Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Santa Ana, Costa Rica

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,000 in Santa Ana, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
96

Cost of Living Index in Santa Ana
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Santa Ana Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Santa Ana

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,000

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Santa Ana

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,000 in Santa Ana.

Phuket $1,278
Santa Ana $2,000

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $3,255 in Santa Ana.

Phuket $2,216
Santa Ana $3,255

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $4,510 in Santa Ana.

Phuket $3,154
Santa Ana $4,510

Living in Phuket costs roughly 36% less than in Santa Ana, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Santa Ana is 47% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$12.14 ₡5,481

-63.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$62.0 ₡28.0K

-47.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$11.85 ₡5,349

-25.65%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$4.52 ₡2,039

-37.39%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$2.23 ₡1,007

-60.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$1.33 ₡602

-63.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$3.38 ₡1,527

-24.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$4.37 ₡1,971

-15.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$2.26 ₡1,020

-26.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$3.13 ₡1,414

-53.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$2.50 ₡1,126

-40.00%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.58 ₡1,618

-41.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$10.75 ₡4,854

77.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$10.63 ₡4,798

-68.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$13.92 ₡6,283

-21.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$5.03 ₡2,271

-41.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.65 ₡745

2.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$4.71 ₡2,127

-52.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$3.92 ₡1,770

-46.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$3.77 ₡1,703

-59.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$3.62 ₡1,635

-61.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$1.12 ₡504

-4.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.85 ₡837

-71.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$5.77 ₡2,606

-27.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$17.73 ₡8,005

5.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.81 ₡1,270

-35.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.65 ₡1,194

7.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$2.41 ₡1,086

25.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$1.56 ₡702

-34.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$8.68 ₡3,917

-57.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.57 ₡711

-6.37%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$28.1K ₡12.7M

-4.65%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$37.6K ₡17.0M

-28.97%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$94.4 ₡42.6K

2.03%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$33.36 ₡15.1K

-66.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$50.1 ₡22.6K

-66.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$158 ₡71.3K

-57.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$22.03 ₡9,945

-51.29%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$7.91 ₡3,570

-5.18%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$993 ₡448.3K

-52.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$17.1K ₡7.7M

-34.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$65.7 ₡29.7K

-5.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$57.0 ₡25.7K

-50.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$129 ₡58.2K

-26.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$132 ₡59.6K

-34.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,088 ₡491.4K

-34.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$859 ₡388.0K

-42.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$2,913 ₡1.3M

-33.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,897 ₡856.3K

-24.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$2,721 ₡1.2M

53.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$1,693 ₡764.4K

79.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,418 ₡640.0K

-64.57%

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 Santa Ana: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Santa Ana

$859 43% 75.1% $369

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Santa Ana

$379 19% 42.3% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Santa Ana

$178 8.9% 42.9% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Santa Ana

$173 8.6% 41.6% $51

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Santa Ana

$227 11.3% 86.4% $105

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Santa Ana

$174 8.7% 111% $92

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Santa Ana

$10 * 0.5% 85.6% $60

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 $1,088 in Santa Ana. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Ana pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $62 in Santa Ana for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $379 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇷 Santa Ana

🕒 Local time

15:10 3:10 PM

02:10 2:10 AM

13 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

13,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, 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).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Santa Ana 18,010 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Santa Ana

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 Santa Ana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 36% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 65% 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 $1,088 in Santa Ana. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $993 in Santa Ana. 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 $62 in Santa Ana. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,000 in Santa Ana, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Santa Ana. 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 Santa Ana, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Santa Ana are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Santa Ana on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.