Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Santo Andre

For one person, living is cheaper in Santo Andre: $984 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Santo Andre
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Santo Andre Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Santo Andre

🇧🇷 Brazil

$984

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Santo Andre

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $984 in Santo Andre.

Phuket $1,208
Santo Andre $984

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $1,590 in Santo Andre.

Phuket $2,027
Santo Andre $1,590

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $2,196 in Santo Andre.

Phuket $2,845
Santo Andre $2,196

Living in Phuket is roughly 23% more expensive than in Santo Andre, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Santo Andre 27% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$9.19 R$46.61

-52.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$50.2 R$254

-35.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$8.66 R$43.92

1.15%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$2.44 R$12.35

15.98%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$1.37 R$6.92

-34.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$0.95 R$4.82

-50.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$2.32 R$11.74

9.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$3.91 R$19.84

-2.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.00 R$5.08

73.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.80 R$9.13

-18.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$1.37 R$6.97

10.22%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$2.50 R$12.68

-13.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$10.61 R$53.8

85.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$4.70 R$23.82

-28.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$10.65 R$54.0

4.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$2.28 R$11.55

25.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.64 R$8.33

3.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$1.53 R$7.74

43.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$1.64 R$8.33

25.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$1.27 R$6.43

14.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$1.23 R$6.21

12.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$0.99 R$5.01

8.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$0.84 R$4.28

-39.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$2.43 R$12.31

75.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$8.20 R$41.59

126.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$1.54 R$7.82

15.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$2.49 R$12.64

14.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$0.99 R$5.02

128.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$27.01 R$137

-18.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$1.21 R$6.11

148.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$1.02 R$5.17

3.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$8.28 R$41.99

-53.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.33 R$6.76

9.02%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$22.9K R$115.9K

15.14%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$33.2K R$168.2K

-18.80%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$65.5 R$332

47.06%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$14.49 R$73.5

-23.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$22.33 R$113

-23.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$25.10 R$127

107.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$27.72 R$141

-59.74%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$8.01 R$40.60

-2.50%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$551 R$2,794

0.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$16.5K R$83.6K

-29.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$63.7 R$323

0.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$57.0 R$289

-49.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$88.4 R$448

7.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$79.1 R$401

11.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$400 R$2,030

84.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$301 R$1,524

53.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$663 R$3,359

216.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$541 R$2,741

122.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$1,711 R$8,673

103.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$1,153 R$5,844

118.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$549 R$2,783

-8.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

10.81

-48.47%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Santo Andre: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Santo Andre

$301 30.6% 35% $162

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Santo Andre

$216 21.9% 19.7% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Santo Andre

$102 10.4% 17.8% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Santo Andre

$130 13.2% 4.3% $5.4

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Santo Andre

$157 16% 29.9% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Santo Andre

$41 4.2% 39.3% $27

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Santo Andre

$37 3.8% 5.5% $2.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $400 in Santo Andre. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santo Andre pays 10% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $50.0 in Santo Andre. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $216, with Santo Andre cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇷 Santo Andre

🕒 Local time

23:04 11:04 PM

13:04 1:04 PM

10 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

748,919

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Santo Andre 15,890 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Santo Andre

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 Santo Andre: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santo Andre is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and transport. The 23% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 10% lower in Santo Andre. 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: $737 in Phuket versus $400 in Santo Andre. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $551 in Santo Andre. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 24% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $984 in Santo Andre versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Santo Andre but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Santo Andre the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Phuket and Santo Andre 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 Santo Andre gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.