Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Praia

For one person, living costs are similar in Phuket and in Praia: $1,190 and $1,202 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Praia
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Praia Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

Praia

🇨🇻 Cape Verde

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Praia

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,190 in Phuket versus $1,202 in Praia.

Phuket $1,190
Praia $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,006 in Phuket versus $1,804 in Praia.

Phuket $2,006
Praia $1,804

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,822 in Phuket versus $2,407 in Praia.

Phuket $2,822
Praia $2,407

Living in Phuket costs roughly 1% less than in Praia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Praia 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.35 ฿146

$5.10 CVE 502

-14.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.45 ฿1,087

$36.09 CVE 3,553

-10.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.42 ฿282

$7.08 CVE 697

18.93%

Cappuccino

$2.81 ฿94.0

$2.65 CVE 260

6.04%

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

$0.87 ฿29.29

$1.60 CVE 157

-45.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 ฿15.39

$1.19 CVE 117

-61.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$2.55 CVE 251

1.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 ฿122

$1.98 CVE 195

83.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 ฿57.2

$1.39 CVE 137

23.02%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.42

$2.04 CVE 200

-28.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.3

$3.54 CVE 349

-55.93%

Eggs

$2.10 ฿70.3

$2.36 CVE 232

-11.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.53 ฿654

$26.35 CVE 2,595

-25.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$4.68 CVE 461

-27.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿373

$16.59 CVE 1,634

-32.85%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 ฿94.8

$5.11 CVE 503

-44.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 ฿54.3

$2.97 CVE 292

-45.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 ฿74.5

$4.08 CVE 402

-45.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.15 ฿71.9

$4.33 CVE 427

-50.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 ฿49.95

$1.48 CVE 146

0.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 ฿44.40

$1.44 CVE 142

-7.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.72

$1.00 CVE 98.0

7.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.01

$1.50 CVE 147

-66.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 ฿147

$5.29 CVE 521

-17.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.77 ฿629

$8.33 CVE 820

125.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.3

$1.81 CVE 178

-3.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿92.9

$1.79 CVE 177

55.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.17 ฿72.6

$0.81 CVE 79.5

167.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.28 ฿746

$29.32 CVE 2,887

-24.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿101

$1.75 CVE 173

72.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.43

$1.22 CVE 120

-13.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.71 ฿124

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 ฿47.88

$1.55 CVE 153

-7.74%

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

$26.3K ฿882.1K

$29.1K CVE 2.9M

-9.50%

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

$26.2K ฿877.3K

$37.4K CVE 3.7M

-30.02%

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

$96.7 ฿3,236

$178 CVE 17.5K

-45.77%

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

$11.41 ฿382

$18.15 CVE 1,787

-37.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.11 ฿573

$50.8 CVE 5,000

-66.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.8 ฿1,768

$32.07 CVE 3,158

64.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.07 ฿371

$9.98 CVE 983

10.92%

Cinema Ticket

$7.65 ฿256

$5.60 CVE 551

36.61%

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

$555 ฿18.6K

$128 CVE 12.6K

333.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿377.7K

$3,146 CVE 309.7K

258.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.4 ฿2,123

$61.9 CVE 6,094

2.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.61 ฿958

$25.25 CVE 2,486

13.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.7 ฿3,238

$66.0 CVE 6,499

46.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 ฿2,967

$89.7 CVE 8,835

-1.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$735 ฿24.6K

$586 CVE 57.6K

25.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$458 ฿15.3K

$291 CVE 28.7K

57.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,102 ฿70.4K

$890 CVE 87.6K

136.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 ฿39.7K

$471 CVE 46.4K

151.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,493 ฿116.9K

$1,337 CVE 131.6K

161.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,491 ฿83.4K

$982 CVE 96.6K

153.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.8K

$302 CVE 29.7K

65.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-30.37%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Last update for Praia: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$458 38.1%

Praia

$291 24.2% 36.4% $167

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.3%

Praia

$350 29.1% 30.6% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.4%

Praia

$247 20.6% 97.5% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$125 10.4%

Praia

$109 9.1% 12.4% $16

Eating Out

Phuket

$119 9.9%

Praia

$122 10.1% 2% $2.4

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.7%

Praia

$43 3.6% 36.5% $25

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Praia

$40 3.4% 3% $1.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $735 in Phuket and $586 in Praia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 66% 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 $36.00 in Praia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $350 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇻 Praia

🕒 Local time

15:17 3:17 PM

07:17 7:17 AM

8 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

127,832 Capital

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Cabo Verdean Escudo CVE $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 CVE = 10.16 USD

1,000 CVE = 9.06 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CVE, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.55 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Cabo Verdean Escudo exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 98.45 CVE (100 CVE = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 110 CVE (1,000 CVE = 9.06 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

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Between locations

Phuket Praia 13,130 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
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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 Praia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. The 1% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 66% 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: $735 in Phuket versus $586 in Praia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $555 in Phuket versus $128 in Praia. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Praia. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,190 in Phuket versus $1,202 in Praia, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Praia. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Praia, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Praia 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 1% less than in Praia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.