Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Protaras and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,021 in Protaras, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

94

Cost of Living Index in Protaras
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Protaras Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Protaras

🇨🇾 Cyprus

$2,021

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,021 in Protaras versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Protaras $2,021
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,018 in Protaras versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Protaras $3,018
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,015 in Protaras versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Protaras $4,015
Phuket $3,154

Living in Protaras is roughly 58% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Protaras is 49% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.36 €20.03

$4.47 ฿151

400.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$77.9 €69.7

$32.41 ฿1,093

140.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.13 €8.18

$8.81 ฿297

3.63%

Cappuccino

$3.85 €3.45

$2.83 ฿95.4

36.04%

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

$1.92 €1.72

$0.87 ฿29.41

120.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.26 €1.13

$0.49 ฿16.65

157.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.17 €4.63

$2.56 ฿86.3

101.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.48 €4.90

$3.68 ฿124

48.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.99 €1.78

$1.66 ฿55.9

19.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.47 €2.22

$1.46 ฿49.31

69.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.01 €2.70

$1.50 ฿50.5

100.67%

Eggs

$4.63 €4.15

$2.09 ฿70.5

121.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.37 €11.98

$19.07 ฿643

-29.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.72 €8.71

$3.30 ฿111

194.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.71 €12.28

$10.91 ฿368

25.66%

Apples (1kg)

$3.50 €3.14

$2.93 ฿98.9

19.45%

Banana (1kg)

$2.36 €2.11

$1.69 ฿57.0

39.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.93 €2.63

$2.25 ฿75.8

30.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.79 €3.39

$2.08 ฿70.0

82.21%

Potato (1kg)

$2.01 €1.80

$1.51 ฿51.0

33.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.61 €1.44

$1.38 ฿46.52

16.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 €1.15

$1.07 ฿35.96

19.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.52 ฿17.51

105.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.59 €5.90

$4.20 ฿142

56.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.76 €7.85

$18.79 ฿634

-53.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.68

$1.82 ฿61.5

2.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 €2.56

$2.84 ฿95.8

0.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.23 €2.00

$1.45 ฿48.98

53.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.4 €48.73

$56.7 ฿1,912

-3.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$9.98 €8.94

$3.02 ฿102

230.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.02 ฿34.33

125.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.09 €19.78

$3.69 ฿125

498.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.71 €1.53

$1.47 ฿49.76

16.33%

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

$30.9K €27.7K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

15.53%

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

$31.2K €27.9K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

16.79%

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

$241 €215

$96.4 ฿3,251

149.72%

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

$20.38 €18.25

$11.26 ฿380

80.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.60 €29.20

$16.85 ฿568

93.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$77.3 €69.2

$67.2 ฿2,268

14.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.75 €19.48

$10.73 ฿362

102.70%

Cinema Ticket

$13.33 €11.94

$7.50 ฿253

77.73%

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

$687 €616

$476 ฿16.1K

44.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K €9,432

$11.3K ฿380.0K

-6.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$97.0 €86.9

$62.4 ฿2,104

55.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.2 €45.84

$28.41 ฿958

80.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 €98.7

$94.3 ฿3,181

16.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 €105

$85.8 ฿2,895

36.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$720 €645

$716 ฿24.2K

0.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$741 €664

$491 ฿16.6K

50.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,648 €1,476

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-14.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,144 €1,025

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-20.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,454 €3,093

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-17.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,202 €1,972

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-27.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.93

5.57

-29.44%

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

Last update for Protaras: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Protaras

$741 36.7%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 33.8% $250

Groceries & Markets

Protaras

$327 16.2%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 18.7% $61

Eating Out

Protaras

$302 14.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 59.7% $180

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Protaras

$294 14.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 57.6% $169

Clothing & Footwear

Protaras

$169 8.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 27.8% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Protaras

$104 5.1%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 20.9% $22

Getting Around

Protaras

$85 4.2%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 16.8% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $720 in Protaras and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $78 in Protaras vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $327 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇾 Protaras

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

02:31 2:31 AM

07:31 7:31 AM

5 h ahead of Protaras

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,230

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Protaras Phuket 7,180 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Protaras
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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

Protaras vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 37% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $3,032 in Protaras and $1,917 in Phuket to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $720 in Protaras versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $687 in Protaras versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 23% higher in Protaras. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,021 in Protaras, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Protaras. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.