Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,182 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. The total is higher in Phuket despite lower rent and utilities.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,182

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Rio de Janeiro

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 Rio de Janeiro actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro.

Phuket $1,278
Rio de Janeiro $1,182

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,750 in Rio de Janeiro.

Phuket $2,216
Rio de Janeiro $1,750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,318 in Rio de Janeiro.

Phuket $3,154
Rio de Janeiro $2,318

Living in Phuket is roughly 8% more expensive than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Rio de Janeiro 13% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$9.08 R$48.86

-50.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$37.25 R$200

-12.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$8.02 R$43.15

9.85%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.19 R$11.78

29.22%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$1.46 R$7.87

-40.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$0.99 R$5.31

-50.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$2.03 R$10.91

26.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$3.45 R$18.55

6.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.06 R$5.70

56.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$1.98 R$10.68

-26.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.17 R$6.32

28.21%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.21 R$11.88

-5.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$10.11 R$54.4

88.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$4.12 R$22.15

-19.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$9.17 R$49.36

18.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$2.72 R$14.63

7.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.71 R$9.21

-1.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.53 R$8.23

47.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$1.66 R$8.94

25.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.14 R$6.13

32.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$0.99 R$5.35

39.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$0.65 R$3.48

64.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.60 R$3.22

-13.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$2.79 R$15.04

50.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$7.48 R$40.25

151.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.09 R$5.87

66.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.33 R$12.56

21.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$0.90 R$4.82

61.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$53.0 R$285

6.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.17 R$6.28

158.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$0.78 R$4.20

30.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$8.37 R$45.05

-55.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.21 R$6.53

21.49%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$21.5K R$115.5K

24.74%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$31.1K R$167.6K

-14.27%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$124 R$670

-22.59%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$10.03 R$54.0

12.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$20.88 R$112

-19.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$28.35 R$153

137.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$29.33 R$158

-63.42%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$7.62 R$40.99

-1.57%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$563 R$3,029

-15.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$12.0K R$64.8K

-6.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$39.25 R$211

58.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$46.36 R$250

-38.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$68.4 R$368

37.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$63.4 R$341

35.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$776 R$4,177

-7.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$473 R$2,547

3.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,391 R$7,485

38.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$739 R$3,977

93.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$3,393 R$18.3K

23.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$1,570 R$8,450

93.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$597 R$3,212

-15.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.93

-53.31%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$473 40% 3.6% $18

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$201 17% 24.5% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$155 13.1% 24.8% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$98 8.3% 19.7% $24

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$150 12.7% 23.1% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$44 3.7% 47% $39

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$62 5.2% 12.7% $8.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $776 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rio de Janeiro pays 19% 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 $37 in Rio de Janeiro. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $201, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

11:32 11:32 AM

01:32 1:32 AM

10 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 BRL = 0.186 USD

1 BRL = 0.166 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, 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 = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 5.38 BRL (1 BRL = 0.186 USD). 1 EUR = 6.01 BRL (1 BRL = 0.166 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Rio de Janeiro 15,590 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Rio de Janeiro

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 Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro is about 7% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 16% lower in Phuket. 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: $716 in Phuket versus $776 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $563 in Rio de Janeiro. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 33% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Rio de Janeiro gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.