Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Silves and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,629 in Silves, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Silves
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Silves Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Silves

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,629

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,629 in Silves versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Silves $1,629
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,393 in Silves versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Silves $2,393
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,157 in Silves versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Silves $3,157
Phuket $2,867

Living in Silves is roughly 35% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Silves is 21% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.54 €12.04

$4.58 ฿153

195.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.10 €41.90

$32.48 ฿1,086

45.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.30 €8.28

$8.55 ฿286

8.77%

Cappuccino

$1.92 €1.71

$2.72 ฿91.0

-29.41%

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

$1.93 €1.72

$0.94 ฿31.25

105.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.49 ฿16.39

195.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.82 €2.51

$2.59 ฿86.6

8.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 €3.04

$3.83 ฿128

-10.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 €0.98

$1.74 ฿58.1

-36.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 €1.30

$1.43 ฿47.82

2.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 €1.40

$1.53 ฿51.0

2.61%

Eggs

$3.39 €3.02

$2.17 ฿72.7

56.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.90 €10.58

$19.15 ฿640

-37.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.31 €6.50

$3.30 ฿110

121.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.47 €12.87

$11.14 ฿372

29.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.25 €2.00

$2.95 ฿98.5

-23.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.34 €1.19

$1.68 ฿56.1

-20.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$2.30 ฿76.8

-23.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.29

$2.13 ฿71.3

20.66%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.53 ฿51.1

18.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.91 €1.70

$1.36 ฿45.55

40.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.50 €1.34

$1.12 ฿37.44

33.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 €0.70

$0.55 ฿18.24

43.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.98 €5.32

$4.26 ฿142

40.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$18.19 ฿608

-75.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 €1.09

$1.74 ฿58.2

-29.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 €1.87

$2.79 ฿93.3

-24.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.28 €2.03

$2.22 ฿74.1

2.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.98 €37.35

$22.06 ฿737

90.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.80 €3.38

$2.91 ฿97.3

30.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.15 €1.03

$1.01 ฿33.79

13.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.40 €16.36

$3.83 ฿128

380.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.49 ฿49.85

38.93%

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

$33.9K €30.2K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

27.12%

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

$34.0K €30.3K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

27.32%

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

$120 €106

$99.4 ฿3,321

20.45%

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

$19.84 €17.65

$11.28 ฿377

75.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.39 €32.36

$17.36 ฿580

109.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.12 €35.69

$52.3 ฿1,747

-23.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.69 €13.07

$10.85 ฿362

35.39%

Cinema Ticket

$8.33 €7.41

$7.57 ฿253

10.04%

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

$419 €372

$558 ฿18.7K

-25.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K €10.0K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-2.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.9 €70.2

$62.9 ฿2,102

25.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.89 €32.81

$28.58 ฿955

29.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.4 €75.1

$96.1 ฿3,213

-12.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 €93.0

$88.1 ฿2,943

18.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$944 €840

$729 ฿24.4K

29.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$761 €676

$460 ฿15.4K

65.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,546 €1,375

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-26.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,194 €1,062

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-2.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,242 €2,884

$3,459 ฿115.6K

-6.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,241 €1,993

$2,489 ฿83.2K

-9.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$948 €843

$493 ฿16.5K

92.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.67

5.57

-34.11%

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

Last update for Silves: October 13, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Silves

$761 46.7%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 39.5% $301

Groceries & Markets

Silves

$244 15%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 9.5% $23

Eating Out

Silves

$194 11.9%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 37.4% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Silves

$176 10.8%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 27.2% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Silves

$137 8.4%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 9.6% $13

Getting Around

Silves

$61 3.7%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 35.9% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Silves

$57 3.5%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 18.7% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $944 in Silves and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Silves pays 92% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $47.00 in Silves vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $244 vs $268, with Silves cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Silves

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

02:18 2:18 AM

08:18 8:18 AM

6 h ahead of Silves

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

37,776

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Silves Phuket 10,930 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Silves
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

Silves vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and transport. The 35% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 92% higher in Silves, 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: $944 in Silves versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $419 in Silves versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Silves pay roughly 9% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,629 in Silves, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Silves. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Silves, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Silves and Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 35% less than in Silves. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.