Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Maria and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Maria: $732 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Santa Maria
Learn more

Santa Maria Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Santa Maria

🇧🇷 Brazil

$732

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $732 in Santa Maria versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Santa Maria $732
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,224 in Santa Maria versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Santa Maria $1,224
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,715 in Santa Maria versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Santa Maria $1,715
Phuket $3,154

Living in Santa Maria costs roughly 43% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Santa Maria 46% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.61 R$30.22

$4.47 ฿151

25.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.42 R$180

$32.41 ฿1,094

3.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.46 R$34.77

$8.81 ฿297

-26.67%

Cappuccino

$1.70 R$9.16

$2.83 ฿95.4

-39.93%

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

$1.03 R$5.54

$0.87 ฿29.42

18.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 R$3.31

$0.49 ฿16.66

26.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 R$8.11

$2.56 ฿86.3

-41.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.26 R$22.92

$3.68 ฿124

15.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 R$5.47

$1.66 ฿56.0

-38.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.48 R$7.94

$1.46 ฿49.32

1.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 R$7.64

$1.50 ฿50.5

-5.33%

Eggs

$1.74 R$9.39

$2.09 ฿70.5

-16.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.55 R$46.00

$19.07 ฿643

-55.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.71 R$19.95

$3.30 ฿111

12.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.82 R$42.06

$10.91 ฿368

-28.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 R$12.18

$2.93 ฿98.9

-22.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 R$7.43

$1.69 ฿57.0

-18.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.01 R$10.83

$2.25 ฿75.8

-10.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 R$7.40

$2.08 ฿70.1

-34.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 R$6.08

$1.51 ฿51.0

-25.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.90

$1.38 ฿46.54

-7.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 R$4.68

$1.07 ฿35.97

-18.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 R$4.41

$0.52 ฿17.51

57.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.20 R$11.85

$4.20 ฿142

-47.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.58 R$40.79

$18.79 ฿634

-59.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 R$6.50

$1.82 ฿61.5

-33.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 R$14.83

$2.84 ฿95.9

-3.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.22 R$6.57

$1.45 ฿49.00

-15.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.50 R$229

$56.7 ฿1,912

-24.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 R$6.34

$3.02 ฿102

-60.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.79 R$4.24

$1.02 ฿34.34

-22.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 R$41.53

$3.69 ฿125

109.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 R$6.30

$1.47 ฿49.78

-20.41%

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

$22.9K R$123.4K

$26.8K ฿903.7K

-14.37%

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

$30.0K R$161.7K

$26.7K ฿900.8K

12.58%

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

$51.1 R$275

$96.4 ฿3,252

-46.94%

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

$15.89 R$85.5

$11.26 ฿380

41.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.02 R$91.6

$16.85 ฿569

1.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.47 R$121

$67.2 ฿2,269

-66.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.14 R$60.0

$10.73 ฿362

3.82%

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 R$29.39

$7.50 ฿253

-27.20%

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

$147 R$790

$476 ฿16.1K

-69.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,764 R$14.9K

$11.3K ฿380.1K

-75.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.1 R$318

$62.4 ฿2,105

-5.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.62 R$224

$28.41 ฿959

46.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.8 R$499

$94.3 ฿3,182

-1.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.1 R$323

$85.8 ฿2,896

-30.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$282 R$1,517

$716 ฿24.2K

-60.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$155 R$835

$491 ฿16.6K

-68.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$608 R$3,270

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-68.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$370 R$1,991

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-74.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,633 R$8,787

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-60.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$677 R$3,646

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-77.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$591 R$3,179

$502 ฿17.0K

17.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

79.53%

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

Last update for Santa Maria: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Santa Maria

$186 25.4%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 43.4% $81

Accommodation & Living

Santa Maria

$155 21.2%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 216% $336

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Maria

$114 15.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 6.9% $7.8

Eating Out

Santa Maria

$107 14.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 13.4% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Maria

$84 11.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 48.1% $40

Getting Around

Santa Maria

$53 7.2%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 34.4% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Maria

$33 4.6%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 146% $49

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $282 in Santa Maria and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Maria pays 18% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $33 in Santa Maria vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $186 vs $266, with Santa Maria cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Santa Maria

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

23:34 11:34 PM

09:34 9:34 AM

10 h ahead of Santa Maria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

271,735

79,308

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.186 USD

1 BRL = 0.166 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 5.38 BRL (1 BRL = 0.186 USD). 1 EUR = 6.01 BRL (1 BRL = 0.166 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Santa Maria Phuket 16,240 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Maria
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

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

Santa Maria is about 43% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 18% higher in Santa Maria, 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: $282 in Santa Maria versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $147 in Santa Maria versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 43% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $732 in Santa Maria versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Santa Maria but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Maria 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.