Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Praia and Phuket

For one person, living costs are similar in Praia and in Phuket: $1,202 and $1,190 a month, rent and utilities included.

58

Cost of Living Index in Praia
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Praia Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Praia

🇨🇻 Cape Verde

$1,202

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Praia versus $1,190 in Phuket.

Praia $1,202
Phuket $1,190

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,804 in Praia versus $2,006 in Phuket.

Praia $1,804
Phuket $2,006

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,407 in Praia versus $2,822 in Phuket.

Praia $2,407
Phuket $2,822

Living in Praia is roughly 1% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Praia 10% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.10 CVE 502

$4.35 ฿146

17.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.09 CVE 3,553

$32.45 ฿1,087

11.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.08 CVE 697

$8.42 ฿282

-15.91%

Cappuccino

$2.65 CVE 260

$2.81 ฿94.0

-5.69%

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

$1.60 CVE 157

$0.87 ฿29.29

83.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.19 CVE 117

$0.46 ฿15.39

158.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 CVE 251

$2.59 ฿86.6

-1.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 CVE 195

$3.64 ฿122

-45.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 CVE 137

$1.71 ฿57.2

-18.71%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 CVE 200

$1.45 ฿48.42

40.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.54 CVE 349

$1.56 ฿52.3

126.92%

Eggs

$2.36 CVE 232

$2.10 ฿70.3

12.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$26.35 CVE 2,595

$19.53 ฿654

34.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.68 CVE 461

$3.40 ฿114

37.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.59 CVE 1,634

$11.14 ฿373

48.92%

Apples (1kg)

$5.11 CVE 503

$2.83 ฿94.8

80.57%

Banana (1kg)

$2.97 CVE 292

$1.62 ฿54.3

83.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.08 CVE 402

$2.22 ฿74.5

83.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.33 CVE 427

$2.15 ฿71.9

101.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.48 CVE 146

$1.49 ฿49.95

-0.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.44 CVE 142

$1.33 ฿44.40

8.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 CVE 98.0

$1.07 ฿35.72

-6.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 CVE 147

$0.51 ฿17.01

194.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.29 CVE 521

$4.38 ฿147

20.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.33 CVE 820

$18.77 ฿629

-55.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 CVE 178

$1.74 ฿58.3

4.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 CVE 177

$2.78 ฿92.9

-35.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 CVE 79.5

$2.17 ฿72.6

-62.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.32 CVE 2,887

$22.28 ฿746

31.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.75 CVE 173

$3.02 ฿101

-42.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.22 CVE 120

$1.06 ฿35.43

15.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.71 ฿124

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 CVE 153

$1.43 ฿47.88

8.39%

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

$29.1K CVE 2.9M

$26.3K ฿882.1K

10.49%

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

$37.4K CVE 3.7M

$26.2K ฿877.3K

42.89%

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

$178 CVE 17.5K

$96.7 ฿3,236

84.41%

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

$18.15 CVE 1,787

$11.41 ฿382

59.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.8 CVE 5,000

$17.11 ฿573

196.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.07 CVE 3,158

$52.8 ฿1,768

-39.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.98 CVE 983

$11.07 ฿371

-9.85%

Cinema Ticket

$5.60 CVE 551

$7.65 ฿256

-26.80%

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

$128 CVE 12.6K

$555 ฿18.6K

-76.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,146 CVE 309.7K

$11.3K ฿377.7K

-72.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.9 CVE 6,094

$63.4 ฿2,123

-2.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.25 CVE 2,486

$28.61 ฿958

-11.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$66.0 CVE 6,499

$96.7 ฿3,238

-31.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.7 CVE 8,835

$88.6 ฿2,967

1.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$586 CVE 57.6K

$735 ฿24.6K

-20.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$291 CVE 28.7K

$458 ฿15.3K

-36.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$890 CVE 87.6K

$2,102 ฿70.4K

-57.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$471 CVE 46.4K

$1,187 ฿39.7K

-60.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,337 CVE 131.6K

$3,493 ฿116.9K

-61.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$982 CVE 96.6K

$2,491 ฿83.4K

-60.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$302 CVE 29.7K

$501 ฿16.8K

-39.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

43.63%

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

Last update for Praia: October 5, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Praia

$350 29.1%

Phuket

$268 22.3% 23.4% $82

Accommodation & Living

Praia

$291 24.2%

Phuket

$458 38.1% 57.2% $167

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Praia

$247 20.6%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 49.4% $122

Eating Out

Praia

$122 10.1%

Phuket

$119 9.9% 1.9% $2.4

Clothing & Footwear

Praia

$109 9.1%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 14.2% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Praia

$43 3.6%

Phuket

$68 5.7% 57.4% $25

Getting Around

Praia

$40 3.4%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 2.9% $1.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $586 in Praia and $735 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 66% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $36.00 in Praia vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $350 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇻 Praia

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

08:41 8:41 AM

16:41 4:41 PM

8 h ahead of Praia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,832 Capital

79,308

💱 Currency

Cabo Verdean Escudo CVE $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CVE = 10.16 USD

1,000 CVE = 9.06 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CVE – Cabo Verdean Escudo Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇻 Cabo Verdean Escudo ($)

Cabo Verdean Escudo exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 98.45 CVE (100 CVE = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 110 CVE (1,000 CVE = 9.06 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

USD to CVE in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Praia Phuket 13,130 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Praia
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

Praia vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 1% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 66% lower in Phuket. 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: $586 in Praia versus $735 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $128 in Praia versus $555 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Praia. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,190 in Phuket versus $1,202 in Praia, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Praia. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Praia, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Praia and Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Praia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.