Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santo Domingo Este and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Santo Domingo Este: $637 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Santo Domingo Este
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Santo Domingo Este Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Santo Domingo Este

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$637

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $637 in Santo Domingo Este versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Santo Domingo Este $637
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,035 in Santo Domingo Este versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Santo Domingo Este $1,035
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,434 in Santo Domingo Este versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Santo Domingo Este $1,434
Phuket $3,154

Living in Santo Domingo Este costs roughly 50% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Santo Domingo Este 53% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.04 DOP 309

$4.47 ฿151

12.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.28 DOP 2,528

$32.41 ฿1,094

27.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.50 DOP 398

$8.81 ฿297

-26.22%

Cappuccino

$1.01 DOP 61.6

$2.83 ฿95.5

-64.31%

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

$1.01 DOP 61.9

$0.87 ฿29.43

16.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 DOP 33.61

$0.49 ฿16.67

12.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.46 DOP 151

$2.56 ฿86.4

-3.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 DOP 193

$3.68 ฿124

-14.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 DOP 82.7

$1.66 ฿56.0

-18.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 DOP 94.0

$1.46 ฿49.35

4.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 DOP 98.1

$1.50 ฿50.6

6.67%

Eggs

$2.26 DOP 139

$2.09 ฿70.5

8.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.33 DOP 449

$19.07 ฿644

-61.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.39 DOP 330

$3.30 ฿111

63.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 DOP 406

$10.91 ฿368

-39.23%

Apples (1kg)

$3.23 DOP 198

$2.93 ฿99.0

10.24%

Banana (1kg)

$0.83 DOP 50.9

$1.69 ฿57.1

-50.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.64 DOP 162

$2.25 ฿75.8

17.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.85 DOP 113

$2.08 ฿70.1

-11.06%

Potato (1kg)

$2.01 DOP 123

$1.51 ฿51.0

33.11%

Onion (1kg)

$2.13 DOP 131

$1.38 ฿46.56

54.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 DOP 62.8

$1.07 ฿35.99

-3.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 DOP 56.6

$0.52 ฿17.52

76.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.12 DOP 313

$4.20 ฿142

21.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.23 DOP 626

$18.79 ฿634

-45.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.53 DOP 155

$1.82 ฿61.5

39.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.96 DOP 182

$2.84 ฿95.9

4.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.25 DOP 199

$3.02 ฿102

7.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 DOP 132

$1.02 ฿34.36

110.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.70 DOP 349

$3.69 ฿125

54.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 DOP 75.9

$1.47 ฿49.81

-15.65%

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

$29.5K DOP 1.8M

$26.8K ฿904.3K

10.27%

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

$33.7K DOP 2.1M

$26.7K ฿901.3K

26.12%

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

$93.2 DOP 5,709

$96.4 ฿3,254

-3.24%

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

$30.91 DOP 1,893

$11.26 ฿380

174.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.35 DOP 2,165

$16.85 ฿569

109.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.16 DOP 438

$7.50 ฿253

-4.53%

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

$252 DOP 15.4K

$476 ฿16.1K

-47.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,312 DOP 447.8K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-35.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.56 DOP 2,729

$62.4 ฿2,106

-28.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.17 DOP 2,828

$28.41 ฿959

62.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.7 DOP 5,189

$94.3 ฿3,184

-10.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 DOP 7,501

$85.8 ฿2,898

42.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$594 DOP 36.4K

$502 ฿17.0K

18.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.56

5.57

143.45%

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

Last update for Santo Domingo Este: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Santo Domingo Este

$219 34.3%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 21.8% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santo Domingo Este

$159 25%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 22% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Santo Domingo Este

$134 21%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 9.1% $12

Eating Out

Santo Domingo Este

$97 15.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 25.8% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Santo Domingo Este

$14 * 2.3%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 474% $68

Getting Around

Santo Domingo Este

$14 * 2.2%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 404% $57

Accommodation & Living

Santo Domingo Este

- * 0%

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Santo Domingo Este 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: $41 in Santo Domingo Este vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $219 vs $266, with Santo Domingo Este cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇩🇴 Santo Domingo Este

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:50 5:50 PM

04:50 4:50 AM

11 h ahead of Santo Domingo Este

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,000,230

79,308

💱 Currency

Dominican Peso DOP $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 DOP = 1.63 USD

100 DOP = 1.47 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to DOP – Dominican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇩🇴 Dominican Peso ($)

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 61.24 DOP (100 DOP = 1.63 USD). 1 EUR = 68.17 DOP (100 DOP = 1.47 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to DOP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Santo Domingo Este Phuket 16,810 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Santo Domingo Este
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

Santo Domingo Este vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santo Domingo Este is about 50% cheaper overall, especially in leisure, transport, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 18% higher in Santo Domingo Este, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $252 in Santo Domingo Este 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 Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $41 in Santo Domingo Este. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $637 in Santo Domingo Este versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $800 budget is realistic in Santo Domingo Este but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Santo Domingo Este 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.