Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Mayari

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,190 a month against $1,484 in Mayari, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Mayari
Learn more

Mayari Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

Mayari

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,484

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Mayari

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,190 in Phuket versus $1,484 in Mayari.

Phuket $1,190
Mayari $1,484

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,006 in Phuket versus $2,453 in Mayari.

Phuket $2,006
Mayari $2,453

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,822 in Phuket versus $3,423 in Mayari.

Phuket $2,822
Mayari $3,423

Living in Phuket costs roughly 20% less than in Mayari, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.35 ฿146

$5.87 CUP 141

-25.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.45 ฿1,087

$19.85 CUP 476

63.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.42 ฿282

$6.42 CUP 154

31.15%

Cappuccino

$2.81 ฿94.0

$1.32 CUP 31.74

112.88%

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

$0.87 ฿29.29

$2.14 CUP 51.5

-59.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 ฿15.39

$1.23 CUP 29.49

-62.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$2.52 CUP 60.5

2.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 ฿122

$2.95 CUP 70.8

23.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 ฿57.2

$3.01 CUP 72.2

-43.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.42

$0.77 CUP 18.40

88.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.3

$2.43 CUP 58.3

-35.80%

Eggs

$2.10 ฿70.3

$3.07 CUP 73.7

-31.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.53 ฿654

$5.81 CUP 139

236.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$5.23 CUP 125

-34.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿373

$11.96 CUP 287

-6.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 ฿94.8

$5.05 CUP 121

-43.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 ฿54.3

$1.18 CUP 28.41

37.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 ฿74.5

$1.42 CUP 34.11

56.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.15 ฿71.9

$1.42 CUP 33.97

51.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 ฿49.95

$1.93 CUP 46.37

-22.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 ฿44.40

$2.88 CUP 69.1

-53.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.72

$1.02 CUP 24.39

4.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.01

$1.12 CUP 26.88

-54.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 ฿147

$3.55 CUP 85.1

23.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.77 ฿629

$9.86 CUP 237

90.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.3

$1.71 CUP 40.96

1.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿92.9

$1.99 CUP 47.78

39.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.17 ฿72.6

$0.19 CUP 4.46

1042.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.28 ฿746

$20.16 CUP 484

10.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿101

$2.29 CUP 55.1

31.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.43

$0.41 CUP 9.92

158.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.71 ฿124

$19.78 CUP 475

-81.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 ฿47.88

$1.24 CUP 29.74

15.32%

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

$26.3K ฿882.1K

$70.0K CUP 1.7M

-62.35%

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

$26.2K ฿877.3K

$80.4K CUP 1.9M

-67.42%

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

$96.7 ฿3,236

$35.53 CUP 853

172.05%

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

$11.41 ฿382

$40.35 CUP 968

-71.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.11 ฿573

$252 CUP 6,052

-93.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.8 ฿1,768

$39.42 CUP 946

33.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.07 ฿371

$14.92 CUP 358

-25.80%

Cinema Ticket

$7.65 ฿256

$0.98 CUP 23.61

680.61%

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

$555 ฿18.6K

$119 CUP 2,859

365.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿377.7K

$17.2K CUP 412.2K

-34.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.4 ฿2,123

$54.3 CUP 1,303

16.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.61 ฿958

$40.33 CUP 968

-29.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.7 ฿3,238

$45.69 CUP 1,096

111.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 ฿2,967

$49.17 CUP 1,180

80.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$735 ฿24.6K

$211 CUP 5,069

247.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$458 ฿15.3K

$679 CUP 16.3K

-32.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,102 ฿70.4K

$376 CUP 9,016

459.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 ฿39.7K

$1,737 CUP 41.7K

-31.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,493 ฿116.9K

$390 CUP 9,357

795.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,491 ฿83.4K

$354 CUP 8,506

602.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.8K

$21.80 CUP 523

2197.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-44.30%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Last update for Mayari: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$458 38.1%

Mayari

$679 44.7% 48.2% $221

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.3%

Mayari

$246 16.2% 8.4% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.4%

Mayari

$328 21.6% 162% $203

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$125 10.4%

Mayari

$85 5.6% 31.7% $40

Eating Out

Phuket

$119 9.9%

Mayari

$114 7.5% 4.4% $5.2

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.7%

Mayari

$41 2.7% 39.2% $27

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Mayari

$25 1.7% 35.6% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $735 in Phuket and $211 in Mayari. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 2198% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $20.00 in Mayari for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $246 per month, with Mayari cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇺 Mayari

🕒 Local time

17:06 5:06 PM

06:06 6:06 AM

11 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

29,259

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.72 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CUP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.89 CUP (100 CUP = 3.72 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Mayari 16,780 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Mayari

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 Mayari: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 25% lower than in Mayari. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 2198% 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: $735 in Phuket versus $211 in Mayari. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $20.00 in Mayari. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,190 per month in Phuket versus $1,484 in Mayari – a 25% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,190 in Phuket versus $1,484 in Mayari, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Mayari. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Phuket delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,190 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Mayari 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 25% less than in Mayari. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.