Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Tibas

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,724 in Tibas, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
82

Cost of Living Index in Tibas
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Tibas Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Tibas

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,724

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Tibas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,724 in Tibas.

Phuket $1,278
Tibas $1,724

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,646 in Tibas.

Phuket $2,216
Tibas $2,646

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,567 in Tibas.

Phuket $3,154
Tibas $3,567

Living in Phuket costs roughly 26% less than in Tibas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Tibas is 27% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$12.21 ₡5,510

-63.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,092

$34.56 ₡15.6K

-6.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$10.92 ₡4,930

-19.32%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.3

$3.90 ₡1,760

-27.44%

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

$0.87 ฿29.37

$2.37 ₡1,071

-63.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.64

$1.90 ₡859

-74.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.2

$2.80 ₡1,263

-8.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$4.47 ₡2,020

-17.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$2.39 ₡1,078

-30.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.25

$3.08 ₡1,391

-52.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.4

$2.52 ₡1,139

-40.48%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.4

$3.57 ₡1,614

-41.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿642

$10.67 ₡4,819

78.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$10.60 ₡4,785

-68.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$14.08 ₡6,357

-22.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.7

$4.98 ₡2,247

-41.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.9

$1.57 ₡709

7.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.7

$4.69 ₡2,117

-52.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$3.85 ₡1,740

-45.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.9

$3.74 ₡1,689

-59.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.47

$3.62 ₡1,633

-61.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.91

$1.08 ₡486

-0.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.49

$3.20 ₡1,444

-83.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$6.07 ₡2,739

-30.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿633

$20.22 ₡9,127

-7.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.4

$2.89 ₡1,303

-37.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.7

$3.72 ₡1,678

-23.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$1.30 ₡586

11.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,909

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$2.39 ₡1,078

26.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.29

$1.61 ₡725

-36.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

$8.63 ₡3,898

-57.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.70

$1.57 ₡710

-6.37%

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

$26.8K ฿902.4K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

-22.60%

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

$26.7K ฿899.5K

$41.5K ₡18.7M

-35.66%

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

$96.4 ฿3,247

$95.9 ₡43.3K

0.47%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$35.33 ₡15.9K

-68.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$59.0 ₡26.6K

-71.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,266

$68.6 ₡31.0K

-2.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿361

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$7.88 ₡3,556

-4.82%

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

$476 ฿16.0K

$972 ₡438.8K

-51.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.6K

$17.4K ₡7.9M

-35.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,102

$70.8 ₡31.9K

-11.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿957

$56.3 ₡25.4K

-49.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,178

$127 ₡57.2K

-25.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,892

$131 ₡59.3K

-34.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

$814 ₡367.6K

-12.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.5K

$641 ₡289.5K

-23.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿64.9K

$1,886 ₡851.5K

2.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.2K

$1,240 ₡559.6K

15.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$983 ₡443.8K

-48.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

8.62

-35.38%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Tibas: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Tibas

$641 37.2% 30.6% $150

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Tibas

$402 23.3% 51% $136

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Tibas

$190 11% 52.8% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Tibas

$173 10.1% 42.2% $51

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Tibas

$217 12.6% 78.5% $96

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Tibas

$84 4.9% 2.6% $2.1

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Tibas

$16 * 0.9% 77.9% $55

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 $814 in Tibas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tibas pays 96% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $35 in Tibas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $402 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇷 Tibas

🕒 Local time

16:39 4:39 PM

03:39 3:39 AM

13 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

64,842

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.61 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Tibas 18,000 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Tibas

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 Tibas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 26% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 49% 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 $814 in Tibas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $972 in Tibas. 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 $35 in Tibas. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,724 in Tibas, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Tibas. 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.

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