Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Marabella

For one person, living is cheaper in Marabella: $770 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Marabella
Learn more

Marabella Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Marabella

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$770

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Marabella

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $770 in Marabella.

Phuket $1,278
Marabella $770

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,322 in Marabella.

Phuket $2,216
Marabella $1,322

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $1,873 in Marabella.

Phuket $3,154
Marabella $1,873

Living in Phuket is roughly 66% more expensive than in Marabella, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Marabella 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$10.47 TTD 70.3

-57.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$59.8 TTD 401

-45.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$7.98 TTD 53.6

10.40%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.82 TTD 25.64

-25.92%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$1.00 TTD 6.68

-13.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$0.77 TTD 5.18

-36.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$1.79 TTD 11.99

43.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.57 TTD 17.24

43.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$2.00 TTD 13.43

-17.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$2.24 TTD 15.06

-34.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$2.87 TTD 19.26

-47.74%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.94 TTD 26.46

-46.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$6.70 TTD 44.97

184.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$10.27 TTD 68.9

-67.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$9.18 TTD 61.6

18.85%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$5.45 TTD 36.57

-46.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.53 TTD 17.01

-33.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$3.67 TTD 24.64

-38.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$4.26 TTD 28.56

-51.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.72 TTD 4.81

109.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$0.71 TTD 4.76

94.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$1.51 TTD 10.13

-29.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.17 TTD 7.83

-55.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$5.57 TTD 37.40

-24.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$17.94 TTD 120

4.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.51 TTD 10.11

20.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$3.08 TTD 20.65

-7.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$0.87 TTD 5.85

247.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$0.93 TTD 6.22

9.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$15.04 TTD 101

-75.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.17 TTD 7.83

25.64%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$36.2K TTD 243.2K

-26.11%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$41.0K TTD 274.9K

-34.85%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$44.53 TTD 299

116.37%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$41.74 TTD 280

-73.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$44.96 TTD 302

-62.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$8.75 TTD 58.7

-14.29%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$404 TTD 2,710

17.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$10.9K TTD 73.3K

3.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$55.4 TTD 371

12.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$36.52 TTD 245

-22.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$89.7 TTD 602

5.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$87.4 TTD 587

-1.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

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

5.75

-3.13%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Marabella: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Marabella

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Marabella

$320 41.6% 20.3% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Marabella

$131 17% 5.4% $6.8

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Marabella

$121 15.7% 0.7% $0.8

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Marabella

$175 22.7% 43.6% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Marabella

$17 * 2.3% 78.7% $65

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Marabella

$5.5 * 0.7% 92.2% $65

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $60 in Marabella for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $320 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇹🇹 Marabella

🕒 Local time

04:13 4:13 AM

17:13 5:13 PM

11 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

26,700

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.133 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 6.71 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 TTD (1 TTD = 0.133 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Marabella 17,000 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Marabella

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 Marabella: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $770 in Marabella, so Marabella is about 40% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,917 in Phuket and $1,155 in Marabella 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.

Shoppers in Phuket pay roughly 17% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,278 per month in Phuket versus $770 in Marabella – Marabella is about 40% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $770 in Marabella versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Marabella but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Marabella 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.