Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Taubate

For one person, living is cheaper in Taubate: $852 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Taubate
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Taubate Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Taubate

🇧🇷 Brazil

$852

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Taubate

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $852 in Taubate.

Phuket $1,207
Taubate $852

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $1,351 in Taubate.

Phuket $2,037
Taubate $1,351

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $1,849 in Taubate.

Phuket $2,867
Taubate $1,849

Living in Phuket is roughly 42% more expensive than in Taubate, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Taubate 37% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$7.07 R$35.85

-35.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$37.35 R$189

-13.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$8.31 R$42.14

2.89%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$2.18 R$11.04

24.77%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$1.30 R$6.60

-27.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$0.77 R$3.91

-36.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$2.34 R$11.87

10.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$3.04 R$15.42

25.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.06 R$5.35

64.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$2.14 R$10.86

-33.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$1.28 R$6.49

19.53%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$2.40 R$12.16

-9.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$10.81 R$54.8

77.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$4.44 R$22.51

-25.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$7.79 R$39.50

43.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$2.12 R$10.75

39.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$1.74 R$8.84

-3.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$1.43 R$7.23

60.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$1.85 R$9.39

15.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$1.27 R$6.42

20.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$1.03 R$5.25

32.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$0.75 R$3.80

49.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$0.71 R$3.61

-22.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$2.46 R$12.45

73.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$7.93 R$40.19

129.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$1.21 R$6.14

43.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$2.43 R$12.32

14.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$0.94 R$4.74

136.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

$44.29 R$225

-50.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$1.26 R$6.38

130.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$0.91 R$4.60

10.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$9.37 R$47.51

-59.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$1.02 R$5.17

46.08%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$24.2K R$122.7K

10.22%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$32.8K R$166.5K

-18.66%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$90.9 R$461

9.28%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$10.91 R$55.3

3.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$21.84 R$111

-20.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

$23.00 R$117

127.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

$27.31 R$138

-60.27%

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$7.86 R$39.83

-3.69%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$355 R$1,799

57.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$5,900 R$29.9K

94.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$42.90 R$217

46.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$50.1 R$254

-42.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$73.6 R$373

30.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$63.2 R$320

39.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$275 R$1,393

165.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$194 R$983

137.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$543 R$2,752

286.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$347 R$1,759

252.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

$1,717 R$8,705

101.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

$1,196 R$6,061

108.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$579 R$2,933

-14.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.93

-53.31%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Taubate: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Taubate

$194 22.8% 57.8% $266

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Taubate

$205 24% 23.4% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Taubate

$124 14.5% 3.4% $4.3

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Taubate

$103 12.1% 16.6% $21

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Taubate

$134 15.7% 10.2% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Taubate

$39 4.5% 42.6% $29

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Taubate

$54 6.3% 38.4% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Phuket and $275 in Taubate. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Taubate pays 17% 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 $37.00 in Taubate. Groceries flip the comparison at $268 vs $205, with Taubate cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇷 Taubate

🕒 Local time

17:03 5:03 PM

07:03 7:03 AM

10 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

310,739

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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 Taubate 15,820 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Taubate

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 Taubate: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Taubate is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. The 42% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 17% lower in Taubate. 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: $729 in Phuket versus $275 in Taubate. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $558 in Phuket versus $355 in Taubate. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $852 in Taubate versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Taubate but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Taubate the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Taubate 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 Taubate 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 Taubate gentler on the wallet – expenses run 42% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.