.54 COP 4,869

-10.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$1.11 COP 3,511

-3.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$1.23 COP 3,885

-58.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$4.65 COP 14.7K

-8.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$12.74 COP 40.4K

45.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$1.24 COP 3,942

43.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$2.20 COP 6,979

29.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$1.00 COP 3,159

126.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$1.60 COP 5,075

88.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$1.87 COP 5,943

-43.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$8.41 COP 26.7K

-54.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.30 COP 4,129

11.54%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$31.6K COP 100.2M

-16.66%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$37.3K COP 118.3M

-27.76%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$125 COP 396.2K

-22.87%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$11.90 COP 37.7K

-7.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$28.42 COP 90.1K

-39.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$36.19 COP 114.8K

44.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$6.54 COP 20.7K

19.42%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$533 COP 1.7M

4.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$8,705 COP 27.6M

33.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$85.9 COP 272.4K

-25.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$48.79 COP 154.7K

-41.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$140 COP 445.0K

-32.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$102 COP 323.2K

-13.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$653 COP 2.1M

12.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$492 COP 1.6M

-6.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$1,112 COP 3.5M

88.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$953 COP 3.0M

26.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$2,141 COP 6.8M

62.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$1,499 COP 4.8M

68.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$572 COP 1.8M

-12.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-53.58%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Cucuta: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Cucuta

$492 36.4% 6.4% $30

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Cucuta

$286 21.2% 6.5% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Cucuta

$165 12.2% 32.7% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Cucuta

$170 12.6% 36.5% $45

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Cucuta

$174 12.9% 43.4% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Cucuta

$49 3.7% 27.3% $19

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Cucuta

$15 * 1.1% 62.1% $24

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 $737 in Phuket and $653 in Cucuta. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cucuta pays 14% 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 $47.00 in Cucuta for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $286 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇴 Cucuta

🕒 Local time

19:06 7:06 PM

07:06 7:06 AM

12 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

777,106

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Cucuta 17,990 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Cucuta

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 Cucuta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 12% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 14% lower in Cucuta. 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: $737 in Phuket versus $653 in Cucuta. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $533 in Cucuta. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $47.00 in Cucuta. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,351 in Cucuta, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Cucuta. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cucuta, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Cucuta 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 12% less than in Cucuta. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.