Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Piura and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Piura: $701 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Piura, Peru
Phuket, Thailand
Piura
🇵🇪 Peru
$701
/mo nomad
Phuket
🇹🇭 Thailand
$1,278
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Piura and in Phuket

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Piura and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $701 in Piura versus $1,278 in Phuket.

  • Piura $701
  • Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,199 in Piura versus $2,216 in Phuket.

  • Piura $1,199
  • Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,696 in Piura versus $3,154 in Phuket.

  • Piura $1,696
  • Phuket $3,154

Living in Piura costs roughly 45% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Piura 48% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Piura
Phuket
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$3.60 PEN 12.42
$4.47 ฿151
-19.46%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$23.96 PEN 82.6
$32.41 ฿1,094
-26.07%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.27 PEN 25.05
$8.81 ฿297
-17.48%
Cappuccino
$3.30 PEN 11.38
$2.83 ฿95.5
16.61%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.05 PEN 3.62
$0.87 ฿29.43
20.69%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.76 PEN 2.62
$0.49 ฿16.67
55.10%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.35 PEN 8.11
$2.56 ฿86.4
-8.20%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.92 PEN 10.08
$3.68 ฿124
-20.65%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Piura
Phuket
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.41 PEN 4.87
$1.66 ฿56.0
-15.06%
White Bread (500g)
$2.55 PEN 8.80
$1.46 ฿49.35
74.66%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.58 PEN 5.46
$1.50 ฿50.6
5.33%
Eggs
$2.80 PEN 9.66
$2.09 ฿70.5
33.97%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$10.37 PEN 35.74
$19.07 ฿644
-45.62%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.31 PEN 28.66
$3.30 ฿111
151.82%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.39 PEN 35.82
$10.91 ฿368
-4.77%
Apples (1kg)
$1.41 PEN 4.87
$2.93 ฿99.0
-51.88%
Banana (1kg)
$1.33 PEN 4.58
$1.69 ฿57.1
-21.30%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.48 PEN 5.10
$2.25 ฿75.8
-34.22%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.35 PEN 4.64
$2.08 ฿70.1
-35.10%
Potato (1kg)
$1.23 PEN 4.24
$1.51 ฿51.0
-18.54%
Onion (1kg)
$0.72 PEN 2.47
$1.38 ฿46.56
-47.83%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.89 PEN 3.08
$1.07 ฿35.99
-16.82%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.33 PEN 4.58
$0.52 ฿17.52
155.77%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$7.92 PEN 27.29
$4.20 ฿142
88.57%
Wine (Bottle)
$11.13 PEN 38.37
$18.79 ฿634
-40.77%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.81 PEN 6.24
$1.82 ฿61.5
-0.55%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.82 PEN 9.74
$2.84 ฿95.9
-0.70%
🚌 Getting Around
Piura
Phuket
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.66 PEN 2.28
$1.45 ฿49.03
-54.48%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$20.22 PEN 69.7
$56.7 ฿1,913
-64.31%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.96 PEN 10.20
$3.02 ฿102
-1.99%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.31 PEN 7.95
$1.02 ฿34.36
126.47%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$7.21 PEN 24.86
$3.69 ฿125
95.39%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.42 PEN 4.91
$1.47 ฿49.81
-3.40%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$22.0K PEN 75.9K
$26.8K ฿904.3K
-17.73%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.4K PEN 80.5K
$26.7K ฿901.3K
-12.47%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Piura
Phuket
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$40.54 PEN 140
$96.4 ฿3,254
-57.92%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$8.57 PEN 29.53
$11.26 ฿380
-23.89%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
-
$16.85 ฿569
-
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Piura
Phuket
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$28.76 PEN 99.1
$67.2 ฿2,270
-57.22%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$10.73 ฿362
-
Cinema Ticket
$2.33 PEN 8.04
$7.50 ฿253
-68.93%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Piura
Phuket
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$199 PEN 686
$476 ฿16.1K
-58.18%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$2,280 PEN 7,861
$11.3K ฿380.4K
-79.75%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Piura
Phuket
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$42.70 PEN 147
$62.4 ฿2,106
-31.53%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$12.94 PEN 44.60
$28.41 ฿959
-54.45%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$58.2 PEN 201
$94.3 ฿3,184
-38.26%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$73.9 PEN 255
$85.8 ฿2,898
-13.87%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Piura
Phuket
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$229 PEN 790
$716 ฿24.2K
-68.00%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$131 PEN 453
$491 ฿16.6K
-73.25%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$397 PEN 1,367
$1,927 ฿65.1K
-79.42%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$400 PEN 1,378
$1,431 ฿48.3K
-72.06%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,803 PEN 13.1K
$4,175 ฿141.0K
-8.92%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$3,045 ฿102.8K
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Piura
Phuket
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$538 PEN 1,856
$502 ฿17.0K
7.17%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
0
5.57
-

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

Last update for Piura: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Groceries & Markets
Piura
$250
Phuket
$266 6.4% $16
Accommodation & Living
Piura
$131
Phuket
$491 274% $360
Eating Out
Piura
$115
Phuket
$122 5.8% $6.6
Clothing & Footwear
Piura
$84
Phuket
$122 44.3% $37
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Piura
$49 *
Phuket
$124 154% $75
Getting Around
Piura
$37
Phuket
$71 89% $33
Sport & Entertainment
Piura
$33
Phuket
$82 146% $49

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 $229 in Piura and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Piura pays 7% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $24 in Piura vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $250 vs $266 per month, with Piura cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇵🇪 Piura
🇹🇭 Phuket
🕒 Local time
11:51 11:51 AM
23:51 11:51 PM
12 h ahead of Piura
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
158,495
79,308
💱 Currency
Thai Baht THB ฿
Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3.45 PEN (1 PEN = 0.29 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.261 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Piura Phuket 19,700 km ≈ 25 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Piura
  • Phuket

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
Piura vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Piura cheaper than Phuket?
Piura is cheaper overall, especially in leisure, clothing, and transport. The 82% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
Where can you earn more: Piura or Phuket?
Average pay runs 7% higher in Piura, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
What is the rent difference between Piura and Phuket?
Rent for a central apartment: $229 in Piura versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Childcare runs $199 in Piura versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
How do food prices compare in Piura and in Phuket?
Supermarket bills run roughly 6% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Is $1,200 a realistic budget for living in Piura or in Phuket?
At $701 in Piura versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Piura but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Piura the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is it better to live in Piura or in Phuket?
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.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Piura gentler on the wallet – expenses run 45% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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