Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portoviejo and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Portoviejo: $877 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Portoviejo
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Portoviejo Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Portoviejo

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$877

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $877 in Portoviejo versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Portoviejo $877
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,400 in Portoviejo versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Portoviejo $1,400
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,924 in Portoviejo versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Portoviejo $1,924
Phuket $3,154

Living in Portoviejo costs roughly 31% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Portoviejo 36% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.06 $4.06

$4.47 ฿151

-9.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$51.6 $51.6

$32.41 ฿1,092

59.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.95 $8.95

$8.81 ฿297

1.59%

Cappuccino

$2.93 $2.93

$2.83 ฿95.3

3.53%

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

$0.94 $0.94

$0.87 ฿29.37

8.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 $0.67

$0.49 ฿16.64

36.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.91 $2.91

$2.56 ฿86.2

13.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 $4.16

$3.68 ฿124

13.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 $1.17

$1.66 ฿55.9

-29.52%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 $2.02

$1.46 ฿49.25

38.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.45 $1.45

$1.50 ฿50.4

-3.33%

Eggs

$2.15 $2.15

$2.09 ฿70.4

2.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.95 $6.95

$19.07 ฿642

-63.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.04 $5.04

$3.30 ฿111

52.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.41 $9.41

$10.91 ฿368

-13.75%

Apples (1kg)

$1.52 $1.52

$2.93 ฿98.7

-48.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.15 $1.15

$1.69 ฿56.9

-31.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.99 $0.99

$2.25 ฿75.7

-56.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.96 $0.96

$2.08 ฿70.0

-53.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 $1.22

$1.51 ฿50.9

-19.21%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 $0.99

$1.38 ฿46.47

-28.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 $0.89

$1.07 ฿35.91

-16.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 $0.94

$0.52 ฿17.49

80.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.04 $6.04

$4.20 ฿142

43.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.23 $12.23

$18.79 ฿633

-34.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 $1.50

$1.82 ฿61.4

-17.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 $2.19

$2.84 ฿95.7

-22.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 $0.34

$1.45 ฿48.93

-76.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,909

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.67 $2.67

$3.02 ฿102

-11.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.79 $1.79

$1.02 ฿34.29

75.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.17 $12.17

$3.69 ฿124

229.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.88 $0.88

$1.47 ฿49.70

-40.14%

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

$23.0K $23.0K

$26.8K ฿902.4K

-14.16%

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

$30.8K $30.8K

$26.7K ฿899.5K

15.57%

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

$33.95 $33.95

$96.4 ฿3,247

-64.76%

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

$14.67 $14.67

$11.26 ฿380

30.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.33 $26.33

$16.85 ฿568

56.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.57 $31.57

$67.2 ฿2,266

-53.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.27 $16.27

$10.73 ฿361

51.63%

Cinema Ticket

$7.54 $7.54

$7.50 ฿253

0.53%

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

$375 $375

$476 ฿16.0K

-21.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,671 $5,671

$11.3K ฿379.6K

-49.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.2 $65.2

$62.4 ฿2,102

4.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 $41.29

$28.41 ฿957

45.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$123 $123

$94.3 ฿3,178

30.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.4 $92.4

$85.8 ฿2,892

7.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$415 $415

$716 ฿24.1K

-41.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$273 $273

$491 ฿16.5K

-44.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$914 $914

$1,927 ฿64.9K

-52.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$430 $430

$1,431 ฿48.2K

-69.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,019 $1,019

$4,175 ฿140.7K

-75.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$789 $789

$3,045 ฿102.6K

-74.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$331 $331

$502 ฿16.9K

-34.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.05

5.57

80.43%

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

Last update for Portoviejo: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Portoviejo

$273 31.2%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 79.6% $218

Groceries & Markets

Portoviejo

$201 22.9%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 32.7% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Portoviejo

$145 16.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 15.9% $23

Eating Out

Portoviejo

$124 14.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 1.7% $2.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Portoviejo

$75 8.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 66.1% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Portoviejo

$47 5.3%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 76.2% $36

Getting Around

Portoviejo

$13 * 1.5%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 445% $58

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 $415 in Portoviejo and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 52% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $52 in Portoviejo vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $201 vs $266, with Portoviejo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇨 Portoviejo

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

20:49 8:49 PM

08:49 8:49 AM

12 h ahead of Portoviejo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

180,641

79,308

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.77 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Portoviejo Phuket 19,240 km ≈ 25 h nonstop flight

From you

Portoviejo
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

Portoviejo vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Portoviejo is about 31% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 34% lower in Portoviejo. 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: $415 in Portoviejo versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $375 in Portoviejo 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 $52 in Portoviejo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Portoviejo 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.

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