Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Santa Cruz Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Santa Cruz

🙂 Solo nomad: Phuket is 49.3% cheaper than Santa Cruz without rent, and 33% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Phuket is 23.6% cheaper than Santa Cruz without rent, and 12.5% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.51 ฿142

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.08 ฿1,449

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.78 ฿276

Cappuccino

$3.09 ฿97.0

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

$0.70 ฿21.97

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 ฿12.46

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 ฿75.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿116

Milk (1 liter)

$2.25 ฿70.6

$2.10 AWG 3.76

7.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 ฿58.8

$2.63 AWG 4.72

-28.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.22 ฿69.8

$4.37 AWG 7.82

-49.20%

Eggs

$2.23 ฿70.1

$4.71 AWG 8.42

-52.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.68 ฿619

$7.86 AWG 14.07

150.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.66 ฿115

$7.50 AWG 13.43

-51.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.09 ฿411

$6.59 AWG 11.80

98.63%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 ฿106

$4.48 AWG 8.03

-24.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿53.3

$4.50 AWG 8.06

-62.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ฿73.2

$8.12 AWG 14.53

-71.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ฿62.4

$6.59 AWG 11.79

-69.95%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 ฿48.77

$6.84 AWG 12.25

-77.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 ฿47.42

$1.90 AWG 3.40

-20.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.98 ฿30.84

$3.10 AWG 5.55

-68.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.48 ฿15.01

$4.47 AWG 8.00

-89.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.35 ฿137

$10.37 AWG 18.56

-58.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.65 ฿649

$19.19 AWG 34.35

7.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿55.8

$2.49 AWG 4.45

-28.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 ฿86.6

$3.04 AWG 5.43

-9.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 ฿43.19

$1.96 AWG 3.52

-30.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.36 ฿357

$157 AWG 282

-92.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 ฿97.8

$19.33 AWG 34.60

-83.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 ฿32.96

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.72 ฿431

$19.38 AWG 34.69

-29.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 ฿42.16

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

$27.7K ฿869.6K

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

$33.6K ฿1.1M

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

$122 ฿3,835

$138 AWG 247

-11.70%

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

$13.61 ฿428

$71.8 AWG 129

-81.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.49 ฿581

$202 AWG 361

-90.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.7 ฿1,939

$68.5 AWG 123

-9.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.70 ฿525

$47.27 AWG 84.6

-64.67%

Cinema Ticket

$9.09 ฿286

$8.43 AWG 15.08

7.83%

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

$702 ฿22.1K

$137 AWG 245

414.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.0K ฿502.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.9 ฿1,851

$77.8 AWG 139

-24.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.41 ฿1,082

$111 AWG 199

-69.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 ฿3,545

$140 AWG 251

-19.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.7 ฿2,662

$136 AWG 244

-37.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$606 ฿19.1K

$1,274 AWG 2,280

-52.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$435 ฿13.7K

$552 AWG 987

-21.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,069 ฿65.0K

$1,543 AWG 2,762

34.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,473 ฿46.3K

$1,375 AWG 2,461

7.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,445 ฿139.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,988 ฿93.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$547 ฿17.2K

$3,678 AWG 6,584

-85.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.33

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

Last update for Phuket: January 13, 2026

Last update for Santa Cruz: January 11, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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