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

🙂 Solo nomad: Phuket is 42.5% cheaper than Santa Cruz without rent, and 33.7% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Phuket is 29.4% cheaper than Santa Cruz without rent, and 14.8% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.65 ฿149

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.11 ฿1,474

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.74 ฿279

Cappuccino

$3.04 ฿97.1

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

$0.72 ฿23.03

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.39 ฿12.50

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 ฿78.0

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.79 ฿121

Milk (1 liter)

$2.14 ฿68.6

$2.20 AWG 3.93

-2.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 ฿59.5

$2.65 AWG 4.74

-29.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.19 ฿69.9

$4.46 AWG 7.98

-50.90%

Eggs

$2.25 ฿71.8

$4.71 AWG 8.43

-52.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.73 ฿631

$7.92 AWG 14.17

149.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.79 ฿121

$7.55 AWG 13.52

-49.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.55 ฿433

$6.54 AWG 11.71

107.19%

Apples (1kg)

$3.25 ฿104

$4.47 AWG 7.99

-27.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 ฿53.4

$4.54 AWG 8.12

-63.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.39 ฿76.5

$8.22 AWG 14.72

-70.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 ฿66.9

$6.66 AWG 11.92

-68.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿48.88

$6.87 AWG 12.29

-77.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 ฿48.27

$1.96 AWG 3.51

-22.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 ฿31.62

$2.98 AWG 5.33

-66.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.46

$4.31 AWG 7.72

-88.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 ฿137

$10.15 AWG 18.17

-57.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.31 ฿649

$19.50 AWG 34.91

4.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 ฿57.3

$2.49 AWG 4.45

-28.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ฿88.5

$3.14 AWG 5.61

-11.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 ฿44.89

$1.97 AWG 3.53

-28.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.70 ฿374

$155 AWG 278

-92.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 ฿99.4

$19.67 AWG 35.21

-84.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.99 ฿31.80

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.73 ฿439

$19.69 AWG 35.24

-30.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 ฿42.17

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

$27.2K ฿870.7K

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

$34.1K ฿1.1M

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

$120 ฿3,849

$141 AWG 252

-14.32%

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

$13.93 ฿445

$73.1 AWG 131

-80.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.31 ฿585

$205 AWG 367

-91.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.9 ฿1,948

$69.9 AWG 125

-12.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.23 ฿551

$46.61 AWG 83.4

-63.03%

Cinema Ticket

$8.71 ฿278

$8.17 AWG 14.62

6.61%

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

$698 ฿22.3K

$136 AWG 244

411.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.7K ฿503.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.6 ฿1,843

$77.9 AWG 139

-26.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.24 ฿1,095

$113 AWG 202

-69.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 ฿3,618

$140 AWG 251

-19.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.8 ฿2,711

$138 AWG 247

-38.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$604 ฿19.3K

$1,259 AWG 2,254

-52.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$436 ฿13.9K

$555 AWG 994

-21.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,057 ฿65.8K

$1,548 AWG 2,771

32.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,498 ฿47.9K

$1,373 AWG 2,458

9.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,252 ฿135.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,988 ฿95.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$529 ฿16.9K

$3,653 AWG 6,539

-85.51%

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: February 28, 2026

Last update for Santa Cruz: March 1, 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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