Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portmore and Phuket

For one person, living costs are similar in Portmore and in Phuket: $1,250 and $1,278 a month, rent and utilities included.

60

Cost of Living Index in Portmore
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Portmore Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Portmore

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,250

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Portmore 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 Portmore and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,250 in Portmore versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Portmore $1,250
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,081 in Portmore versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Portmore $2,081
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,912 in Portmore versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Portmore $2,912
Phuket $3,154

Monthly costs are close between Portmore and Phuket; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Portmore 8% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.11 JMD 1,598

$4.47 ฿151

126.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.1 JMD 9,975

$32.41 ฿1,094

94.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.99 JMD 1,262

$8.81 ฿297

-9.31%

Cappuccino

$5.27 JMD 833

$2.83 ฿95.4

86.22%

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

$0.93 JMD 147

$0.87 ฿29.42

6.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.61 JMD 96.6

$0.49 ฿16.66

24.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.18 JMD 345

$2.56 ฿86.3

-14.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 JMD 345

$3.68 ฿124

-40.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.18 JMD 502

$1.66 ฿56.0

91.57%

White Bread (500g)

$3.64 JMD 575

$1.46 ฿49.32

149.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 JMD 163

$1.50 ฿50.5

-31.33%

Eggs

$3.44 JMD 544

$2.09 ฿70.5

64.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.29 JMD 1,784

$19.07 ฿643

-40.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.22 JMD 982

$3.30 ฿111

88.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.49 JMD 1,499

$10.91 ฿368

-13.02%

Apples (1kg)

$5.88 JMD 929

$2.93 ฿98.9

100.68%

Banana (1kg)

$3.94 JMD 622

$1.69 ฿57.0

133.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.01 JMD 476

$2.25 ฿75.8

33.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.02 JMD 477

$2.08 ฿70.1

45.19%

Potato (1kg)

$3.22 JMD 509

$1.51 ฿51.0

113.25%

Onion (1kg)

$2.57 JMD 406

$1.38 ฿46.54

86.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.55 JMD 245

$1.07 ฿35.97

44.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 JMD 197

$0.52 ฿17.51

140.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.49 JMD 1,499

$4.20 ฿142

125.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.46 JMD 1,811

$18.79 ฿634

-39.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.87 JMD 454

$1.82 ฿61.5

57.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 JMD 342

$2.84 ฿95.9

-23.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.25 JMD 355

$1.45 ฿49.00

55.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 JMD 7,917

$56.7 ฿1,912

-11.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 JMD 145

$3.02 ฿102

-69.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.13 JMD 494

$1.02 ฿34.34

206.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.44 JMD 1,017

$3.69 ฿125

74.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 JMD 200

$1.47 ฿49.78

-14.29%

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

$44.3K JMD 7.0M

$26.8K ฿903.7K

65.57%

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

$32.7K JMD 5.2M

$26.7K ฿900.8K

22.39%

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

$160 JMD 25.2K

$96.4 ฿3,252

65.75%

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

$28.89 JMD 4,564

$11.26 ฿380

156.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.8 JMD 8,346

$16.85 ฿569

213.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.7 JMD 9,273

$67.2 ฿2,269

-12.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$13.47 JMD 2,129

$7.50 ฿253

79.60%

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

$281 JMD 44.4K

$476 ฿16.1K

-41.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,157 JMD 498.8K

$11.3K ฿380.1K

-71.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.28 JMD 3,677

$62.4 ฿2,105

-62.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.19 JMD 4,928

$28.41 ฿959

9.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 JMD 12.2K

$94.3 ฿3,182

-18.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.9 JMD 15.2K

$85.8 ฿2,896

11.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$315 JMD 49.7K

$716 ฿24.2K

-56.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$218 JMD 34.4K

$491 ฿16.6K

-55.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$667 JMD 105.3K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-65.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$605 JMD 95.5K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-57.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,655 JMD 1.2M

$4,175 ฿140.9K

83.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,857 JMD 925.3K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

92.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,280 JMD 202.3K

$502 ฿17.0K

154.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

5.57

69.66%

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

Last update for Portmore: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Portmore

$337 27%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 21.1% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Portmore

$241 19.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 48.4% $117

Accommodation & Living

Portmore

$218 17.4%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 125% $273

Eating Out

Portmore

$190 15.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 35.8% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Portmore

$102 8.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 19.1% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Portmore

$86 6.9%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 4% $3.4

Getting Around

Portmore

$76 6.1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 6.7% $5.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $315 in Portmore and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Portmore pays about 2.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $63 in Portmore vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $337 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Portmore

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

03:00 3:00 AM

15:00 3:00 PM

12 h ahead of Portmore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

170,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.67 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.67 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Portmore Phuket 17,090 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Portmore
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

Portmore vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay in Portmore is about 2.5 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $315 in Portmore versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $281 in Portmore versus $476 in Phuket. 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 $63 in Portmore. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Portmore 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.