Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Puerto Padre

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,375 in Puerto Padre, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. The total is higher in Puerto Padre despite lower rent and utilities.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Puerto Padre
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Puerto Padre Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Puerto Padre

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,375

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Puerto Padre

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,375 in Puerto Padre.

Phuket $1,278
Puerto Padre $1,375

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,026 in Puerto Padre.

Phuket $2,216
Puerto Padre $2,026

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,677 in Puerto Padre.

Phuket $3,154
Puerto Padre $2,677

Living in Phuket costs roughly 7% less than in Puerto Padre, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$9.98 CUP 240

-55.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$71.0 CUP 1,703

-54.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$7.23 CUP 174

21.85%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$3.23 CUP 77.6

-12.38%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.54 CUP 37.06

-43.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.99 CUP 23.67

-50.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$7.31 CUP 176

-64.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$7.56 CUP 181

-51.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$2.80 CUP 67.3

-40.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$2.03 CUP 48.81

-28.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$2.57 CUP 61.7

-41.63%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.94 CUP 94.5

-46.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$18.54 CUP 445

2.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$10.16 CUP 244

-67.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$19.61 CUP 471

-44.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$4.23 CUP 102

-30.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$2.05 CUP 49.30

-17.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.69 CUP 64.7

-16.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$2.71 CUP 65.1

-23.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.32 CUP 55.8

-34.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$2.25 CUP 54.1

-38.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.71 CUP 41.09

-37.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.34 CUP 32.05

-61.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.51 CUP 84.3

19.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$21.56 CUP 518

-12.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.97 CUP 47.19

-7.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$3.93 CUP 94.2

-27.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.18 CUP 4.35

705.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$27.54 CUP 661

105.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.27 CUP 78.5

-7.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.73 CUP 17.49

39.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$19.87 CUP 477

-81.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.23 CUP 29.59

19.51%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$103.9K CUP 2.5M

-74.23%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$91.7K CUP 2.2M

-70.89%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$46.55 CUP 1,117

106.98%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$17.70 CUP 425

-36.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$264 CUP 6,338

-93.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$63.8 CUP 1,531

5.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$16.92 CUP 406

-36.58%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$1.01 CUP 24.28

642.57%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$200 CUP 4,809

137.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$25.3K CUP 608.4K

-55.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$53.2 CUP 1,277

17.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$42.35 CUP 1,016

-32.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$90.7 CUP 2,178

3.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$95.3 CUP 2,286

-9.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$91.4 CUP 2,192

683.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$224 CUP 5,381

118.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$763 CUP 18.3K

152.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$177 CUP 4,242

709.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$382 CUP 9,178

991.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$334 CUP 8,019

811.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$57.0 CUP 1,369

780.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

8.62

-35.38%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Puerto Padre: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Puerto Padre

$224 16.3% 54.3% $267

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Puerto Padre

$393 28.6% 47.5% $126

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Puerto Padre

$328 23.9% 164% $204

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Puerto Padre

$127 9.2% 4% $4.8

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Puerto Padre

$202 14.7% 66.1% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Puerto Padre

$66 4.8% 20% $16

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Puerto Padre

$35 2.6% 50.2% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $91 in Puerto Padre. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays about 8.8 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $71 in Puerto Padre for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $393 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇺 Puerto Padre

🕒 Local time

01:41 1:41 AM

14:41 2:41 PM

11 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

34,086

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.74 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.72 CUP (100 CUP = 3.74 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Puerto Padre 16,740 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Puerto Padre

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 Padre: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in utilities, groceries, and eating out. The 8% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Phuket is about 8.8 times higher, 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: $716 in Phuket versus $91 in Puerto Padre. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $200 in Puerto Padre. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 47% higher in Puerto Padre. 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.