Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Sosua

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,424 in Sosua, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Sosua outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
68

Cost of Living Index in Sosua
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Sosua Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Sosua

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$1,424

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Sosua

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,424 in Sosua.

Phuket $1,278
Sosua $1,424

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,228 in Sosua.

Phuket $2,216
Sosua $2,228

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,033 in Sosua.

Phuket $3,154
Sosua $3,033

Living in Phuket costs roughly 10% less than in Sosua, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Sosua is 5% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$9.80 DOP 592

-54.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$49.65 DOP 3,000

-34.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$7.26 DOP 439

21.35%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.26 DOP 137

25.22%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$1.01 DOP 61.2

-13.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$0.55 DOP 33.11

-10.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$2.41 DOP 146

6.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$3.27 DOP 198

12.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.32 DOP 79.7

25.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$1.50 DOP 90.4

-2.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$0.63 DOP 38.30

138.10%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.99 DOP 120

5.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$7.22 DOP 436

164.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$5.63 DOP 340

-41.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$6.46 DOP 390

68.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$3.03 DOP 183

-3.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$0.76 DOP 45.93

122.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.64 DOP 159

-14.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$1.23 DOP 74.3

69.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.74 DOP 105

-13.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$2.24 DOP 135

-38.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$0.68 DOP 40.95

57.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.40 DOP 24.04

30.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$5.33 DOP 322

-21.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$10.30 DOP 622

82.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.49 DOP 150

-26.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$2.31 DOP 139

22.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.21 DOP 194

-5.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$2.16 DOP 131

-52.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$5.89 DOP 356

-37.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.26 DOP 76.4

16.67%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$28.6K DOP 1.7M

-6.34%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$34.4K DOP 2.1M

-22.30%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$65.5 DOP 3,957

47.12%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$27.83 DOP 1,682

-59.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$32.55 DOP 1,967

-48.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$7.30 DOP 441

2.74%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$245 DOP 14.8K

94.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$7,347 DOP 443.9K

53.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$45.48 DOP 2,748

37.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$45.68 DOP 2,760

-37.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$84.7 DOP 5,115

11.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$125 DOP 7,553

-31.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$851 DOP 51.4K

-15.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$783 DOP 47.3K

-37.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,722 DOP 104.1K

11.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,511 DOP 91.3K

-5.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$1,828 DOP 110.5K

128.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$1,705 DOP 103.0K

78.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

13.56

-58.92%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Sosua: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Sosua

$783 55% 59.5% $292

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Sosua

$199 14% 25.2% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Sosua

$126 8.8% 1.1% $1.4

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Sosua

$135 9.5% 11.1% $13

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Sosua

$152 10.7% 25% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Sosua

$15 * 1% 82.2% $68

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Sosua

$14 * 1% 80.1% $57

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 $851 in Sosua. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $50 in Sosua. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $199, with Sosua cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇩🇴 Sosua

🕒 Local time

23:33 11:33 PM

12:33 12:33 PM

11 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

7,713

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 DOP = 1.66 USD

100 DOP = 1.48 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DOP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 60.42 DOP (100 DOP = 1.66 USD). 1 EUR = 67.46 DOP (100 DOP = 1.48 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Sosua 16,710 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Sosua

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 Sosua: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 10% cheaper overall, especially in utilities, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,917 in Phuket and $2,136 in Sosua to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $716 in Phuket versus $851 in Sosua. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $245 in Sosua. 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 $50 in Sosua. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.