Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Puerto Varas

For one person, living is cheaper in Puerto Varas: $1,133 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $900 less a year. The total is higher in Phuket despite lower rent and utilities.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Puerto Varas
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Puerto Varas Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Puerto Varas

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,133

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,133 in Puerto Varas.

Phuket $1,208
Puerto Varas $1,133

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $1,620 in Puerto Varas.

Phuket $2,027
Puerto Varas $1,620

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $2,107 in Puerto Varas.

Phuket $2,845
Puerto Varas $2,107

Living in Phuket is roughly 7% more expensive than in Puerto Varas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Puerto Varas 16% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$12.04 CLP 11.9K

-63.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$40.38 CLP 39.7K

-20.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$7.80 CLP 7,676

12.31%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$3.25 CLP 3,195

-12.92%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$0.99 CLP 975

-9.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$0.83 CLP 817

-43.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.10 CLP 1,082

57.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.88 CLP 1,850

-21.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$1.56 CLP 1,533

-3.21%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.06 CLP 3,007

-29.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$8.52 CLP 8,384

131.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$4.70 CLP 4,623

-28.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$8.94 CLP 8,798

24.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$1.69 CLP 1,667

68.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.98 CLP 1,954

-14.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$2.50 CLP 2,461

-12.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$1.90 CLP 1,873

7.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$1.56 CLP 1,532

-7.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$1.21 CLP 1,186

14.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$1.32 CLP 1,295

-18.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$1.14 CLP 1,117

-55.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$5.16 CLP 5,077

-17.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$4.50 CLP 4,434

312.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$1.43 CLP 1,403

24.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$1.22 CLP 1,200

133.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$1.10 CLP 1,081

105.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$251 CLP 246.9K

-61.58%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$16.43 CLP 16.2K

-32.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$31.04 CLP 30.6K

68.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$504 CLP 496.0K

10.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$6,079 CLP 6.0M

90.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$20.68 CLP 20.4K

210.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$15.05 CLP 14.8K

90.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$60.7 CLP 59.7K

57.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$603 CLP 593.5K

22.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$413 CLP 406.4K

11.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$811 CLP 797.9K

158.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$621 CLP 611.8K

93.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$528 CLP 519.4K

-5.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Puerto Varas: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Puerto Varas

$413 36.4% 10.7% $49

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Puerto Varas

$209 18.4% 22.4% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Puerto Varas

$267 * 23.6% 115% $143

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Puerto Varas

$43 * 3.8% 65.1% $81

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Puerto Varas

$166 * 14.6% 36.9% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Puerto Varas

$31 * 2.7% 54.2% $37

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Puerto Varas

$4.4 * 0.4% 88.9% $35

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 $737 in Phuket and $603 in Puerto Varas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Puerto Varas pays 5% 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 $40.00 in Puerto Varas. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $209, with Puerto Varas cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇱 Puerto Varas

🕒 Local time

19:31 7:31 PM

09:31 9:31 AM

10 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

41,255

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.16 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CLP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 984 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,107 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Puerto Varas 16,200 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Puerto Varas

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 Varas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Puerto Varas is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. The 7% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 5% lower in Puerto Varas. 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: $737 in Phuket versus $603 in Puerto Varas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $504 in Puerto Varas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Puerto Varas – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,133 in Puerto Varas versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Puerto Varas but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Puerto Varas the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Phuket and Puerto Varas 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 Puerto Varas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 7% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.