Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Santa Lucia

For one person, living costs are similar in Phuket and in Santa Lucia: $1,278 and $1,276 a month, rent and utilities included.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Santa Lucia
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Santa Lucia Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Santa Lucia

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,276

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,276 in Santa Lucia.

Phuket $1,278
Santa Lucia $1,276

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,819 in Santa Lucia.

Phuket $2,216
Santa Lucia $1,819

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,361 in Santa Lucia.

Phuket $3,154
Santa Lucia $2,361

Monthly costs are close between Phuket and Santa Lucia; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$9.83 CUP 236

-54.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$30.34 CUP 728

6.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$6.98 CUP 167

26.22%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$3.35 CUP 80.5

-15.52%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.11 CUP 26.66

-21.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.92 CUP 22.18

-46.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$2.04 CUP 48.84

25.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.96 CUP 71.1

24.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.92 CUP 46.07

-13.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.87 CUP 44.95

-21.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.53 CUP 36.83

-1.96%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.60 CUP 86.4

-41.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$6.21 CUP 149

207.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$5.91 CUP 142

-44.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$11.15 CUP 268

-2.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$2.75 CUP 65.9

6.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.57 CUP 37.59

7.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.06 CUP 49.49

9.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$2.19 CUP 52.6

-5.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.95 CUP 46.77

-22.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$1.79 CUP 42.87

-22.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$1.02 CUP 24.46

4.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.03 CUP 24.62

-49.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.97 CUP 95.3

5.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$12.12 CUP 291

55.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.63 CUP 39.10

11.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.36 CUP 56.7

20.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.21 CUP 5.00

590.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$24.63 CUP 591

130.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.27 CUP 78.5

-7.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.38 CUP 9.18

168.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$15.19 CUP 365

-75.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.02 CUP 24.46

44.12%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$69.8K CUP 1.7M

-61.66%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$80.4K CUP 1.9M

-66.81%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$34.72 CUP 833

177.51%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$14.96 CUP 359

-24.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$251 CUP 6,021

-93.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$40.36 CUP 969

66.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$14.78 CUP 355

-27.40%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$1.02 CUP 24.50

635.29%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$164 CUP 3,939

189.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$4,059 CUP 97.4K

177.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$70.5 CUP 1,691

-11.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$55.0 CUP 1,321

-48.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$101 CUP 2,416

-6.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$106 CUP 2,546

-19.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$548 CUP 13.1K

30.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$344 CUP 8,245

42.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$755 CUP 18.1K

155.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$502 CUP 12.0K

184.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$334 CUP 8,024

1148.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$368 CUP 8,836

726.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$55.8 CUP 1,338

800.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.94

12.75%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Santa Lucia: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Santa Lucia

$344 26.9% 30% $147

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Santa Lucia

$245 19.2% 7.9% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Santa Lucia

$301 23.6% 142% $176

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Santa Lucia

$150 11.7% 22.7% $28

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Santa Lucia

$164 12.9% 34.8% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Santa Lucia

$42 3.3% 48.4% $40

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Santa Lucia

$31 2.4% 56.6% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $548 in Santa Lucia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays about 9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $30 in Santa Lucia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $245 per month, with Santa Lucia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇺 Santa Lucia

🕒 Local time

01:00 1:00 AM

14:00 2:00 PM

11 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CUP, 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).

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.72 CUP (100 CUP = 3.74 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Santa Lucia 16,720 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Santa Lucia

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 Lucia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay in Phuket is about 9 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $716 in Phuket versus $548 in Santa Lucia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $164 in Santa Lucia. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Santa Lucia – a meal for two runs $30 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Santa Lucia 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.

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