Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Novelda

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $1,617 in Novelda, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 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
77

Cost of Living Index in Novelda
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Novelda Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Novelda

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,617

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Novelda

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,617 in Novelda.

Phuket $1,294
Novelda $1,617

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $2,423 in Novelda.

Phuket $2,204
Novelda $2,423

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $3,228 in Novelda.

Phuket $3,115
Novelda $3,228

Living in Phuket costs roughly 20% less than in Novelda, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 4% below, Novelda is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

$16.85 €15.00

-73.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,085

$56.6 €50.3

-42.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿292

$11.23 €10.00

-22.53%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.5

$2.25 €2.00

20.89%

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

$0.93 ฿31.25

$2.05 €1.83

-54.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.78

$1.39 €1.23

-64.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿85.0

$3.03 €2.69

-16.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿122

$3.40 €3.02

6.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.4

$1.15 €1.02

51.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.73

$1.39 €1.24

4.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.54 €1.37

-2.60%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.0

$3.34 €2.97

-35.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿641

$15.40 €13.70

23.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$9.38 €8.35

-63.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿366

$16.83 €14.97

-35.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.8

$2.77 €2.46

6.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.8

$1.81 €1.61

-6.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.7

$1.60 €1.42

36.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.4

$2.76 €2.46

-23.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.99

$1.92 €1.71

-23.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.95

$1.88 €1.67

-27.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿36.14

$1.18 €1.05

-8.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.32

$0.66 €0.59

-16.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿149

$6.52 €5.80

-32.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿613

$5.72 €5.09

219.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.5

$1.16 €1.03

52.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.8

$1.70 €1.51

69.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.62

$1.51 €1.34

-3.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,844

$29.81 €26.53

84.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.8

$2.39 €2.12

-36.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.06

$1.31 €1.16

-40.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿129

$25.34 €22.55

-84.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.96

$1.83 €1.63

-18.58%

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

$26.9K ฿902.9K

$31.7K €28.2K

-15.23%

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

$26.3K ฿884.9K

$31.4K €27.9K

-16.12%

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

$97.8 ฿3,285

$130 €115

-24.52%

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

$11.29 ฿379

$15.83 €14.09

-28.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿577

$29.50 €26.26

-41.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,295

$45.45 €40.44

50.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿367

$16.79 €14.95

-34.96%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿250

$8.20 €7.30

-9.39%

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

$530 ฿17.8K

$396 €352

33.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿630.9K

$11.0K €9,758

71.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,072

$71.6 €63.7

-13.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿949

$35.19 €31.32

-19.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,225

$103 €91.3

-6.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,916

$106 €93.9

-17.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.2K

$921 €820

-21.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.1K

$686 €611

-25.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.5K

$1,324 €1,178

47.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.9K

$1,076 €957

29.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.8K

$3,364 €2,994

24.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.8K

$2,266 €2,016

45.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.99

86.29%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Novelda: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Novelda

$686 42.4% 34.8% $177

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Novelda

$276 17.1% 3.5% $9.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Novelda

$175 10.8% 38.5% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Novelda

$142 8.8% 15.5% $19

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Novelda

$231 14.3% 93.4% $112

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Novelda

$62 3.8% 25.6% $21

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Novelda

$45 2.8% 32.3% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $921 in Novelda. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $57 in Novelda for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $276 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇪🇸 Novelda

🕒 Local time

13:33 1:33 PM

07:33 7:33 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

25,771

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.59 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Novelda 10,250 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Novelda

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 Novelda: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,294 in Phuket and $1,617 in Novelda, so Phuket is about 20% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,940 in Phuket and $2,425 in Novelda 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: $721 in Phuket versus $921 in Novelda. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Novelda runs roughly 46% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $396 in Novelda. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,617 in Novelda, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Novelda. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket 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.