Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Porto Alegre and Koh Phangan

For one person, living is cheaper in Porto Alegre: $965 a month against $1,103 in Koh Phangan, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Porto Alegre
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Porto Alegre Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Koh Phangan
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Koh Phangan Living Index

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Porto Alegre

🇧🇷 Brazil

$965

/mo nomad

Koh Phangan

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,103

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Porto Alegre and in Koh Phangan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $965 in Porto Alegre versus $1,103 in Koh Phangan.

Porto Alegre $965
Koh Phangan $1,103

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,487 in Porto Alegre versus $1,874 in Koh Phangan.

Porto Alegre $1,487
Koh Phangan $1,874

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,009 in Porto Alegre versus $2,646 in Koh Phangan.

Porto Alegre $2,009
Koh Phangan $2,646

Living in Porto Alegre costs roughly 12% less than in Koh Phangan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Porto Alegre 29% lower, Koh Phangan 19% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.55 R$40.42

$3.88 ฿131

94.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.17 R$199

$28.98 ฿979

28.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.43 R$34.43

$7.88 ฿266

-18.40%

Cappuccino

$2.42 R$12.94

$2.46 ฿83.2

-1.63%

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

$1.26 R$6.72

$0.80 ฿27.06

57.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.50

$0.44 ฿14.90

134.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.28 R$12.22

$2.25 ฿76.0

1.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 R$14.59

$3.26 ฿110

-16.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.96 R$5.16

$1.59 ฿53.6

-39.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 R$8.38

$1.38 ฿46.60

13.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.58

$1.44 ฿48.50

-27.78%

Eggs

$2.35 R$12.60

$2.00 ฿67.4

17.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.78 R$52.3

$18.46 ฿623

-47.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.57 R$24.47

$3.29 ฿111

38.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.43 R$50.5

$10.67 ฿360

-11.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.29 R$12.27

$2.72 ฿91.7

-15.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 R$7.23

$1.54 ฿52.0

-12.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.32 R$7.08

$2.07 ฿69.9

-36.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 R$8.21

$1.93 ฿65.3

-20.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 R$6.07

$1.44 ฿48.63

-21.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.05 R$5.63

$1.23 ฿41.67

-14.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 R$4.62

$1.07 ฿35.99

-19.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 R$4.11

$0.48 ฿16.06

60.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 R$12.65

$4.04 ฿136

-41.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.26 R$38.83

$17.83 ฿602

-59.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 R$5.56

$1.70 ฿57.5

-38.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 R$10.89

$2.65 ฿89.6

-23.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.95 R$5.09

$1.32 ฿44.64

-28.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.3 R$301

$49.08 ฿1,657

14.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 R$6.36

$2.61 ฿88.3

-54.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.79 R$4.24

$0.96 ฿32.44

-17.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.50 R$40.14

$3.32 ฿112

125.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 R$6.68

$1.33 ฿44.99

-6.02%

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

$22.1K R$118.4K

$23.5K ฿795.2K

-6.07%

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

$31.7K R$169.4K

$23.7K ฿799.5K

33.72%

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

$72.6 R$388

$98.0 ฿3,311

-25.98%

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

$11.86 R$63.5

$11.12 ฿376

6.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.42 R$109

$16.94 ฿572

20.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.19 R$146

$67.7 ฿2,286

-59.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.04 R$155

$10.81 ฿365

168.64%

Cinema Ticket

$6.89 R$36.85

$7.68 ฿259

-10.29%

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

$516 R$2,760

$478 ฿16.2K

7.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.5K R$125.7K

$11.6K ฿391.7K

102.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.70 R$255

$62.1 ฿2,098

-23.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.6 R$292

$28.52 ฿963

91.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.6 R$506

$96.0 ฿3,242

-1.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.5 R$393

$86.5 ฿2,922

-15.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$425 R$2,273

$498 ฿16.8K

-14.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$304 R$1,628

$348 ฿11.7K

-12.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$707 R$3,785

$1,349 ฿45.6K

-47.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$474 R$2,535

$1,007 ฿34.0K

-52.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,456 R$7,792

$2,927 ฿98.8K

-50.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,127 R$6,030

$2,098 ฿70.9K

-46.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$521 R$2,787

$724 ฿24.4K

-28.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.5

5.57

106.46%

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

Last update for Porto Alegre: October 24, 2026

Last update for Koh Phangan: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Porto Alegre

$304 31.5%

Koh Phangan

$348 31.6% 14.4% $44

Groceries & Markets

Porto Alegre

$194 20.1%

Koh Phangan

$254 23.1% 31.1% $60

Eating Out

Porto Alegre

$135 14%

Koh Phangan

$107 9.7% 20.6% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Porto Alegre

$122 12.6%

Koh Phangan

$123 11.1% 1% $1.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Porto Alegre

$105 10.9%

Koh Phangan

$126 11.4% 20.3% $21

Getting Around

Porto Alegre

$65 6.8%

Koh Phangan

$62 5.6% 5.3% $3.5

Sport & Entertainment

Porto Alegre

$41 4.2%

Koh Phangan

$83 7.5% 103% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $425 in Porto Alegre and $498 in Koh Phangan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Koh Phangan pays 39% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $37 in Porto Alegre vs $29 in Koh Phangan. Groceries flip the comparison at $194 vs $254, with Porto Alegre cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Porto Alegre

🇹🇭 Koh Phangan

🕒 Local time

11:08 11:08 AM

21:08 9:08 PM

10 h ahead of Porto Alegre

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,332,833

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.96 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 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).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Porto Alegre Koh Phangan 16,280 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Porto Alegre
Koh Phangan

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

Porto Alegre vs Koh Phangan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Porto Alegre and Koh Phangan differ by about 14% in total monthly costs ($965 vs $1,103 including rent). Porto Alegre is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 28% lower in Porto Alegre. 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: $425 in Porto Alegre versus $498 in Koh Phangan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Koh Phangan – a meal for two runs $29 versus $37 in Porto Alegre. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $965 per month in Porto Alegre versus $1,103 in Koh Phangan – a 14% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Porto Alegre is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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