Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Nova Friburgo

For one person, living is cheaper in Nova Friburgo: $608 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 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
29

Cost of Living Index in Nova Friburgo
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Nova Friburgo Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Nova Friburgo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Nova Friburgo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $608 in Nova Friburgo.

Phuket $1,208
Nova Friburgo $608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $1,017 in Nova Friburgo.

Phuket $2,027
Nova Friburgo $1,017

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $1,426 in Nova Friburgo.

Phuket $2,845
Nova Friburgo $1,426

Living in Phuket is roughly 99% more expensive than in Nova Friburgo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Nova Friburgo 55% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$6.05 R$30.66

-27.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$29.82 R$151

8.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$6.36 R$32.25

37.74%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$1.75 R$8.88

61.71%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$0.91 R$4.61

-1.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$0.57 R$2.88

-17.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$1.22 R$6.17

109.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$2.42 R$12.28

58.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.02 R$5.15

69.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.49 R$7.55

-1.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$1.37 R$6.94

10.22%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$1.97 R$9.98

10.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$8.78 R$44.51

124.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$3.32 R$16.84

0.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$9.63 R$48.83

15.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$1.63 R$8.25

74.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.20 R$6.09

41.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$0.98 R$4.96

123.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$1.26 R$6.41

62.70%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$0.70 R$3.56

107.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$0.86 R$4.37

60.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$0.57 R$2.90

87.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$0.82 R$4.14

-37.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$1.57 R$7.94

171.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$6.04 R$30.60

207.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$0.97 R$4.90

83.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$1.37 R$6.95

108.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$0.98 R$4.98

130.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$1.21 R$6.12

148.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$0.55 R$2.77

92.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$6.71 R$34.02

-42.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.28 R$6.50

13.28%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$19.7K R$99.7K

33.88%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$30.5K R$154.5K

-11.61%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$40.04 R$203

140.71%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$9.52 R$48.26

15.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$18.79 R$95.2

-8.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$21.63 R$110

141.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$6.84 R$34.69

14.18%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$142 R$719

292.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$2,604 R$13.2K

344.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$68.6 R$348

-6.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$83.6 R$424

-65.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$67.1 R$340

42.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$47.52 R$241

85.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$156 R$789

373.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$99.8 R$506

363.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$395 R$2,005

429.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$236 R$1,195

409.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$1,578 R$7,998

121.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$785 R$3,980

221.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$501 R$2,542

-0.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

10.67

-47.80%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Nova Friburgo: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Nova Friburgo

$100 16.4% 78.4% $363

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Nova Friburgo

$171 28.2% 36.2% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Nova Friburgo

$68 11.2% 45.1% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Nova Friburgo

$120 19.7% 3.4% $4.3

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Nova Friburgo

$105 17.3% 13.1% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Nova Friburgo

$35 5.8% 47.9% $32

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Nova Friburgo

$7.9 * 1.3% 80% $32

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 $737 in Phuket and $156 in Nova Friburgo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nova Friburgo pays 0% 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 $30.00 in Nova Friburgo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $171 per month, with Nova Friburgo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇷 Nova Friburgo

🕒 Local time

03:31 3:31 AM

17:31 5:31 PM

10 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

189,939

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Nova Friburgo 15,540 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Nova Friburgo

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 Nova Friburgo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nova Friburgo wins on cost – living expenses run 99% lower than in Phuket. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Nova Friburgo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 0% lower in Nova Friburgo. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $737 in Phuket versus $156 in Nova Friburgo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 57% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,208 per month in Phuket versus $608 in Nova Friburgo – a 99% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $608 in Nova Friburgo versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Nova Friburgo but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Nova Friburgo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Nova Friburgo delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $608 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Nova Friburgo hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Nova Friburgo 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 Nova Friburgo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 99% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.