Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Lucia and Phuket

For one person, living costs are similar in Santa Lucia and in Phuket: $1,276 and $1,278 a month, rent and utilities included.

62

Cost of Living Index in Santa Lucia
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Santa Lucia Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Santa Lucia

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,276

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,276 in Santa Lucia versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Santa Lucia $1,276
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,819 in Santa Lucia versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Santa Lucia $1,819
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,361 in Santa Lucia versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Santa Lucia $2,361
Phuket $3,154

Monthly costs are close between Santa Lucia and Phuket; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Santa Lucia 6% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.83 CUP 236

$4.47 ฿151

119.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.34 CUP 728

$32.41 ฿1,094

-6.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.98 CUP 167

$8.81 ฿297

-20.77%

Cappuccino

$3.35 CUP 80.5

$2.83 ฿95.5

18.37%

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

$1.11 CUP 26.66

$0.87 ฿29.43

27.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.92 CUP 22.18

$0.49 ฿16.67

87.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.04 CUP 48.84

$2.56 ฿86.4

-20.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.96 CUP 71.1

$3.68 ฿124

-19.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 CUP 46.07

$1.66 ฿56.0

15.66%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 CUP 44.95

$1.46 ฿49.35

28.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 CUP 36.83

$1.50 ฿50.6

2.00%

Eggs

$3.60 CUP 86.4

$2.09 ฿70.5

72.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.21 CUP 149

$19.07 ฿644

-67.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.91 CUP 142

$3.30 ฿111

79.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.15 CUP 268

$10.91 ฿368

2.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 CUP 65.9

$2.93 ฿99.0

-6.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 CUP 37.59

$1.69 ฿57.1

-7.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.06 CUP 49.49

$2.25 ฿75.8

-8.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 CUP 52.6

$2.08 ฿70.1

5.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 CUP 46.77

$1.51 ฿51.0

29.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 CUP 42.87

$1.38 ฿46.56

29.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 CUP 24.46

$1.07 ฿35.99

-4.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 CUP 24.62

$0.52 ฿17.52

98.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.97 CUP 95.3

$4.20 ฿142

-5.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.12 CUP 291

$18.79 ฿634

-35.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 CUP 39.10

$1.82 ฿61.5

-10.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 CUP 56.7

$2.84 ฿95.9

-16.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.21 CUP 5.00

$1.45 ฿49.03

-85.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.63 CUP 591

$56.7 ฿1,913

-56.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.27 CUP 78.5

$3.02 ฿102

8.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 CUP 9.18

$1.02 ฿34.36

-62.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.19 CUP 365

$3.69 ฿125

311.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 CUP 24.46

$1.47 ฿49.81

-30.61%

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

$69.8K CUP 1.7M

$26.8K ฿904.3K

160.85%

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

$80.4K CUP 1.9M

$26.7K ฿901.3K

201.30%

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

$34.72 CUP 833

$96.4 ฿3,254

-63.96%

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

$14.96 CUP 359

$11.26 ฿380

32.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$251 CUP 6,021

$16.85 ฿569

1388.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.36 CUP 969

$67.2 ฿2,270

-39.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.78 CUP 355

$10.73 ฿362

37.74%

Cinema Ticket

$1.02 CUP 24.50

$7.50 ฿253

-86.40%

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

$164 CUP 3,939

$476 ฿16.1K

-65.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,059 CUP 97.4K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-63.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.5 CUP 1,691

$62.4 ฿2,106

12.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.0 CUP 1,321

$28.41 ฿959

93.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 CUP 2,416

$94.3 ฿3,184

6.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 CUP 2,546

$85.8 ฿2,898

23.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$548 CUP 13.1K

$716 ฿24.2K

-23.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$344 CUP 8,245

$491 ฿16.6K

-30.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$755 CUP 18.1K

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-60.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$502 CUP 12.0K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-64.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$334 CUP 8,024

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-91.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$368 CUP 8,836

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-87.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$55.8 CUP 1,338

$502 ฿17.0K

-88.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.94

5.57

-11.31%

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

Last update for Santa Lucia: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Lucia

$344 26.9%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 42.9% $147

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Lucia

$301 23.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 58.6% $176

Groceries & Markets

Santa Lucia

$245 19.2%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 8.5% $21

Eating Out

Santa Lucia

$164 12.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 25.8% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Lucia

$150 11.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 18.5% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Lucia

$42 3.3%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 93.9% $40

Getting Around

Santa Lucia

$31 2.4%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 130% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $548 in Santa Lucia and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays about 9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $30 in Santa Lucia vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $245 vs $266 per month, with Santa Lucia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇺 Santa Lucia

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

10:03 10:03 AM

21:03 9:03 PM

11 h ahead of Santa Lucia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

💱 Currency

Cuban Peso CUP $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.74 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CUP – Cuban Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇺 Cuban Peso ($)

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.71 CUP (100 CUP = 3.74 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CUP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Santa Lucia Phuket 16,720 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Lucia
Phuket

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Santa Lucia vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

On paper, salaries run 89% lower in Santa Lucia. 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: $548 in Santa Lucia versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $164 in Santa Lucia versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Santa Lucia – a meal for two runs $30 versus $32 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Santa Lucia gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Santa Lucia wins on affordability, Phuket on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.