Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Santa Fe

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Fe: $1,077 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 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
52

Cost of Living Index in Santa Fe
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Santa Fe Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Santa Fe

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,077

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,077 in Santa Fe.

Phuket $1,278
Santa Fe $1,077

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,662 in Santa Fe.

Phuket $2,216
Santa Fe $1,662

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,247 in Santa Fe.

Phuket $3,154
Santa Fe $2,247

Living in Phuket is roughly 19% more expensive than in Santa Fe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Santa Fe 21% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$10.16 ARS 15.6K

-56.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$38.08 ARS 58.6K

-14.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$12.35 ARS 19.0K

-28.66%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$1.72 ARS 2,644

64.53%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.48 ARS 2,274

-41.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$1.34 ARS 2,054

-63.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$3.47 ARS 5,337

-26.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$5.03 ARS 7,738

-26.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.01 ARS 1,561

64.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.56 ARS 2,399

-6.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.02 ARS 1,575

47.06%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.54 ARS 2,375

35.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$8.17 ARS 12.6K

133.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$6.04 ARS 9,287

-45.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$10.32 ARS 15.9K

5.72%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$2.00 ARS 3,073

46.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.51 ARS 2,325

11.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$0.87 ARS 1,344

158.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$2.51 ARS 3,854

-17.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.58 ARS 895

160.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$0.68 ARS 1,047

102.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.06 ARS 1,631

0.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.07 ARS 1,644

-51.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.17 ARS 4,875

32.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$4.84 ARS 7,440

288.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.26 ARS 1,940

44.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.13 ARS 3,280

33.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$1.07 ARS 1,640

35.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$0.98 ARS 1,505

208.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.98 ARS 1,509

4.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.15 ARS 1,770

27.83%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$19.8K ARS 30.5M

35.15%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$29.7K ARS 45.7M

-10.21%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$59.6 ARS 91.7K

61.69%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$19.80 ARS 30.5K

-43.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$21.28 ARS 32.7K

-20.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$33.94 ARS 52.2K

98.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$19.38 ARS 29.8K

-44.63%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$4.91 ARS 7,550

52.75%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$260 ARS 400.2K

82.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$4,522 ARS 7.0M

149.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$86.8 ARS 133.6K

-28.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$60.9 ARS 93.7K

-53.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$115 ARS 176.2K

-17.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$142 ARS 218.3K

-39.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$505 ARS 776.9K

41.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$365 ARS 561.9K

34.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$936 ARS 1.4M

105.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$595 ARS 915.2K

140.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$1,271 ARS 2.0M

139.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$854 ARS 1.3M

-41.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

100

-94.43%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Santa Fe: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Santa Fe

$365 33.9% 25.6% $126

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Santa Fe

$197 18.3% 25.9% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Santa Fe

$101 9.4% 19.1% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Santa Fe

$182 16.9% 49.2% $60

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Santa Fe

$178 16.5% 45.9% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Santa Fe

$44 4.1% 46.8% $38

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Santa Fe

$10 * 0.9% 85.6% $60

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 $716 in Phuket and $505 in Santa Fe. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Fe pays 70% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $38 in Santa Fe. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $197, with Santa Fe cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇦🇷 Santa Fe

🕒 Local time

05:05 5:05 AM

19:05 7:05 PM

10 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

391,164

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,538 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD). 1 EUR = 1,712 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Santa Fe 16,600 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Santa Fe

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 Fe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santa Fe is about 16% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 41% 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 $505 in Santa Fe. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $260 in Santa Fe. 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 $38 in Santa Fe. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Santa Fe gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Fe are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.