Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Tunapuna

For one person, living is cheaper in Tunapuna: $991 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Tunapuna
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Tunapuna Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Tunapuna

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$991

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Tunapuna

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $991 in Tunapuna.

Phuket $1,278
Tunapuna $991

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,746 in Tunapuna.

Phuket $2,216
Tunapuna $1,746

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,502 in Tunapuna.

Phuket $3,154
Tunapuna $2,502

Living in Phuket is roughly 29% more expensive than in Tunapuna, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Tunapuna 27% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$10.21 TTD 68.5

-56.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$75.2 TTD 504

-56.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$8.05 TTD 54.0

9.44%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.81 TTD 25.57

-25.72%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$0.99 TTD 6.64

-12.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$0.71 TTD 4.77

-30.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$1.81 TTD 12.16

41.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.91 TTD 19.55

26.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$2.09 TTD 14.03

-20.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$2.25 TTD 15.09

-35.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$2.87 TTD 19.29

-47.74%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.73 TTD 25.01

-43.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$6.47 TTD 43.44

194.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$10.05 TTD 67.4

-67.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$9.02 TTD 60.5

20.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$5.46 TTD 36.65

-46.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.54 TTD 17.05

-33.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$3.65 TTD 24.50

-38.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$4.17 TTD 27.96

-50.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.77 TTD 5.15

96.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$0.71 TTD 4.79

94.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$1.47 TTD 9.84

-27.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.15 TTD 7.72

-54.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$5.30 TTD 35.59

-20.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$18.99 TTD 127

-1.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.54 TTD 10.32

18.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.98 TTD 20.00

-4.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$0.86 TTD 5.78

251.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$0.90 TTD 6.05

13.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$14.81 TTD 99.4

-75.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.11 TTD 7.45

32.43%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$37.5K TTD 251.4K

-28.54%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$41.3K TTD 277.4K

-35.44%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$43.39 TTD 291

122.06%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$41.96 TTD 282

-73.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$45.57 TTD 306

-63.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$8.66 TTD 58.1

-13.39%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$402 TTD 2,699

18.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$10.9K TTD 72.8K

3.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$54.0 TTD 362

15.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$36.71 TTD 246

-22.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$88.0 TTD 590

7.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$59.5 TTD 399

44.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$282 TTD 1,894

153.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$237 TTD 1,592

106.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$675 TTD 4,530

185.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$591 TTD 3,963

142.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.75

-3.13%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Tunapuna: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Tunapuna

$237 24% 51.7% $254

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Tunapuna

$320 32.2% 20% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Tunapuna

$131 13.2% 5.2% $6.4

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Tunapuna

$107 10.8% 12.1% $15

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Tunapuna

$173 17.5% 42.4% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Tunapuna

$17 * 1.8% 78.9% $65

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Tunapuna

$5.4 * 0.5% 92.4% $65

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 $282 in Tunapuna. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $75 in Tunapuna for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $320 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇹🇹 Tunapuna

🕒 Local time

07:46 7:46 AM

20:46 8:46 PM

11 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

17,758

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TTD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.71 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 TTD (1 TTD = 0.133 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

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Between locations

Phuket Tunapuna 16,970 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Tunapuna

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 Tunapuna: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tunapuna is about 22% cheaper overall, especially in transport, leisure, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,917 in Phuket and $1,486 in Tunapuna 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 $282 in Tunapuna. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $402 in Tunapuna. 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 $75 in Tunapuna. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Tunapuna 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.