Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Pedro, Philippines and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in San Pedro: $707 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in San Pedro
Learn more

San Pedro Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

San Pedro

🇵🇭 Philippines

$707

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $707 in San Pedro versus $1,294 in Phuket.

San Pedro $707
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,074 in San Pedro versus $2,204 in Phuket.

San Pedro $1,074
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,442 in San Pedro versus $3,115 in Phuket.

San Pedro $1,442
Phuket $3,115

Living in San Pedro costs roughly 45% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: San Pedro 48% lower, Phuket 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.81 ₱242

$4.39 ฿148

-13.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.66 ₱1,059

$32.31 ฿1,086

-48.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.79 ₱177

$8.70 ฿293

-67.93%

Cappuccino

$1.76 ₱112

$2.72 ฿91.6

-35.29%

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

$0.55 ₱34.86

$0.93 ฿31.28

-40.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ₱19.70

$0.50 ฿16.79

-38.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.02 ₱64.9

$2.53 ฿85.1

-59.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 ₱100

$3.63 ฿122

-56.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 ₱104

$1.74 ฿58.5

-6.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.09 ₱69.4

$1.45 ฿48.77

-24.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱64.4

$1.50 ฿50.5

-32.67%

Eggs

$1.96 ₱125

$2.17 ฿73.0

-9.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.83 ₱307

$19.09 ฿642

-74.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.41 ₱217

$3.40 ฿114

0.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.77 ₱431

$10.90 ฿366

-37.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 ₱142

$2.94 ฿98.9

-23.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 ₱99.9

$1.69 ฿56.9

-7.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.26 ₱144

$2.19 ฿73.8

3.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.06 ₱67.2

$2.12 ฿71.4

-50.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.63 ₱104

$1.46 ฿49.03

11.64%

Onion (1kg)

$1.77 ₱113

$1.37 ฿45.99

29.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.94 ₱59.6

$1.08 ฿36.17

-12.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ₱32.49

$0.55 ฿18.34

-7.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.90 ₱185

$4.43 ฿149

-34.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.69 ₱553

$18.25 ฿614

-52.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 ₱57.8

$1.77 ฿59.6

-48.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 ₱126

$2.88 ฿96.8

-31.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.24 ₱15.29

$1.45 ฿48.66

-83.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.33 ₱784

$54.9 ฿1,845

-77.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.72 ₱46.09

$1.51 ฿50.9

-52.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 ₱12.73

$0.78 ฿26.08

-74.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 ₱117

$3.84 ฿129

-52.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 ₱75.3

$1.49 ฿50.0

-20.81%

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

$21.0K ₱1.3M

$26.9K ฿903.7K

-22.05%

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

$19.0K ₱1.2M

$26.3K ฿885.7K

-27.98%

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

$121 ₱7,665

$97.8 ฿3,288

23.26%

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

$15.83 ₱1,006

$11.29 ฿380

40.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.27 ₱1,479

$17.19 ฿578

35.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.50 ₱2,003

$68.3 ฿2,297

-53.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.10 ₱324

$10.92 ฿367

-53.30%

Cinema Ticket

$5.17 ₱329

$7.43 ฿250

-30.42%

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

$130 ₱8,269

$530 ฿17.8K

-75.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,736 ₱555.4K

$18.8K ฿631.4K

-53.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.24 ₱1,796

$61.7 ฿2,073

-54.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.23 ₱1,222

$28.25 ฿950

-31.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.6 ₱4,551

$96.0 ฿3,228

-25.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.6 ₱3,536

$86.8 ฿2,919

-35.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$252 ₱16.0K

$721 ฿24.2K

-65.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$170 ₱10.8K

$509 ฿17.1K

-66.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$484 ₱30.8K

$1,950 ฿65.6K

-75.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$350 ₱22.3K

$1,397 ฿47.0K

-74.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,591 ₱164.8K

$4,192 ฿140.9K

-38.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,089 ₱69.2K

$3,298 ฿110.9K

-66.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$125 ₱7,951

$492 ฿16.5K

-74.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

5.57

21.18%

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

Last update for San Pedro: November 2, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

San Pedro

$170 24.1%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 56.8% $97

Accommodation & Living

San Pedro

$170 24%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 200% $339

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Pedro

$160 22.6%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 20.9% $33

Clothing & Footwear

San Pedro

$79 11.1%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 56.1% $44

Eating Out

San Pedro

$72 10.2%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 66.6% $48

Sport & Entertainment

San Pedro

$42 5.9%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 98.8% $41

Getting Around

San Pedro

$15 2.1%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 340% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $252 in San Pedro and $721 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays about 3.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $17 in San Pedro vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $170 vs $267 per month, with San Pedro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 San Pedro

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

03:18 3:18 AM

02:18 2:18 AM

1 h behind San Pedro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

326,001

79,308

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.4 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 63.58 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.28 PHP (100 PHP = 1.4 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.69 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Pedro Phuket 2,570 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

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

San Pedro is about 45% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 75% lower in San Pedro. 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: $252 in San Pedro versus $721 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $130 in San Pedro versus $530 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 57% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $707 in San Pedro versus $1,294 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in San Pedro but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes San Pedro 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.

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

Expats usually find San Pedro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 45% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.