Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Puerto de la Cruz and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,912 in Puerto de la Cruz, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

92

Cost of Living Index in Puerto de la Cruz
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Puerto de la Cruz Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Puerto de la Cruz

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,912

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,912 in Puerto de la Cruz versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Puerto de la Cruz $1,912
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,769 in Puerto de la Cruz versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Puerto de la Cruz $2,769
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,625 in Puerto de la Cruz versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Puerto de la Cruz $3,625
Phuket $2,867

Living in Puerto de la Cruz 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: Puerto de la Cruz is 42% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.53 €12.04

$4.58 ฿153

195.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.4 €54.6

$32.48 ฿1,086

88.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.06 €8.95

$8.55 ฿286

17.66%

Cappuccino

$2.58 €2.29

$2.72 ฿91.0

-5.15%

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

$1.90 €1.69

$0.94 ฿31.25

102.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 €1.36

$0.49 ฿16.39

212.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.86 €2.54

$2.59 ฿86.6

10.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 €3.20

$3.83 ฿128

-6.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 €0.98

$1.74 ฿58.1

-36.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.62 €1.44

$1.43 ฿47.82

13.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.65 €1.47

$1.53 ฿51.0

7.84%

Eggs

$3.70 €3.29

$2.17 ฿72.7

70.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.22 €10.87

$19.15 ฿640

-36.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 €8.89

$3.30 ฿110

203.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.61 €12.10

$11.14 ฿372

22.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.55 €2.27

$2.95 ฿98.5

-13.56%

Banana (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$1.68 ฿56.1

22.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.48 €1.32

$2.30 ฿76.8

-35.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.58 €2.29

$2.13 ฿71.3

21.13%

Potato (1kg)

$2.35 €2.09

$1.53 ฿51.1

53.59%

Onion (1kg)

$2.31 €2.05

$1.36 ฿45.55

69.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.02 €1.79

$1.12 ฿37.44

80.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 €0.72

$0.55 ฿18.24

47.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.17 €3.71

$4.26 ฿142

-2.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.52 €5.80

$18.19 ฿608

-64.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.74 ฿58.2

-21.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.68 €2.38

$2.79 ฿93.3

-3.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.93 €37.29

$22.06 ฿737

90.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 €2.94

$2.91 ฿97.3

13.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.28 €2.02

$1.01 ฿33.79

125.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.23 €25.11

$3.83 ฿128

637.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 €1.47

$1.49 ฿49.85

10.74%

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

$35.1K €31.2K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

31.51%

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

$28.4K €25.3K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

6.44%

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

$111 €98.4

$99.4 ฿3,321

11.33%

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

$19.16 €17.04

$11.28 ฿377

69.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.08 €24.97

$17.36 ฿580

61.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.72 €14.87

$10.85 ฿362

54.10%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 €8.14

$7.57 ฿253

20.87%

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

$481 €428

$558 ฿18.7K

-13.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,713 €5,971

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-41.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 €78.9

$62.9 ฿2,102

41.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.90 €33.71

$28.58 ฿955

32.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.9 €79.1

$96.1 ฿3,213

-7.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$88.1 ฿2,943

36.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,133 €1,008

$729 ฿24.4K

55.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,049 €933

$460 ฿15.4K

128.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,891 €1,682

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-9.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,577 €1,403

$1,222 ฿40.8K

29.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,614 €3,215

$3,459 ฿115.6K

4.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,478 €3,093

$2,489 ฿83.2K

39.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,345 €1,196

$493 ฿16.5K

172.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.15

5.57

-43.45%

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

Last update for Puerto de la Cruz: October 10, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Puerto de la Cruz

$1K 54.9%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 56.1% $589

Groceries & Markets

Puerto de la Cruz

$275 14.4%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 2.6% $7.3

Eating Out

Puerto de la Cruz

$205 10.7%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 40.7% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Puerto de la Cruz

$158 8.3%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 18.9% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Puerto de la Cruz

$151 7.9%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 17.8% $27

Getting Around

Puerto de la Cruz

$57 * 3%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 31.3% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Puerto de la Cruz

$18 * 1%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 268% $49

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 $1,133 in Puerto de la Cruz and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Puerto de la Cruz pays 173% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $61.0 in Puerto de la Cruz vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Puerto de la Cruz

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

09:49 9:49 AM

15:49 3:49 PM

6 h ahead of Puerto de la Cruz

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

30,849

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Puerto de la Cruz Phuket 11,960 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

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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

Puerto de la Cruz vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 58% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 173% higher in Puerto de la Cruz, 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: $1,133 in Puerto de la Cruz versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $481 in Puerto de la Cruz versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Puerto de la Cruz. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,912 in Puerto de la Cruz, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Puerto de la Cruz. 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 Puerto de la Cruz, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Puerto de la Cruz 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 58% less than in Puerto de la Cruz. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.