Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Spanish Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Spanish Town: $1,009 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Spanish Town
Learn more

Spanish Town Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Spanish Town

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,009

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Spanish Town

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,009 in Spanish Town.

Phuket $1,278
Spanish Town $1,009

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,922 in Spanish Town.

Phuket $2,216
Spanish Town $1,922

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,834 in Spanish Town.

Phuket $3,154
Spanish Town $2,834

Living in Phuket is roughly 27% more expensive than in Spanish Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Spanish Town 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$13.69 JMD 2,158

-67.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$74.3 JMD 11.7K

-56.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$8.42 JMD 1,328

4.63%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$5.23 JMD 824

-45.89%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.16 JMD 183

-25.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$0.74 JMD 117

-33.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$2.19 JMD 345

16.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$3.17 JMD 499

16.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$4.21 JMD 665

-60.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$3.69 JMD 582

-60.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.64 JMD 259

-8.54%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.53 JMD 557

-40.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$11.42 JMD 1,801

66.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$6.34 JMD 1,000

-47.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$10.17 JMD 1,604

7.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$6.07 JMD 958

-51.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$3.82 JMD 602

-55.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$7.56 JMD 1,193

-70.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$2.97 JMD 469

-29.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$3.23 JMD 509

-53.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$2.03 JMD 320

-32.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$3.13 JMD 493

-65.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.46 JMD 229

-64.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$9.58 JMD 1,510

-56.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$11.44 JMD 1,804

64.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.88 JMD 455

-36.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$3.91 JMD 616

-27.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.28 JMD 202

135.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$3.11 JMD 490

-67.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$6.21 JMD 979

-40.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.41 JMD 222

4.26%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$44.0K JMD 6.9M

-39.20%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$32.5K JMD 5.1M

-17.94%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$171 JMD 26.9K

-43.58%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$28.96 JMD 4,567

-61.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$52.6 JMD 8,298

-67.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$13.32 JMD 2,101

-43.69%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$360 JMD 56.8K

32.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$8,371 JMD 1.3M

34.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$23.26 JMD 3,667

168.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$31.95 JMD 5,038

-11.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$79.1 JMD 12.5K

19.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$104 JMD 16.4K

-17.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$624 JMD 98.4K

208.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$513 JMD 80.9K

178.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,178 JMD 185.7K

-57.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

9.45

-41.06%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Spanish Town: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Spanish Town

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Spanish Town

$383 38% 44% $117

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Spanish Town

$252 25% 103% $128

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Spanish Town

$107 10.6% 11.9% $15

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Spanish Town

$222 22% 82.7% $101

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Spanish Town

$27 * 2.6% 67.6% $56

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Spanish Town

$17 * 1.7% 76.2% $54

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Spanish Town pays about 2.3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $74 in Spanish Town for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $383 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇯🇲 Spanish Town

🕒 Local time

01:04 1:04 AM

13:04 1:04 PM

12 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

131,056

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JMD, 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).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.7 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Spanish Town 17,090 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Spanish Town

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 Spanish Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Spanish Town is cheaper overall, especially in leisure, transport, and clothing. The 27% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 57% 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.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $360 in Spanish Town. 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 $74 in Spanish Town. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Spanish Town is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.