Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Piriapolis

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $1,489 in Piriapolis, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. The total is higher in Piriapolis despite lower rent and utilities.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
71

Cost of Living Index in Piriapolis
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Piriapolis Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Piriapolis

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,489

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Piriapolis

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,489 in Piriapolis.

Phuket $1,294
Piriapolis $1,489

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $2,354 in Piriapolis.

Phuket $2,204
Piriapolis $2,354

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $3,219 in Piriapolis.

Phuket $3,115
Piriapolis $3,219

Living in Phuket costs roughly 13% less than in Piriapolis, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 4% below, Piriapolis is 10% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

$15.28 UYU 615

-71.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,085

$69.0 UYU 2,776

-53.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿292

$12.57 UYU 506

-30.79%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.5

$4.39 UYU 177

-38.04%

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

$0.93 ฿31.25

$2.53 UYU 102

-63.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.78

$1.95 UYU 78.5

-74.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿85.0

$4.98 UYU 200

-49.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿122

$3.80 UYU 153

-4.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.4

$1.03 UYU 41.45

68.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.73

$2.65 UYU 107

-45.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.73 UYU 69.5

-13.29%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.0

$4.80 UYU 193

-54.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿641

$14.20 UYU 572

34.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$11.32 UYU 456

-69.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿366

$11.74 UYU 473

-7.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.8

$2.87 UYU 115

2.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.8

$2.68 UYU 108

-36.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.7

$1.62 UYU 65.3

35.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.4

$3.14 UYU 126

-32.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.99

$1.97 UYU 79.5

-25.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.95

$2.10 UYU 84.6

-34.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿36.14

$1.35 UYU 54.4

-20.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.32

$1.65 UYU 66.4

-66.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿149

$5.01 UYU 202

-11.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿613

$7.07 UYU 285

158.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.5

$1.64 UYU 65.8

7.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.8

$2.10 UYU 84.5

37.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.62

$1.07 UYU 43.02

35.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,844

$42.23 UYU 1,700

29.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.8

$1.82 UYU 73.1

-17.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.06

$1.04 UYU 41.98

-25.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿129

$12.57 UYU 506

-69.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.96

$1.96 UYU 79.1

-23.98%

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

$26.9K ฿902.9K

$26.5K UYU 1.1M

1.35%

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

$26.3K ฿884.9K

$34.8K UYU 1.4M

-24.27%

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

$97.8 ฿3,285

$93.1 UYU 3,748

5.05%

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

$11.29 ฿379

$20.67 UYU 832

-45.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿577

$32.70 UYU 1,317

-47.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,295

$87.2 UYU 3,509

-21.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿367

$18.85 UYU 759

-42.07%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿250

$10.79 UYU 435

-31.14%

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

$530 ฿17.8K

$617 UYU 24.8K

-13.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿630.9K

$11.1K UYU 446.3K

69.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,072

$66.1 UYU 2,661

-6.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿949

$43.59 UYU 1,755

-35.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,225

$60.0 UYU 2,416

59.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,916

$74.1 UYU 2,983

17.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.2K

$718 UYU 28.9K

0.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.1K

$496 UYU 20.0K

2.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.5K

$1,234 UYU 49.7K

58.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.9K

$862 UYU 34.7K

62.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.65

-1.42%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Piriapolis: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Piriapolis

$496 33.3% 2.6% $13

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Piriapolis

$312 20.9% 16.8% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Piriapolis

$146 9.8% 16% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Piriapolis

$110 7.4% 10.6% $13

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Piriapolis

$263 17.7% 120% $143

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Piriapolis

$109 7.3% 30.8% $26

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Piriapolis

$54 3.6% 19% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $718 in Piriapolis. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $69 in Piriapolis for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $312 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇺🇾 Piriapolis

🕒 Local time

12:30 12:30 PM

02:30 2:30 AM

10 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

8,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

100 UYU = 2.48 USD

100 UYU = 2.21 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR 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).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 40.26 UYU (100 UYU = 2.48 USD). 1 EUR = 45.32 UYU (100 UYU = 2.21 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Piriapolis 15,990 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Piriapolis

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 Piriapolis: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 13% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,940 in Phuket and $2,233 in Piriapolis 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 $718 in Piriapolis. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $617 in Piriapolis. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Piriapolis. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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 Piriapolis are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.