Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Santa Cruz, Aruba

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $1,886 in Santa Cruz, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

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Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Santa Cruz

🇦🇼 Aruba

$1,886

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,886 in Santa Cruz.

Phuket $1,294
Santa Cruz $1,886

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $2,900 in Santa Cruz.

Phuket $2,204
Santa Cruz $2,900

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $3,914 in Santa Cruz.

Phuket $3,115
Santa Cruz $3,914

Living in Phuket costs roughly 31% less than in Santa Cruz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 4% below, Santa Cruz is 40% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,078

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿290

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿90.9

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

$0.93 ฿31.06

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.67

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿84.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿121

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$2.20 AWG 3.94

-20.91%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.42

$2.64 AWG 4.73

-45.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.1

$4.42 AWG 7.91

-66.06%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.5

$4.78 AWG 8.55

-54.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿637

$8.14 AWG 14.57

134.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿113

$7.69 AWG 13.77

-55.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿364

$6.75 AWG 12.08

61.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.2

$4.52 AWG 8.08

-34.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.5

$4.57 AWG 8.18

-63.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.2

$8.12 AWG 14.54

-73.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿70.9

$6.87 AWG 12.29

-69.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.68

$6.70 AWG 11.99

-78.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.66

$1.89 AWG 3.39

-27.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿35.91

$3.00 AWG 5.37

-64.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.21

$4.54 AWG 8.13

-87.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿148

$10.34 AWG 18.52

-57.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿609

$19.59 AWG 35.06

-6.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.2

$2.55 AWG 4.56

-30.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.2

$3.09 AWG 5.54

-6.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.32

$1.96 AWG 3.50

-26.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,832

$154 AWG 276

-64.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.5

$19.32 AWG 34.57

-92.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿25.90

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿128

$19.75 AWG 35.34

-80.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.65

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

$26.9K ฿897.3K

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

$26.3K ฿879.4K

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

$97.8 ฿3,265

$141 AWG 252

-30.41%

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

$11.29 ฿377

$71.3 AWG 128

-84.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿574

$207 AWG 371

-91.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,281

$68.5 AWG 123

-0.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿365

$46.44 AWG 83.1

-76.49%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿248

$8.39 AWG 15.02

-11.44%

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

$530 ฿17.7K

$141 AWG 252

276.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿626.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,059

$78.8 AWG 141

-21.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿943

$110 AWG 197

-74.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,204

$140 AWG 251

-31.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,898

$137 AWG 245

-36.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.1K

$1,268 AWG 2,270

-43.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.0K

$557 AWG 998

-8.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.1K

$1,534 AWG 2,746

27.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.6K

$1,407 AWG 2,519

-0.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿139.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.4K

$3,667 AWG 6,564

-86.60%

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: November 2, 2026

Last update for Santa Cruz: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Santa Cruz

–

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Santa Cruz

–

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Santa Cruz

–

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Santa Cruz

–

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Santa Cruz

–

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Santa Cruz

–

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Santa Cruz

–

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $1,268 in Santa Cruz. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Cruz pays about 7.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇦🇼 Santa Cruz

🕒 Local time

23:29 11:29 PM

12:29 12:29 PM

11 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

15,236

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Aruban Florin AWG ƒ

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 3 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

1 AWG = 0.559 USD

1 AWG = 0.497 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AWG, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.38 THB (100 THB = 3 USD). 1 EUR = 37.51 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

Aruban Florin exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 1.79 AWG (1 AWG = 0.559 USD). 1 EUR = 2.01 AWG (1 AWG = 0.497 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Santa Cruz 17,410 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Santa Cruz

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 Cruz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 31% cheaper overall, especially in utilities, groceries, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 87% 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: $721 in Phuket versus $1,268 in Santa Cruz. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $141 in Santa Cruz. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 64% less than in Santa Cruz. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,886 in Santa Cruz, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Santa Cruz. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Santa Cruz 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 Cruz on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.