Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Cuiaba

For one person, living is cheaper in Cuiaba: $1,018 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Cuiaba
Learn more

Cuiaba Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Cuiaba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,018

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Cuiaba

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,018 in Cuiaba.

Phuket $1,278
Cuiaba $1,018

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,540 in Cuiaba.

Phuket $2,216
Cuiaba $1,540

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,062 in Cuiaba.

Phuket $3,154
Cuiaba $2,062

Living in Phuket is roughly 26% more expensive than in Cuiaba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Cuiaba 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$5.16 R$27.61

-13.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$27.37 R$146

18.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$7.52 R$40.25

17.15%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$1.71 R$9.16

65.50%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.36 R$7.28

-36.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.72 R$3.83

-31.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$1.91 R$10.20

34.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.54 R$13.57

44.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.14 R$6.09

45.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.49 R$7.99

-2.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.69 R$9.03

-11.24%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.95 R$15.78

-29.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$16.16 R$86.5

18.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$4.24 R$22.70

-22.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$10.25 R$54.8

6.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$2.21 R$11.82

32.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$2.33 R$12.48

-27.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.40 R$12.82

-6.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$2.86 R$15.30

-27.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.38 R$12.72

-36.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$1.97 R$10.55

-29.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.53 R$8.20

-30.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.39 R$7.43

-62.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$2.17 R$11.61

93.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$10.90 R$58.3

72.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.83 R$9.78

-0.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.88 R$15.43

-1.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.95 R$5.09

52.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$35.73 R$191

58.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.20 R$6.44

22.50%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$28.1K R$150.1K

-4.54%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$31.3K R$167.3K

-14.64%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$165 R$881

-41.45%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$17.94 R$96.0

-37.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$24.18 R$129

-30.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$24.40 R$131

175.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$18.93 R$101

-43.32%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$5.66 R$30.26

32.51%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$408 R$2,181

16.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$8,796 R$47.1K

28.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$72.2 R$386

-13.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$46.11 R$247

-38.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$141 R$754

-33.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$64.1 R$343

33.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$310 R$1,658

131.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$218 R$1,169

124.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$734 R$3,928

162.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$391 R$2,090

266.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$1,266 R$6,772

229.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$742 R$3,969

310.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$365 R$1,953

37.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

16.1

-65.40%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Cuiaba: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Cuiaba

$218 21.5% 55.5% $272

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Cuiaba

$265 26% 0.6% $1.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Cuiaba

$207 20.3% 66.1% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Cuiaba

$146 14.3% 19.4% $24

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Cuiaba

$107 10.5% 11.8% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Cuiaba

$36 3.5% 56.6% $47

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Cuiaba

$40 * 3.9% 44% $31

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 $310 in Cuiaba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 38% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $27 in Cuiaba for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $265 per month, with Cuiaba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇷 Cuiaba

🕒 Local time

18:56 6:56 PM

07:56 7:56 AM

11 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

650,877

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.96 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Cuiaba 17,110 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Cuiaba

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 Cuiaba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cuiaba wins on cost – living expenses run 20% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Cuiaba the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 38% higher in Phuket, 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: $716 in Phuket versus $310 in Cuiaba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $408 in Cuiaba. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Cuiaba – a meal for two runs $27 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Cuiaba is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Cuiaba wins on affordability, Phuket on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.