Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Puerto Rico and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,716 in Puerto Rico, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

83

Cost of Living Index in Puerto Rico
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Puerto Rico Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Puerto Rico

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,716

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,716 in Puerto Rico versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Puerto Rico $1,716
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,564 in Puerto Rico versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Puerto Rico $2,564
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,412 in Puerto Rico versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Puerto Rico $3,412
Phuket $3,154

Living in Puerto Rico is roughly 34% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Puerto Rico is 26% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.45 €18.37

$4.47 ฿151

357.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.8

$32.41 ฿1,094

88.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.30 €10.15

$8.81 ฿297

28.26%

Cappuccino

$2.04 €1.84

$2.83 ฿95.5

-27.92%

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

$1.89 €1.70

$0.87 ฿29.43

117.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.16

$0.49 ฿16.67

163.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.72 €2.44

$2.56 ฿86.4

6.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 €3.07

$3.68 ฿124

-7.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 €1.24

$1.66 ฿56.0

-16.87%

White Bread (500g)

$2.40 €2.16

$1.46 ฿49.35

64.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.50 ฿50.6

2.00%

Eggs

$4.25 €3.82

$2.09 ฿70.5

103.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.32 €17.35

$19.07 ฿644

1.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.01 €8.99

$3.30 ฿111

203.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.41 €15.64

$10.91 ฿368

59.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.67 €2.40

$2.93 ฿99.0

-8.87%

Banana (1kg)

$2.32 €2.09

$1.69 ฿57.1

37.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.15 €1.93

$2.25 ฿75.8

-4.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.49 €2.24

$2.08 ฿70.1

19.71%

Potato (1kg)

$2.17 €1.95

$1.51 ฿51.0

43.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.82

$1.38 ฿46.56

46.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.62 €1.46

$1.07 ฿35.99

51.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.87

$0.52 ฿17.52

86.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.63 €4.16

$4.20 ฿142

10.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.87 €7.07

$18.79 ฿634

-58.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 €1.53

$1.82 ฿61.5

-6.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 €1.51

$2.84 ฿95.9

-40.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.66 €1.49

$1.45 ฿49.03

14.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$32.24 €28.96

$56.7 ฿1,913

-43.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 €3.89

$3.02 ฿102

43.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.67 €1.50

$1.02 ฿34.36

63.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.83 €15.12

$3.69 ฿125

356.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.47 ฿49.81

18.37%

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

$34.9K €31.3K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

30.25%

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

$31.9K €28.7K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

19.69%

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

$129 €116

$96.4 ฿3,254

33.92%

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

$22.38 €20.10

$11.26 ฿380

98.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.85 €32.21

$16.85 ฿569

112.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.45 €39.93

$67.2 ฿2,270

-33.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.59 €14.01

$10.73 ฿362

45.29%

Cinema Ticket

$9.91 €8.90

$7.50 ฿253

32.13%

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

$403 €362

$476 ฿16.1K

-15.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,970 €4,465

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-55.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.8 €82.4

$62.4 ฿2,106

47.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.61 €38.27

$28.41 ฿959

49.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.6 €81.4

$94.3 ฿3,184

-3.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 €102

$85.8 ฿2,898

32.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$874 €785

$716 ฿24.2K

22.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$679 €610

$491 ฿16.6K

38.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,331 €1,196

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-30.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,010 €907

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-29.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,233 €2,904

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-22.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,186 €1,964

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-28.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.56

5.57

-36.09%

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

Last update for Puerto Rico: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Puerto Rico

$679 39.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 27.7% $188

Groceries & Markets

Puerto Rico

$326 19%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 18.3% $60

Eating Out

Puerto Rico

$255 14.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 52.3% $134

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Puerto Rico

$187 10.9%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 33.5% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Puerto Rico

$152 8.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 20% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Puerto Rico

$64 3.8%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 28% $18

Getting Around

Puerto Rico

$52 3%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 37% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $874 in Puerto Rico and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61 in Puerto Rico vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $326 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Puerto Rico

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

16:00 4:00 PM

23:00 11:00 PM

7 h ahead of Puerto Rico

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,500

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Puerto Rico Phuket 11,910 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

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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

Puerto Rico vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 34% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,574 in Puerto Rico and $1,917 in Phuket to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $874 in Puerto Rico versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $403 in Puerto Rico 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 22% higher in Puerto Rico. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,716 in Puerto Rico, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Puerto Rico. 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.