Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Punta Cana

For one person, living is cheaper in Punta Cana: $723 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Punta Cana
Learn more

Punta Cana Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Punta Cana

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$723

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Punta Cana

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $723 in Punta Cana.

Phuket $1,278
Punta Cana $723

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,654 in Punta Cana.

Phuket $2,216
Punta Cana $1,654

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,586 in Punta Cana.

Phuket $3,154
Punta Cana $2,586

Living in Phuket is roughly 77% more expensive than in Punta Cana, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Punta Cana 47% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$8.19 DOP 494

-45.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$40.42 DOP 2,439

-19.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$6.76 DOP 408

30.33%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$1.81 DOP 109

56.35%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$0.70 DOP 42.38

24.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$0.41 DOP 24.62

19.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$2.41 DOP 145

6.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$3.83 DOP 231

-3.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.14 DOP 68.6

45.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$1.70 DOP 103

-14.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.47 DOP 88.6

2.04%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.50 DOP 90.6

39.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$6.39 DOP 385

198.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$3.47 DOP 210

-4.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$4.63 DOP 279

135.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$2.95 DOP 178

-0.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.43 DOP 86.4

18.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$3.24 DOP 196

-30.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$2.12 DOP 128

-1.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$3.46 DOP 209

-56.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$2.91 DOP 176

-52.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$0.87 DOP 52.3

22.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.56 DOP 94.4

-66.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$4.85 DOP 293

-13.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$16.08 DOP 970

16.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.95 DOP 178

-38.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$3.40 DOP 205

-16.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$1.35 DOP 81.7

7.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$2.43 DOP 146

24.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$3.20 DOP 193

-68.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.41 DOP 84.8

4.26%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$14.8K DOP 890.4K

81.48%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$25.9K DOP 1.6M

3.21%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$94.4 DOP 5,695

2.11%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$26.18 DOP 1,580

-56.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$37.71 DOP 2,276

-55.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$81.2 DOP 4,902

-17.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$16.51 DOP 996

-35.01%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$4.93 DOP 297

52.13%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$147 DOP 8,852

224.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$5,333 DOP 321.8K

111.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$26.13 DOP 1,577

138.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$45.55 DOP 2,749

-37.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$58.7 DOP 3,542

60.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$66.4 DOP 4,006

29.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$926 DOP 55.9K

-22.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$2,599 DOP 156.8K

-25.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$986 DOP 59.5K

45.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$2,960 DOP 178.6K

41.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$1,277 DOP 77.1K

138.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-49.36%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Punta Cana: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Punta Cana

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Punta Cana

$230 31.8% 13.7% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Punta Cana

$158 21.9% 27.1% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Punta Cana

$89 12.2% 27.4% $33

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Punta Cana

$132 18.2% 8.2% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Punta Cana

$91 12.6% 10.8% $8.8

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Punta Cana

$24 * 3.3% 66.2% $47

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 $716 in Phuket and $926 in Punta Cana. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $40 in Punta Cana. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $230, with Punta Cana cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇩🇴 Punta Cana

🕒 Local time

15:00 3:00 PM

04:00 4:00 AM

11 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

100,023

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 DOP = 1.66 USD

100 DOP = 1.48 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DOP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 60.35 DOP (100 DOP = 1.66 USD). 1 EUR = 67.35 DOP (100 DOP = 1.48 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Punta Cana 16,740 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Punta Cana

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 Punta Cana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Punta Cana is about 43% cheaper overall, especially in transport, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,917 in Phuket and $1,085 in Punta Cana 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: $716 in Phuket versus $926 in Punta Cana. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $147 in Punta Cana. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $40 in Punta Cana. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $723 in Punta Cana versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Punta Cana but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Punta Cana the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.