Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Tres Cantos

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $1,528 in Tres Cantos, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Tres Cantos
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Tres Cantos Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Tres Cantos

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,528

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Tres Cantos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,528 in Tres Cantos.

Phuket $1,294
Tres Cantos $1,528

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $2,352 in Tres Cantos.

Phuket $2,204
Tres Cantos $2,352

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $3,176 in Tres Cantos.

Phuket $3,115
Tres Cantos $3,176

Living in Phuket costs roughly 15% less than in Tres Cantos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 4% below, Tres Cantos is 13% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿148

$15.95 €14.26

-72.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,090

$49.24 €44.03

-34.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿294

$11.00 €9.84

-20.91%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.9

$2.30 €2.06

18.26%

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

$0.93 ฿31.39

$2.49 €2.22

-62.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.85

$1.61 €1.44

-68.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿85.4

$2.97 €2.65

-14.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿122

$3.49 €3.12

4.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.7

$1.21 €1.08

43.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.95

$1.60 €1.43

-9.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$1.37 €1.23

9.49%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿73.3

$3.15 €2.81

-31.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿644

$14.47 €12.94

31.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿115

$8.23 €7.36

-58.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿368

$17.19 €15.37

-36.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿99.2

$2.31 €2.07

27.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.76 €1.58

-3.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿74.0

$2.23 €1.99

-1.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.7

$2.92 €2.61

-27.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿49.21

$2.00 €1.78

-27.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿46.15

$1.87 €1.67

-26.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿36.30

$1.29 €1.15

-16.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.41

$0.67 €0.60

-17.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿149

$5.88 €5.26

-24.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿616

$5.57 €4.98

227.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.8

$1.26 €1.13

40.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿97.2

$2.06 €1.84

39.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.84

$1.76 €1.57

-17.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,852

$33.87 €30.29

62.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$3.89 €3.47

-61.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿26.18

$1.22 €1.09

-36.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿130

$24.09 €21.54

-84.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿50.2

$1.81 €1.62

-17.68%

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

$26.9K ฿907.0K

$38.4K €34.3K

-29.94%

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

$26.3K ฿888.9K

$32.8K €29.3K

-19.61%

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

$97.8 ฿3,300

$137 €123

-28.86%

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

$11.29 ฿381

$16.48 €14.73

-31.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿580

$26.50 €23.70

-35.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,305

$43.91 €39.26

55.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿368

$15.47 €13.84

-29.41%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿251

$8.58 €7.67

-13.40%

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

$530 ฿17.9K

$508 €454

4.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿633.7K

$9,119 €8,154

105.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,081

$78.1 €69.8

-21.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿953

$34.22 €30.60

-17.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,239

$81.7 €73.0

17.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,929

$120 €107

-27.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.3K

$1,026 €917

-29.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.2K

$595 €532

-14.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.8K

$1,356 €1,213

43.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿47.1K

$1,068 €955

30.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿141.4K

$3,498 €3,128

19.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿111.3K

$1,913 €1,711

72.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.6K

$3,191 €2,853

-84.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.3

68.79%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Tres Cantos: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Tres Cantos

$595 39% 17% $86

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Tres Cantos

$272 17.8% 2.1% $5.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Tres Cantos

$180 11.8% 42.9% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Tres Cantos

$141 9.2% 15% $18

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Tres Cantos

$226 14.8% 89.4% $107

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Tres Cantos

$61 4% 26.6% $22

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Tres Cantos

$51 3.3% 23% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $1,026 in Tres Cantos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tres Cantos pays about 6.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $49 in Tres Cantos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $272 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇪🇸 Tres Cantos

🕒 Local time

06:09 6:09 AM

00:09 12:09 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

51,453

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.73 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.894 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

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Phuket Tres Cantos 10,440 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Tres Cantos

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 Tres Cantos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 15% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 85% 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: $721 in Phuket versus $1,026 in Tres Cantos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $508 in Tres Cantos. 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 $49 in Tres Cantos. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,528 in Tres Cantos, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Tres Cantos. 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, Tres Cantos on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.