Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Juan, Costa Rica and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $1,723 in San Juan, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

83

Cost of Living Index in San Juan
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San Juan Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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San Juan

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,723

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,723 in San Juan versus $1,294 in Phuket.

San Juan $1,723
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,746 in San Juan versus $2,204 in Phuket.

San Juan $2,746
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,770 in San Juan versus $3,115 in Phuket.

San Juan $3,770
Phuket $3,115

Living in San Juan is roughly 33% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Juan is 27% above, Phuket is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.46 ₡5,602

$4.39 ฿148

183.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.8 ₡27.4K

$32.31 ฿1,090

88.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.85 ₡5,331

$8.70 ฿294

36.21%

Cappuccino

$4.35 ₡1,956

$2.72 ฿91.9

59.93%

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

$2.75 ₡1,238

$0.93 ฿31.39

195.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 ₡855

$0.50 ฿16.85

280.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.34 ₡1,502

$2.53 ฿85.4

32.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.52 ₡2,035

$3.63 ฿122

24.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.33 ₡1,047

$1.74 ฿58.7

33.91%

White Bread (500g)

$3.11 ₡1,400

$1.45 ฿48.95

114.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.44 ₡1,096

$1.50 ฿50.7

62.67%

Eggs

$3.48 ₡1,565

$2.17 ฿73.3

60.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.66 ₡4,794

$19.09 ฿644

-44.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,731

$3.40 ฿115

209.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 ₡6,291

$10.90 ฿368

28.35%

Apples (1kg)

$5.03 ₡2,264

$2.94 ฿99.2

71.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 ₡715

$1.69 ฿57.1

-5.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.78 ₡2,149

$2.19 ฿74.0

118.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.81 ₡1,713

$2.12 ฿71.7

79.72%

Potato (1kg)

$3.89 ₡1,748

$1.46 ฿49.21

166.44%

Onion (1kg)

$3.76 ₡1,690

$1.37 ฿46.15

174.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ₡504

$1.08 ฿36.30

3.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.10 ₡1,393

$0.55 ฿18.41

463.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.86 ₡2,635

$4.43 ฿149

32.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.61 ₡8,820

$18.25 ฿616

7.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.86 ₡1,287

$1.77 ฿59.8

61.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 ₡1,613

$2.88 ฿97.2

24.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.35 ₡605

$1.45 ฿48.84

-6.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,852

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ₡1,087

$1.51 ฿51.0

60.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 ₡699

$0.78 ฿26.18

100.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.62 ₡3,877

$3.84 ฿130

124.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 ₡711

$1.49 ฿50.2

6.04%

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

$34.4K ₡15.5M

$26.9K ฿907.0K

27.99%

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

$41.3K ₡18.6M

$26.3K ฿888.9K

56.79%

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

$95.5 ₡43.0K

$97.8 ฿3,300

-2.32%

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

$35.02 ₡15.7K

$11.29 ฿381

210.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.1 ₡27.0K

$17.19 ฿580

249.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.0 ₡30.1K

$68.3 ฿2,305

-1.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿368

Cinema Ticket

$7.71 ₡3,469

$7.43 ฿251

3.77%

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

$980 ₡440.7K

$530 ฿17.9K

84.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.2K ₡7.7M

$18.8K ฿633.7K

-8.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 ₡32.4K

$61.7 ฿2,081

16.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.2 ₡25.3K

$28.25 ฿953

98.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$129 ₡58.2K

$96.0 ฿3,239

34.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 ₡60.1K

$86.8 ฿2,929

53.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$798 ₡358.8K

$721 ฿24.3K

10.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$627 ₡282.1K

$509 ฿17.2K

23.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 ₡864.2K

$1,950 ฿65.8K

-1.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 ₡578.7K

$1,397 ฿47.1K

-7.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿141.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿111.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

5.57

54.76%

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

Last update for San Juan: November 1, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Juan

$627 36.4%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 18.9% $118

Groceries & Markets

San Juan

$399 23.2%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 33.1% $132

Eating Out

San Juan

$232 13.5%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 48.4% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Juan

$191 11.1%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 33.8% $64

Clothing & Footwear

San Juan

$176 10.2%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 30.3% $53

Sport & Entertainment

San Juan

$82 4.8%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 0.9% $0.7

Getting Around

San Juan

$16 * 0.9%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 324% $50

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 $798 in San Juan and $721 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61 in San Juan vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $399 vs $267 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Juan

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

14:16 2:16 PM

03:16 3:16 AM

13 h ahead of San Juan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

27,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.73 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

San Juan Phuket 18,010 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

San Juan
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

San Juan vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 25% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,584 in San Juan and $1,940 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: $798 in San Juan versus $721 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $980 in San Juan versus $530 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 $61 in San Juan. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,723 in San Juan, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in San Juan. 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 San Juan, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, San Juan and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.