Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Salto

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,190 a month against $1,332 in Salto, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
64

Cost of Living Index in Salto
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Salto Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

Salto

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,332

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Salto

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,190 in Phuket versus $1,332 in Salto.

Phuket $1,190
Salto $1,332

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,006 in Phuket versus $1,921 in Salto.

Phuket $2,006
Salto $1,921

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,822 in Phuket versus $2,510 in Salto.

Phuket $2,822
Salto $2,510

Living in Phuket costs roughly 11% less than in Salto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Salto 1% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.35 ฿146

$15.98 UYU 643

-72.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.45 ฿1,087

$37.19 UYU 1,495

-12.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.42 ฿282

$11.86 UYU 477

-29.01%

Cappuccino

$2.81 ฿94.0

$3.26 UYU 131

-13.80%

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

$0.87 ฿29.29

$2.21 UYU 89.0

-60.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 ฿15.39

$1.57 UYU 63.1

-70.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$4.57 UYU 184

-43.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 ฿122

$3.08 UYU 124

18.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 ฿57.2

$1.40 UYU 56.2

22.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.42

$2.12 UYU 85.1

-31.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.3

$1.50 UYU 60.3

4.00%

Eggs

$2.10 ฿70.3

$5.34 UYU 215

-60.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.53 ฿654

$15.05 UYU 605

29.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$8.73 UYU 351

-61.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿373

$9.86 UYU 397

12.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 ฿94.8

$1.27 UYU 51.0

122.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 ฿54.3

$2.16 UYU 86.7

-25.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 ฿74.5

$1.24 UYU 49.93

79.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.15 ฿71.9

$1.86 UYU 74.8

15.59%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 ฿49.95

$0.90 UYU 36.05

65.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 ฿44.40

$1.66 UYU 66.8

-19.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.72

$0.89 UYU 35.78

20.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.01

$1.53 UYU 61.4

-66.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 ฿147

$5.29 UYU 213

-17.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.77 ฿629

$7.55 UYU 303

148.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.3

$1.91 UYU 76.9

-8.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿92.9

$2.61 UYU 105

6.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.17 ฿72.6

$0.60 UYU 23.98

261.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.28 ฿746

$29.75 UYU 1,196

-25.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿101

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.43

$3.61 UYU 145

-70.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.71 ฿124

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 ฿47.88

$1.95 UYU 78.3

-26.67%

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

$26.3K ฿882.1K

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

$26.2K ฿877.3K

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

$96.7 ฿3,236

$200 UYU 8,032

-51.61%

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

$11.41 ฿382

$21.70 UYU 872

-47.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.11 ฿573

$29.62 UYU 1,191

-42.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.8 ฿1,768

$36.74 UYU 1,478

43.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.07 ฿371

$12.46 UYU 501

-11.16%

Cinema Ticket

$7.65 ฿256

$9.93 UYU 399

-22.96%

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

$555 ฿18.6K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿377.7K

$4,463 UYU 179.4K

152.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.4 ฿2,123

$85.5 UYU 3,437

-25.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.61 ฿958

$55.9 UYU 2,247

-48.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.7 ฿3,238

$114 UYU 4,576

-15.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 ฿2,967

$67.1 UYU 2,697

32.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$735 ฿24.6K

$438 UYU 17.6K

67.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$458 ฿15.3K

$300 UYU 12.1K

52.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,102 ฿70.4K

$749 UYU 30.1K

180.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 ฿39.7K

$417 UYU 16.8K

184.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,493 ฿116.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,491 ฿83.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.8K

$628 UYU 25.3K

-20.23%

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 4, 2026

Last update for Salto: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$458 38.1%

Salto

$300 22.7% 34.5% $158

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.3%

Salto

$272 20.6% 1.6% $4.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.4%

Salto

$251 19% 101% $126

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$125 10.4%

Salto

$145 11% 16.2% $20

Eating Out

Phuket

$119 9.9%

Salto

$247 18.7% 107% $127

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.7%

Salto

$57 4.3% 16.9% $11

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Salto

$50 * 3.8% 27.9% $11

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 $735 in Phuket and $438 in Salto. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Salto pays 25% 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 $37.00 in Salto for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $272 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇺🇾 Salto

🕒 Local time

18:58 6:58 PM

08:58 8:58 AM

10 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

104,028

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 40.21 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.06 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Salto 16,430 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Salto

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 Salto: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 12% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 25% lower in Salto. 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: $735 in Phuket versus $438 in Salto. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $37.00 in Salto. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 34% less than in Salto. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,190 in Phuket versus $1,332 in Salto, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Salto. 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 Salto, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Salto 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 12% less than in Salto. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.