Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Santa Cruz de La Palma

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,643 in Santa Cruz de La Palma, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz de La Palma
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Santa Cruz de La Palma Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Santa Cruz de La Palma

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,643

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Santa Cruz de La Palma

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 de La Palma actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,643 in Santa Cruz de La Palma.

Phuket $1,278
Santa Cruz de La Palma $1,643

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,423 in Santa Cruz de La Palma.

Phuket $2,216
Santa Cruz de La Palma $2,423

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,203 in Santa Cruz de La Palma.

Phuket $3,154
Santa Cruz de La Palma $3,203

Living in Phuket costs roughly 22% less than in Santa Cruz de La Palma, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Santa Cruz de La Palma is 21% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$17.09 €15.35

-73.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$56.2 €50.5

-42.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$11.24 €10.10

-21.62%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$2.43 €2.18

16.46%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$2.50 €2.25

-65.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$1.81 €1.62

-72.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$3.45 €3.10

-25.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$3.99 €3.58

-7.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.20 €1.08

38.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.43 €1.28

2.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.62 €1.46

-7.41%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.31 €2.97

-36.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$13.46 €12.09

41.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$8.18 €7.35

-59.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$15.80 €14.20

-30.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$2.59 €2.33

13.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$2.09 €1.87

-19.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.09 €1.88

7.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$2.61 €2.35

-20.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.80 €1.62

-16.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$1.93 €1.73

-28.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.33 €1.19

-19.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.69 €0.62

-24.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$6.21 €5.57

-32.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$5.75 €5.16

226.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.21 €1.09

50.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.09 €1.88

35.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$1.60 €1.44

-9.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$32.40 €29.11

74.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$4.02 €3.61

-24.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$1.44 €1.29

-29.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$22.84 €20.52

-83.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.73 €1.55

-15.03%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$33.8K €30.4K

-20.86%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$31.0K €27.9K

-13.98%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$143 €128

-32.55%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$17.79 €15.98

-36.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$29.46 €26.46

-42.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$44.18 €39.68

52.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$15.89 €14.27

-32.47%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$8.99 €8.08

-16.57%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$469 €421

1.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$8,421 €7,564

33.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$86.8 €78.0

-28.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$36.69 €32.96

-22.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$91.5 €82.2

3.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$114 €103

-24.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$900 €809

-20.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$684 €614

-28.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$1,365 €1,226

41.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,016 €912

40.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$3,275 €2,942

27.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$2,247 €2,019

35.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,341 €1,204

-62.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.3

68.79%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Santa Cruz de La Palma: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Santa Cruz de La Palma

$684 41.6% 39.3% $193

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Santa Cruz de La Palma

$266 16.2% 0% $0

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Santa Cruz de La Palma

$190 11.6% 52.7% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Santa Cruz de La Palma

$148 9% 21.6% $26

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Santa Cruz de La Palma

$242 14.7% 98.9% $120

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Santa Cruz de La Palma

$62 3.8% 24.4% $20

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Santa Cruz de La Palma

$50 3.1% 29.1% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $900 in Santa Cruz de La Palma. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Cruz de La Palma pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $56 in Santa Cruz de La Palma for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇪🇸 Santa Cruz de La Palma

🕒 Local time

07:18 7:18 AM

00:18 12:18 AM

7 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

15,441

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Santa Cruz de La Palma 12,060 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Santa Cruz de La Palma

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 de La Palma: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 22% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 63% 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 $900 in Santa Cruz de La Palma. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $469 in Santa Cruz de La Palma. 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 $56 in Santa Cruz de La Palma. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,643 in Santa Cruz de La Palma, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Santa Cruz de La Palma. 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.

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