Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and General Santos

For one person, living is cheaper in General Santos: $628 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in General Santos
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General Santos Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

General Santos

🇵🇭 Philippines

$628

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in General Santos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $628 in General Santos.

Phuket $1,207
General Santos $628

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $1,009 in General Santos.

Phuket $2,037
General Santos $1,009

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $1,391 in General Santos.

Phuket $2,867
General Santos $1,391

Living in Phuket is roughly 92% more expensive than in General Santos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, General Santos 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$3.38 ₱213

35.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$27.40 ₱1,725

18.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$2.72 ₱172

214.34%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$2.56 ₱161

6.25%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$0.28 ₱17.41

235.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$0.25 ₱15.83

96.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$1.58 ₱99.3

63.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$2.34 ₱147

63.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$2.00 ₱126

-13.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$1.08 ₱68.2

32.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$0.87 ₱54.7

75.86%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$1.86 ₱117

16.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$6.38 ₱402

200.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$4.77 ₱300

-30.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$9.25 ₱582

20.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$2.74 ₱172

7.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$1.07 ₱67.2

57.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$2.45 ₱154

-6.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$1.19 ₱74.6

78.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$1.98 ₱125

-22.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$3.28 ₱207

-58.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$1.24 ₱78.2

-9.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$0.68 ₱42.60

-19.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$2.46 ₱155

73.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$7.76 ₱488

134.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$1.25 ₱78.5

39.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$1.68 ₱106

66.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$0.39 ₱24.37

469.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

$8.15 ₱513

170.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$0.78 ₱49.25

273.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$0.25 ₱15.79

304.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$0.82 ₱51.4

367.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$1.12 ₱70.7

33.04%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$20.9K ₱1.3M

27.83%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

39.70%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$76.6 ₱4,825

29.66%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$6.53 ₱411

72.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$31.67 ₱1,994

-45.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$4.91 ₱309

54.18%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$109 ₱6,840

413.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$7,532 ₱474.2K

52.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$59.8 ₱3,767

5.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$30.67 ₱1,931

-6.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$70.3 ₱4,428

36.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$60.7 ₱3,823

45.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$174 ₱11.0K

318.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$112 ₱7,068

309.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$359 ₱22.6K

484.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$238 ₱15.0K

413.03%

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

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

8.31

-32.97%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for General Santos: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

General Santos

$112 17.9% 75.6% $348

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

General Santos

$199 31.7% 25.6% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

General Santos

$115 18.3% 10.3% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

General Santos

$100 15.9% 19.6% $24

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

General Santos

$81 12.8% 33.6% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

General Santos

$9.8 * 1.6% 85.4% $58

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

General Santos

$12 1.9% 69.8% $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 $174 in General Santos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $27.00 in General Santos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $199 per month, with General Santos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇵🇭 General Santos

🕒 Local time

15:03 3:03 PM

16:03 4:03 PM

1 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

697,315

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, 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).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket General Santos 2,960 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
General Santos

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 General Santos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

General Santos wins on cost – living expenses run 92% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making General Santos the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,811 in Phuket and $942 in General Santos 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: $729 in Phuket versus $174 in General Santos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in General Santos – a meal for two runs $27.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,207 per month in Phuket versus $628 in General Santos – a 92% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $628 in General Santos versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in General Santos but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes General Santos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but General Santos delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $628 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes General Santos hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Phuket and General Santos 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 General Santos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 92% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.