Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Santa Cruz

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,758 in Santa Cruz, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 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
84

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz
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Santa Cruz Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Santa Cruz

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,758

/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: $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,758 in Santa Cruz.

Phuket $1,207
Santa Cruz $1,758

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $2,778 in Santa Cruz.

Phuket $2,037
Santa Cruz $2,778

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $3,798 in Santa Cruz.

Phuket $2,867
Santa Cruz $3,798

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Santa Cruz is 30% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿154

$12.29 ₡5,523

-62.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,089

$62.6 ₡28.1K

-48.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿287

$10.81 ₡4,856

-20.91%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.2

$4.58 ₡2,059

-40.61%

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

$0.94 ฿31.33

$2.20 ₡989

-57.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.44

$1.90 ₡854

-74.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.8

$3.31 ₡1,489

-21.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$4.36 ₡1,958

-12.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$2.38 ₡1,070

-26.89%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.95

$3.16 ₡1,422

-54.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.2

$2.48 ₡1,113

-38.31%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.9

$3.56 ₡1,599

-39.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿642

$10.50 ₡4,717

82.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$10.51 ₡4,722

-68.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿373

$14.15 ₡6,359

-21.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.8

$5.20 ₡2,336

-43.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.3

$1.07 ₡482

57.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿77.0

$4.83 ₡2,170

-52.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.5

$3.91 ₡1,758

-45.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.2

$3.87 ₡1,741

-60.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.67

$3.64 ₡1,636

-62.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.54

$1.13 ₡508

-0.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.29

$3.08 ₡1,383

-82.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿143

$5.78 ₡2,596

-26.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿610

$20.18 ₡9,068

-9.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.4

$2.88 ₡1,294

-39.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.6

$3.68 ₡1,654

-24.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.3

$1.29 ₡581

72.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿739

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.6

$2.50 ₡1,125

16.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.89

$1.56 ₡701

-35.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$8.60 ₡3,864

-55.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.98

$1.56 ₡702

-4.49%

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

$26.7K ฿894.0K

$22.1K ₡9.9M

20.94%

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

$26.7K ฿895.1K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-22.61%

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

$99.4 ฿3,330

$94.5 ₡42.4K

5.19%

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

$11.28 ฿378

$35.98 ₡16.2K

-68.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿582

$59.8 ₡26.9K

-70.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,752

$71.7 ₡32.2K

-27.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿363

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿254

$6.75 ₡3,034

12.15%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$978 ₡439.3K

-42.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿384.9K

$17.2K ₡7.7M

-33.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,107

$72.2 ₡32.4K

-12.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿958

$56.1 ₡25.2K

-49.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,222

$129 ₡58.0K

-25.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,951

$132 ₡59.1K

-33.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$912 ₡409.8K

-20.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$665 ₡298.7K

-30.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.2K

$1,689 ₡759.1K

24.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿41.0K

$1,310 ₡588.5K

-6.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

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 13, 2026

Last update for Santa Cruz: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Santa Cruz

$665 37.8% 44.5% $205

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Santa Cruz

$400 22.8% 49.5% $132

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Santa Cruz

$190 10.8% 48.6% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Santa Cruz

$175 10% 41.1% $51

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Santa Cruz

$227 12.9% 87.5% $106

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Santa Cruz

$85 4.9% 26.4% $18

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Santa Cruz

$15 * 0.9% 60.2% $23

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 $729 in Phuket and $912 in Santa Cruz. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $63.0 in Santa Cruz for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $400 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇷 Santa Cruz

🕒 Local time

19:53 7:53 PM

06:53 6:53 AM

13 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

1,665

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 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 October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 33.51 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.53 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 449 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Santa Cruz 17,950 km ≈ 23 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 cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 46% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,811 in Phuket and $2,637 in Santa Cruz to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $729 in Phuket versus $912 in Santa Cruz. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $558 in Phuket versus $978 in Santa Cruz. 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 $32.00 versus $63.0 in Santa Cruz. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,758 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.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Santa Cruz, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Santa Cruz 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 46% less than in Santa Cruz. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.