Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Puerto Varas and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Puerto Varas: $1,133 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $900 less a year. The total is higher in Phuket despite lower rent and utilities.

52

Cost of Living Index in Puerto Varas
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Puerto Varas Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Puerto Varas

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,133

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,133 in Puerto Varas versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Puerto Varas $1,133
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,620 in Puerto Varas versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Puerto Varas $1,620
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,107 in Puerto Varas versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Puerto Varas $2,107
Phuket $2,845

Living in Puerto Varas costs roughly 6% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Puerto Varas 16% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.04 CLP 11.9K

$4.40 ฿147

173.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.38 CLP 39.7K

$32.26 ฿1,078

25.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.80 CLP 7,676

$8.76 ฿293

-10.96%

Cappuccino

$3.25 CLP 3,195

$2.83 ฿94.5

14.84%

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

$0.99 CLP 975

$0.90 ฿30.14

10.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 CLP 817

$0.47 ฿15.56

76.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 CLP 1,082

$1.73 ฿57.7

-36.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.88 CLP 1,850

$1.47 ฿49.11

27.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 CLP 1,533

$1.51 ฿50.6

3.31%

Eggs

$3.06 CLP 3,007

$2.17 ฿72.7

41.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.52 CLP 8,384

$19.70 ฿658

-56.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.70 CLP 4,623

$3.34 ฿112

40.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.94 CLP 8,798

$11.16 ฿373

-19.89%

Apples (1kg)

$1.69 CLP 1,667

$2.85 ฿95.1

-40.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 CLP 1,954

$1.70 ฿56.9

16.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.50 CLP 2,461

$2.19 ฿73.3

14.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.90 CLP 1,873

$2.05 ฿68.4

-7.32%

Potato (1kg)

$1.56 CLP 1,532

$1.45 ฿48.57

7.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.21 CLP 1,186

$1.38 ฿46.16

-12.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 CLP 1,295

$1.07 ฿35.69

23.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 CLP 1,117

$0.51 ฿16.91

123.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.16 CLP 5,077

$4.26 ฿142

21.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.50 CLP 4,434

$18.58 ฿621

-75.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 CLP 1,403

$1.78 ฿59.7

-19.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.22 CLP 1,200

$2.85 ฿95.2

-57.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.10 CLP 1,081

$2.26 ฿75.6

-51.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

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

$251 CLP 246.9K

$96.4 ฿3,221

160.25%

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

$16.43 CLP 16.2K

$11.04 ฿369

48.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.04 CLP 30.6K

$52.2 ฿1,744

-40.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

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

$504 CLP 496.0K

$556 ฿18.6K

-9.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,079 CLP 6.0M

$11.6K ฿387.0K

-47.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$20.68 CLP 20.4K

$64.2 ฿2,146

-67.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.05 CLP 14.8K

$28.69 ฿959

-47.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.7 CLP 59.7K

$95.4 ฿3,187

-36.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$603 CLP 593.5K

$737 ฿24.6K

-18.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$413 CLP 406.4K

$462 ฿15.5K

-10.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$811 CLP 797.9K

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-61.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$621 CLP 611.8K

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-48.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$528 CLP 519.4K

$501 ฿16.7K

5.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

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

Last update for Puerto Varas: October 18, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Puerto Varas

$413 36.4%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 12% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Puerto Varas

$267 * 23.6%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 53.4% $143

Groceries & Markets

Puerto Varas

$209 18.4%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 28.8% $60

Eating Out

Puerto Varas

$166 * 14.6%

Phuket

$121 10% 27% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Puerto Varas

$43 * 3.8%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 187% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Puerto Varas

$31 * 2.7%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 118% $37

Getting Around

Puerto Varas

$4.4 * 0.4%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 798% $35

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 $603 in Puerto Varas and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Puerto Varas pays 5% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $40.00 in Puerto Varas vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $209 vs $269, with Puerto Varas cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇱 Puerto Varas

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

07:49 7:49 AM

17:49 5:49 PM

10 h ahead of Puerto Varas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

41,255

79,308

💱 Currency

Chilean Peso CLP $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 CLP = 10.16 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CLP – Chilean Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇱 Chilean Peso ($)

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 984 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,107 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CLP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Puerto Varas Phuket 16,200 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Puerto Varas
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

Puerto Varas vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Puerto Varas is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. The 7% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 5% higher in Puerto Varas, 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: $603 in Puerto Varas versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $504 in Puerto Varas versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Puerto Varas – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,133 in Puerto Varas versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Puerto Varas but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Puerto Varas the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Puerto Varas 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 Puerto Varas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 7% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.