Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Nandaime

For one person, living is cheaper in Nandaime: $822 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Nandaime
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Nandaime Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Nandaime

🇳🇮 Nicaragua

$822

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Nandaime

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $822 in Nandaime.

Phuket $1,294
Nandaime $822

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $1,286 in Nandaime.

Phuket $2,204
Nandaime $1,286

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $1,750 in Nandaime.

Phuket $3,115
Nandaime $1,750

Living in Phuket is roughly 57% more expensive than in Nandaime, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 4% lower, Nandaime 39% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿148

$10.02 NIO 367

-56.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,086

$35.31 NIO 1,293

-8.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿293

$7.82 NIO 287

11.25%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.6

$2.59 NIO 94.7

5.02%

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

$0.93 ฿31.28

$0.92 NIO 33.65

1.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.79

$0.69 NIO 25.33

-27.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿85.1

$1.52 NIO 55.5

66.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿122

$2.31 NIO 84.6

57.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.5

$1.21 NIO 44.15

43.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.77

$2.42 NIO 88.5

-40.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.80 NIO 66.0

-16.67%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.0

$2.31 NIO 84.5

-6.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿642

$11.57 NIO 424

65.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$6.45 NIO 236

-47.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿366

$7.86 NIO 288

38.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.9

$4.04 NIO 148

-27.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.9

$0.62 NIO 22.63

172.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.8

$1.77 NIO 65.0

23.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.4

$2.49 NIO 91.1

-14.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿49.03

$3.97 NIO 146

-63.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.99

$2.21 NIO 80.8

-38.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿36.17

$1.05 NIO 38.43

2.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.34

$1.04 NIO 38.19

-47.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿149

$2.71 NIO 99.4

63.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿614

$14.70 NIO 538

24.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.6

$1.48 NIO 54.2

19.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.8

$2.16 NIO 79.1

33.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.66

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,845

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.9

$1.66 NIO 60.7

-9.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.08

$1.65 NIO 60.3

-52.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿129

$6.71 NIO 246

-42.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿50.0

$1.36 NIO 49.79

9.56%

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

$26.9K ฿903.7K

$22.8K NIO 833.7K

18.09%

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

$26.3K ฿885.7K

$26.9K NIO 984.7K

-2.01%

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

$97.8 ฿3,288

$151 NIO 5,543

-35.37%

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

$11.29 ฿380

$19.29 NIO 707

-41.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿578

$33.10 NIO 1,212

-48.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,297

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿367

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿250

$9.24 NIO 339

-19.59%

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

$530 ฿17.8K

$240 NIO 8,782

121.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿631.4K

$6,082 NIO 222.8K

208.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,073

$58.8 NIO 2,153

4.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿950

$65.8 NIO 2,408

-57.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,228

$121 NIO 4,426

-20.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,919

$145 NIO 5,325

-40.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿47.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.92

-53.27%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Nandaime: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Nandaime

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Nandaime

$261 31.7% 2.3% $6.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Nandaime

$204 24.8% 61.3% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Nandaime

$176 21.4% 43.3% $53

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Nandaime

$153 18.7% 28.3% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Nandaime

$18 * 2.3% 77.8% $65

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Nandaime

$9.9 * 1.2% 85% $56

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $35 in Nandaime. Groceries flip the comparison at $267 vs $261, with Nandaime cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇳🇮 Nandaime

🕒 Local time

21:01 9:01 PM

08:01 8:01 AM

13 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

34,288

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Nicaraguan Córdoba NIO C$

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 NIO = 2.73 USD

100 NIO = 2.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NIO, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.69 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Nicaraguan Córdoba exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 36.62 NIO (100 NIO = 2.73 USD). 1 EUR = 41.06 NIO (100 NIO = 2.44 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Nandaime 17,780 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Nandaime

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 Nandaime: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,294 in Phuket and $822 in Nandaime, so Nandaime is about 36% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,940 in Phuket and $1,233 in Nandaime 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.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $240 in Nandaime. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $1,294 per month in Phuket versus $822 in Nandaime – Nandaime is about 36% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $822 in Nandaime versus $1,294 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Nandaime but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Nandaime 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.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Nandaime are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.