Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Palma Soriano

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $1,565 in Palma Soriano, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 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
75

Cost of Living Index in Palma Soriano
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Palma Soriano Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Palma Soriano

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,565

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Palma Soriano

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,565 in Palma Soriano.

Phuket $1,208
Palma Soriano $1,565

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $1,874 in Palma Soriano.

Phuket $2,027
Palma Soriano $1,874

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $2,183 in Palma Soriano.

Phuket $2,845
Palma Soriano $2,183

Living in Phuket costs roughly 23% less than in Palma Soriano, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Palma Soriano is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$4.86 CUP 117

-9.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$24.89 CUP 597

29.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$4.88 CUP 117

79.51%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$3.16 CUP 75.7

-10.44%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$1.26 CUP 30.25

-28.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$0.89 CUP 21.27

-47.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$3.07 CUP 73.7

-16.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$2.47 CUP 59.3

55.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$2.03 CUP 48.71

-14.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.47 CUP 35.25

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$1.01 CUP 24.31

49.50%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$1.22 CUP 29.17

77.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$5.83 CUP 140

237.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$6.08 CUP 146

-45.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$11.21 CUP 269

-0.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$1.88 CUP 45.07

51.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.19 CUP 28.55

42.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$1.46 CUP 34.96

50.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$1.53 CUP 36.71

33.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$0.97 CUP 23.29

49.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$0.99 CUP 23.69

39.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$1.02 CUP 24.52

4.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$1.12 CUP 26.84

-54.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$2.97 CUP 71.3

43.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$10.01 CUP 240

85.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$3.03 CUP 72.8

-41.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$1.98 CUP 47.48

43.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$0.24 CUP 5.72

841.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$30.36 CUP 729

-27.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$1.84 CUP 44.14

63.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$0.34 CUP 8.05

211.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$13.16 CUP 316

-70.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.18 CUP 28.34

22.88%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$65.4K CUP 1.6M

-59.74%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$46.5K CUP 1.1M

-42.10%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$55.8 CUP 1,340

72.66%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$9.81 CUP 235

12.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$145 CUP 3,484

-88.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$40.02 CUP 961

30.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$9.83 CUP 236

13.53%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$1.02 CUP 24.49

665.69%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$100 CUP 2,403

455.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$11.8K CUP 283.6K

-1.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$65.2 CUP 1,565

-1.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$34.94 CUP 838

-17.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$85.5 CUP 2,051

11.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$111 CUP 2,660

-20.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$875 CUP 21.0K

-15.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$807 CUP 19.4K

-42.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$757 CUP 18.2K

176.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$656 CUP 15.7K

83.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$322 CUP 7,725

983.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$324 CUP 7,785

677.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$39.94 CUP 959

1153.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

8.33

-33.13%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Palma Soriano: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Palma Soriano

$807 51.6% 74.6% $345

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Palma Soriano

$217 13.9% 19.2% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Palma Soriano

$211 13.5% 69.2% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Palma Soriano

$133 8.5% 7.3% $9.1

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Palma Soriano

$120 7.7% 0.8% $1

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Palma Soriano

$42 2.7% 38% $26

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Palma Soriano

$35 2.2% 11.7% $4.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $875 in Palma Soriano. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 1154% 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 $25.00 in Palma Soriano for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $217 per month, with Palma Soriano cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇺 Palma Soriano

🕒 Local time

23:53 11:53 PM

12:53 12:53 PM

11 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

74,930

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.71 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 24, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.98 CUP (100 CUP = 3.71 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Palma Soriano 16,830 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Palma Soriano

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 Palma Soriano: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 30% lower than in Palma Soriano. 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 1154% 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: $737 in Phuket versus $875 in Palma Soriano. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 37% less than in Palma Soriano. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $100 in Palma Soriano. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,565 in Palma Soriano, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Palma Soriano. 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 $1,208 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Palma Soriano 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 30% less than in Palma Soriano. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.