Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Sao Joao da Madeira

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,540 in Sao Joao da Madeira, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Sao Joao da Madeira outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Sao Joao da Madeira
Learn more

Sao Joao da Madeira Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Sao Joao da Madeira

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,540

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Sao Joao da Madeira

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 Sao Joao da Madeira actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,540 in Sao Joao da Madeira.

Phuket $1,278
Sao Joao da Madeira $1,540

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,128 in Sao Joao da Madeira.

Phuket $2,216
Sao Joao da Madeira $2,128

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,717 in Sao Joao da Madeira.

Phuket $3,154
Sao Joao da Madeira $2,717

Living in Phuket costs roughly 17% less than in Sao Joao da Madeira, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Sao Joao da Madeira is 13% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$9.94 €8.91

-55.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$19.79 €17.74

63.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$7.62 €6.83

15.62%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$1.10 €0.98

157.27%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$1.13 €1.02

-23.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$0.99 €0.89

-50.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$3.28 €2.94

-21.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.30 €2.06

60.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$0.87 €0.78

90.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$0.33 €0.29

342.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$1.10 €0.98

36.36%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.69 €2.41

-22.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$8.29 €7.43

130.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$5.73 €5.14

-42.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$6.79 €6.08

60.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$2.10 €1.89

39.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$1.36 €1.21

24.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.77 €1.58

27.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$2.75 €2.47

-24.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.92 €1.72

-21.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$1.89 €1.70

-26.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$1.22 €1.10

-12.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.90 €0.80

-42.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$6.65 €5.96

-36.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$4.57 €4.09

311.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.24 €1.12

46.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.62 €1.45

75.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$2.08 €1.86

-30.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$42.34 €37.94

33.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$4.38 €3.93

-31.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$1.71 €1.53

-40.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$16.51 €14.80

-77.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.81 €1.62

-18.78%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$32.9K €29.5K

-18.71%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$37.5K €33.6K

-28.80%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$109 €97.3

-11.23%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$16.99 €15.23

-33.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$46.95 €42.07

-64.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$38.19 €34.23

76.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$14.76 €13.22

-27.30%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$5.48 €4.91

36.86%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$321 €287

48.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$9,990 €8,952

12.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$64.6 €57.9

-3.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$36.62 €32.82

-22.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$82.5 €73.9

14.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$96.9 €86.9

-11.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$958 €858

-25.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$799 €716

-38.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,617 €1,449

19.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,179 €1,057

21.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$3,130 €2,805

33.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$2,469 €2,213

23.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,059 €949

-52.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.55

56.90%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Sao Joao da Madeira: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Sao Joao da Madeira

$799 51.9% 62.8% $308

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Sao Joao da Madeira

$184 12% 30.8% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Sao Joao da Madeira

$172 11.2% 38.6% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Sao Joao da Madeira

$126 8.2% 3.6% $4.4

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Sao Joao da Madeira

$145 9.4% 19.2% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Sao Joao da Madeira

$49 3.2% 40.2% $33

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Sao Joao da Madeira

$64 4.1% 9.9% $7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $958 in Sao Joao da Madeira. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sao Joao da Madeira pays about 2.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $20 in Sao Joao da Madeira for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $184 per month, with Sao Joao da Madeira cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇵🇹 Sao Joao da Madeira

🕒 Local time

07:11 7:11 AM

00:11 12:11 AM

7 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

22,144

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Sao Joao da Madeira 10,820 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Sao Joao da Madeira

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 Sao Joao da Madeira: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 17% cheaper overall, especially in utilities, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 53% 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 $958 in Sao Joao da Madeira. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $321 in Sao Joao da Madeira. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Sao Joao da Madeira pay roughly 31% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,540 in Sao Joao da Madeira, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Sao Joao da Madeira. 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.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Sao Joao da Madeira are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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