Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Tome and Principe and Phuket

For one person, living costs are similar in Sao Tome and Principe and in Phuket: $1,214 and $1,190 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Sao Tome and Principe
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Sao Tome and Principe Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

$1,214

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Sao Tome and Principe is 18.7% more expensive than Phuket without rent, and 2% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Sao Tome and Principe is 33.7% more expensive than Phuket without rent, and 6.5% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.81 STN 192

$4.35 ฿146

102.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.70 STN 999

$32.45 ฿1,087

40.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.62 STN 188

$8.42 ฿282

2.38%

Cappuccino

$2.42 STN 52.8

$2.81 ฿94.0

-13.88%

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

$1.74 STN 38.06

$0.87 ฿29.29

100.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.12 STN 24.57

$0.46 ฿15.39

143.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.76 STN 38.46

$2.59 ฿86.6

-32.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 STN 39.44

$3.64 ฿122

-50.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 STN 34.44

$1.71 ฿57.2

-7.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 STN 33.42

$1.45 ฿48.42

5.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.95 STN 42.63

$1.56 ฿52.3

25.00%

Eggs

$4.50 STN 98.3

$2.10 ฿70.3

114.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.41 STN 424

$19.53 ฿654

-0.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.55 STN 427

$3.40 ฿114

475.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.90 STN 457

$11.14 ฿373

87.61%

Apples (1kg)

$3.72 STN 81.2

$2.83 ฿94.8

31.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 STN 38.50

$1.62 ฿54.3

8.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.58 STN 78.3

$2.22 ฿74.5

61.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.37 STN 73.7

$2.15 ฿71.9

56.74%

Potato (1kg)

$2.92 STN 63.9

$1.49 ฿49.95

95.97%

Onion (1kg)

$2.37 STN 51.7

$1.33 ฿44.40

78.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.51 STN 11.06

$1.07 ฿35.72

-52.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 STN 43.32

$0.51 ฿17.01

288.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.25 STN 49.25

$4.38 ฿147

-48.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.12 STN 177

$18.77 ฿629

-56.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 STN 30.74

$1.74 ฿58.3

-18.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 STN 37.22

$2.78 ฿92.9

-38.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.41 STN 30.77

$2.17 ฿72.6

-35.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.28 ฿746

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.73 STN 37.81

$3.02 ฿101

-42.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.64 STN 57.8

$1.06 ฿35.43

149.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.90 STN 304

$3.71 ฿124

274.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 STN 37.00

$1.43 ฿47.88

18.18%

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

$24.3K STN 531.2K

$26.3K ฿882.1K

-7.72%

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

$31.1K STN 678.7K

$26.2K ฿877.3K

18.53%

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

$225 STN 4,918

$96.7 ฿3,236

132.88%

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

$31.43 STN 687

$11.41 ฿382

175.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.6 STN 1,477

$17.11 ฿573

295.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.47 STN 731

$52.8 ฿1,768

-36.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.52 STN 558

$11.07 ฿371

130.53%

Cinema Ticket

$20.45 STN 447

$7.65 ฿256

167.32%

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

$228 STN 4,976

$555 ฿18.6K

-58.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,161 STN 47.2K

$11.3K ฿377.7K

-80.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.4 ฿2,123

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$75.8 STN 1,656

$28.61 ฿958

164.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.7 ฿3,238

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$18.52 STN 405

$88.6 ฿2,967

-79.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$283 STN 6,178

$735 ฿24.6K

-61.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 STN 4,256

$458 ฿15.3K

-57.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$946 STN 20.7K

$2,102 ฿70.4K

-54.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$441 STN 9,627

$1,187 ฿39.7K

-62.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,860 STN 40.6K

$3,493 ฿116.9K

-46.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,129 STN 24.7K

$2,491 ฿83.4K

-54.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$431 STN 9,428

$501 ฿16.8K

-13.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.38

5.57

32.50%

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

Last update for Sao Tome and Principe: October 6, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sao Tome and Principe

$402 33.3%

Phuket

$268 22.3% 33.3% $134

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Tome and Principe

$324 26.9%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 61.4% $199

Accommodation & Living

Sao Tome and Principe

$195 16.1%

Phuket

$458 38.1% 135% $263

Eating Out

Sao Tome and Principe

$149 12.4%

Phuket

$119 9.9% 20.1% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Tome and Principe

$74 6.2%

Phuket

$68 5.7% 8.4% $6.3

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Tome and Principe

$42 * 3.5%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 194% $82

Getting Around

Sao Tome and Principe

$21 * 1.7%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 90.7% $19

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

Good to know

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

05:59 5:59 AM

12:59 12:59 PM

7 h ahead of Sao Tome and Principe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

204,327

79,308

💱 Currency

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra STN Db

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 STN = 4.58 USD

100 STN = 4.08 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to STN – Sao Tome and Principe Dobra Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe Dobra (Db)

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 21.85 STN (100 STN = 4.58 USD). 1 EUR = 24.51 STN (100 STN = 4.08 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.55 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to STN in detail →

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