Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Sao Tome

For one person, living costs are similar in Phuket and in Sao Tome: $1,208 and $1,219 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Sao Tome
Learn more

Sao Tome Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Sao Tome

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

$1,219

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Sao Tome

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,219 in Sao Tome.

Phuket $1,208
Sao Tome $1,219

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $1,924 in Sao Tome.

Phuket $2,027
Sao Tome $1,924

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $2,629 in Sao Tome.

Phuket $2,845
Sao Tome $2,629

Living in Phuket costs roughly 1% less than in Sao Tome, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Sao Tome 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$9.18 STN 200

-52.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$45.02 STN 981

-28.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$7.99 STN 174

9.64%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$2.33 STN 50.8

21.46%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$1.81 STN 39.49

-50.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$1.27 STN 27.64

-62.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$1.66 STN 36.20

53.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$1.88 STN 40.98

103.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.52 STN 33.18

13.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$1.01 STN 22.12

45.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$2.13 STN 46.40

-29.11%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$4.96 STN 108

-56.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$19.41 STN 423

1.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$19.50 STN 425

-82.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$24.70 STN 538

-54.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$3.82 STN 83.3

-25.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.78 STN 38.75

-4.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$3.59 STN 78.2

-39.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$3.48 STN 75.9

-41.09%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$2.83 STN 61.6

-48.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$2.31 STN 50.4

-40.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$0.54 STN 11.76

98.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$2.06 STN 45.01

-75.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$2.33 STN 50.8

82.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$7.96 STN 174

133.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$1.56 STN 34.09

14.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$1.65 STN 36.01

72.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$1.34 STN 29.17

68.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$1.66 STN 36.13

81.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$2.55 STN 55.6

-58.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$13.93 STN 304

-72.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.69 STN 36.95

-14.20%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$24.3K STN 529.0K

8.50%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$31.6K STN 689.7K

-14.84%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$233 STN 5,083

-58.67%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$30.60 STN 667

-63.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$65.9 STN 1,436

-73.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$33.92 STN 739

53.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$25.32 STN 552

-55.92%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$19.86 STN 433

-60.67%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$226 STN 4,925

146.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$2,179 STN 47.5K

431.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$75.1 STN 1,638

-61.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$18.53 STN 404

374.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$283 STN 6,161

160.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$192 STN 4,184

140.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$929 STN 20.3K

125.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$452 STN 9,846

165.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$1,850 STN 40.3K

88.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$1,160 STN 25.3K

117.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$257 STN 5,595

95.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

7.38

-24.53%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Sao Tome: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Sao Tome

$192 15.7% 58.5% $270

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Sao Tome

$412 33.8% 53.4% $144

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Sao Tome

$330 27% 165% $205

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Sao Tome

$42 * 3.5% 66.1% $82

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Sao Tome

$150 12.3% 23.5% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Sao Tome

$74 6% 8.6% $5.8

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Sao Tome

$20 * 1.6% 49.9% $20

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 $737 in Phuket and $283 in Sao Tome. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 95% 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 $45.00 in Sao Tome for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $412 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇸🇹 Sao Tome

🕒 Local time

17:35 5:35 PM

10:35 10:35 AM

7 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

53,300 Capital

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra STN Db

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 STN = 4.59 USD

100 STN = 4.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

STN, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 21.8 STN (100 STN = 4.59 USD). 1 EUR = 24.51 STN (100 STN = 4.08 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Sao Tome 10,180 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Sao Tome

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 Tome: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 1% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 95% higher in Phuket, 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: $737 in Phuket versus $283 in Sao Tome. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $226 in Sao Tome. 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 $32.00 versus $45.00 in Sao Tome. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,219 in Sao Tome, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Sao Tome. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Phuket and Sao Tome 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 Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Sao Tome. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.