Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Puerto de la Cruz

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,912 in Puerto de la Cruz, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 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
92

Cost of Living Index in Puerto de la Cruz
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Puerto de la Cruz Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Puerto de la Cruz

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,912

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Puerto de la Cruz

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 Puerto de la Cruz actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,912 in Puerto de la Cruz.

Phuket $1,207
Puerto de la Cruz $1,912

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $2,769 in Puerto de la Cruz.

Phuket $2,037
Puerto de la Cruz $2,769

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $3,625 in Puerto de la Cruz.

Phuket $2,867
Puerto de la Cruz $3,625

Living in Phuket costs roughly 37% less than in Puerto de la Cruz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Puerto de la Cruz is 42% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$13.53 €12.04

-66.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$61.4 €54.6

-47.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$10.06 €8.95

-15.01%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$2.58 €2.29

5.43%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$1.90 €1.69

-50.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$1.53 €1.36

-67.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$2.86 €2.54

-9.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$3.59 €3.20

6.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.10 €0.98

58.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$1.62 €1.44

-11.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$1.65 €1.47

-7.27%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.70 €3.29

-41.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$12.22 €10.87

56.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$10.00 €8.89

-67.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$13.61 €12.10

-18.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$2.55 €2.27

15.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$2.06 €1.83

-18.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$1.48 €1.32

55.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$2.58 €2.29

-17.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$2.35 €2.09

-34.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$2.31 €2.05

-41.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$2.02 €1.79

-44.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$0.81 €0.72

-32.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$4.17 €3.71

2.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$6.52 €5.80

178.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$1.37 €1.22

27.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$2.68 €2.38

4.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

$41.93 €37.29

-47.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$3.31 €2.94

-12.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$2.28 €2.02

-55.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$28.23 €25.11

-86.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$1.65 €1.47

-9.70%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$35.1K €31.2K

-23.96%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$28.4K €25.3K

-6.05%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$111 €98.4

-10.18%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$19.16 €17.04

-41.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$28.08 €24.97

-38.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

$16.72 €14.87

-35.11%

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$9.15 €8.14

-17.27%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$481 €428

15.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$6,713 €5,971

71.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$88.7 €78.9

-29.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$37.90 €33.71

-24.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$88.9 €79.1

8.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$120 €107

-26.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$1,133 €1,008

-35.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$1,049 €933

-56.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$1,891 €1,682

10.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$1,577 €1,403

-22.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

$3,614 €3,215

-4.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

$3,478 €3,093

-28.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$1,345 €1,196

-63.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.15

76.83%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Puerto de la Cruz: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Puerto de la Cruz

$1K 54.9% 128% $589

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Puerto de la Cruz

$275 14.4% 2.7% $7.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Puerto de la Cruz

$158 8.3% 23.3% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Puerto de la Cruz

$151 7.9% 21.7% $27

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Puerto de la Cruz

$205 10.7% 68.6% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Puerto de la Cruz

$18 * 1% 72.8% $49

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Puerto de la Cruz

$57 * 3% 45.6% $18

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 $729 in Phuket and $1,133 in Puerto de la Cruz. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Puerto de la Cruz pays 173% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $61.0 in Puerto de la Cruz for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $275 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇪🇸 Puerto de la Cruz

🕒 Local time

13:34 1:34 PM

07:34 7:34 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

30,849

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Puerto de la Cruz 11,960 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Puerto de la Cruz

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 Puerto de la Cruz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 58% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 173% lower in Puerto de la Cruz. 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: $729 in Phuket versus $1,133 in Puerto de la Cruz. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $558 in Phuket versus $481 in Puerto de la Cruz. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Puerto de la Cruz. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,912 in Puerto de la Cruz, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Puerto de la Cruz. 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 Puerto de la Cruz, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Puerto de la Cruz 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 58% less than in Puerto de la Cruz. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.