Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Setubal and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,626 in Setubal, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Setubal
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Setubal Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Setubal

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,626

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,626 in Setubal versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Setubal $1,626
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,344 in Setubal versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Setubal $2,344
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,062 in Setubal versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Setubal $3,062
Phuket $3,154

Living in Setubal is roughly 27% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Setubal is 19% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.12 €10.86

$4.47 ฿151

171.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.89 €42.89

$32.41 ฿1,093

47.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.74 €7.82

$8.81 ฿297

-0.79%

Cappuccino

$2.01 €1.80

$2.83 ฿95.4

-28.98%

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

$1.98 €1.77

$0.87 ฿29.41

127.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 €1.37

$0.49 ฿16.65

212.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.29 €2.05

$2.56 ฿86.3

-10.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 €2.97

$3.68 ฿124

-9.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 €0.92

$1.66 ฿55.9

-38.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.46 ฿49.31

3.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 €1.57

$1.50 ฿50.5

16.67%

Eggs

$3.39 €3.04

$2.09 ฿70.5

62.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.56 €10.36

$19.07 ฿643

-39.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.51 €6.72

$3.30 ฿111

127.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.55 €13.03

$10.91 ฿368

33.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.37 €2.13

$2.93 ฿98.9

-19.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.34 €1.20

$1.69 ฿57.0

-20.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 €1.65

$2.25 ฿75.8

-18.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 €2.42

$2.08 ฿70.0

30.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 €1.48

$1.51 ฿51.0

9.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 €1.78

$1.38 ฿46.52

44.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.07 ฿35.96

41.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 €0.64

$0.52 ฿17.51

36.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 €5.29

$4.20 ฿142

40.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.54 €4.06

$18.79 ฿634

-75.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 €0.84

$1.82 ฿61.5

-48.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 €1.93

$2.84 ฿95.8

-23.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.34 €3.89

$1.45 ฿48.98

199.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.44 €40.69

$56.7 ฿1,912

-19.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.71 €3.32

$3.02 ฿102

22.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 €1.28

$1.02 ฿34.33

39.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.83 €12.38

$3.69 ฿125

274.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.47 ฿49.76

42.18%

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

$33.0K €29.5K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

23.07%

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

$38.3K €34.3K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

43.64%

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

$98.6 €88.3

$96.4 ฿3,251

2.29%

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

$20.71 €18.55

$11.26 ฿380

83.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.10 €29.64

$16.85 ฿568

96.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.86 €27.64

$67.2 ฿2,268

-54.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.87 €14.21

$10.73 ฿362

47.90%

Cinema Ticket

$7.65 €6.85

$7.50 ฿253

2.00%

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

$595 €533

$476 ฿16.1K

25.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.9K €9,739

$11.3K ฿380.0K

-3.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.2 €60.2

$62.4 ฿2,104

7.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.07 €33.20

$28.41 ฿958

30.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.9 €64.4

$94.3 ฿3,181

-23.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.3 €83.6

$85.8 ฿2,895

8.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$985 €882

$716 ฿24.2K

37.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$809 €724

$491 ฿16.6K

64.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 €1,424

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-17.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,171 €1,049

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-18.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 €3,755

$4,175 ฿140.9K

0.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,341 €2,096

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-23.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,296 €1,161

$502 ฿16.9K

158.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.57

-30.88%

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

Last update for Setubal: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Setubal

$809 49.7%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 39.3% $318

Groceries & Markets

Setubal

$244 15%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 9.1% $22

Eating Out

Setubal

$179 11%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 32.2% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Setubal

$152 9.4%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 18.3% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Setubal

$121 7.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 0.5% $0.6

Getting Around

Setubal

$74 4.5%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 4.2% $3.1

Sport & Entertainment

Setubal

$46 2.8%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 78.1% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $985 in Setubal and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Setubal pays about 2.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Setubal vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $244 vs $266, with Setubal cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Setubal

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

22:14 10:14 PM

05:14 5:14 AM

7 h ahead of Setubal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

123,519

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Setubal Phuket 10,930 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Setubal
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

Setubal vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 21% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, utilities, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Setubal is about 2.6 times higher, 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: $985 in Setubal versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $595 in Setubal versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Setubal pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,626 in Setubal, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Setubal. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket 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.

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