Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tamarin and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Tamarin: $1,046 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Tamarin
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Tamarin Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Tamarin

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$1,046

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,046 in Tamarin versus $1,294 in Phuket.

Tamarin $1,046
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,653 in Tamarin versus $2,204 in Phuket.

Tamarin $1,653
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,259 in Tamarin versus $3,115 in Phuket.

Tamarin $2,259
Phuket $3,115

Living in Tamarin costs roughly 19% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tamarin 23% lower, Phuket 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.94 MUR 277

$4.39 ฿147

35.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.16 MUR 1,499

$32.31 ฿1,078

-0.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.31 MUR 340

$8.70 ฿290

-15.98%

Cappuccino

$2.62 MUR 122

$2.72 ฿90.9

-3.68%

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

$1.17 MUR 54.4

$0.93 ฿31.06

25.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 MUR 29.01

$0.50 ฿16.67

24.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.67 MUR 125

$2.53 ฿84.5

5.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.87 MUR 227

$3.63 ฿121

34.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 MUR 71.9

$1.74 ฿58.1

-11.49%

White Bread (500g)

$0.20 MUR 9.31

$1.45 ฿48.42

-86.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.16 MUR 54.0

$1.50 ฿50.1

-22.67%

Eggs

$2.43 MUR 113

$2.17 ฿72.5

11.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.71 MUR 173

$19.09 ฿637

-80.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.03 MUR 281

$3.40 ฿113

77.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.16 MUR 473

$10.90 ฿364

-6.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 MUR 103

$2.94 ฿98.2

-25.17%

Banana (1kg)

$2.16 MUR 101

$1.69 ฿56.5

27.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.16 MUR 101

$2.19 ฿73.2

-1.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.92 MUR 276

$2.12 ฿70.9

179.25%

Potato (1kg)

$0.97 MUR 45.05

$1.46 ฿48.68

-33.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 MUR 46.80

$1.37 ฿45.66

-27.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 MUR 33.80

$1.08 ฿35.91

-32.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 MUR 36.62

$0.55 ฿18.21

43.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.22 MUR 290

$4.43 ฿148

40.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.35 MUR 389

$18.25 ฿609

-54.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 MUR 76.8

$1.77 ฿59.2

-6.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 MUR 90.1

$2.88 ฿96.2

-32.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 MUR 38.86

$1.45 ฿48.32

-42.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,832

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.16 MUR 194

$1.51 ฿50.5

175.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.08 MUR 144

$0.78 ฿25.90

294.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.49 MUR 302

$3.84 ฿128

69.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 MUR 63.4

$1.49 ฿49.65

-8.72%

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

$29.6K MUR 1.4M

$26.9K ฿897.3K

10.03%

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

$30.5K MUR 1.4M

$26.3K ฿879.4K

15.70%

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

$44.13 MUR 2,056

$97.8 ฿3,265

-54.88%

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

$10.41 MUR 485

$11.29 ฿377

-7.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.53 MUR 1,376

$17.19 ฿574

71.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.30 MUR 1,925

$68.3 ฿2,281

-39.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿365

Cinema Ticket

$6.37 MUR 297

$7.43 ฿248

-14.27%

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

$127 MUR 5,919

$530 ฿17.7K

-76.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,008 MUR 140.2K

$18.8K ฿626.9K

-83.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.8 MUR 2,975

$61.7 ฿2,059

3.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.5 MUR 2,445

$28.25 ฿943

85.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.7 MUR 3,902

$96.0 ฿3,204

-12.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.4 MUR 2,676

$86.8 ฿2,898

-33.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$958 MUR 44.6K

$721 ฿24.1K

32.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$426 MUR 19.9K

$509 ฿17.0K

-16.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,558 MUR 72.6K

$1,950 ฿65.1K

-20.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$838 MUR 39.1K

$1,397 ฿46.6K

-39.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿139.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$834 MUR 38.9K

$492 ฿16.4K

69.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.67

5.57

19.75%

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

Last update for Tamarin: November 1, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tamarin

$426 40.8%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 19.3% $82

Groceries & Markets

Tamarin

$212 20.2%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 26% $55

Eating Out

Tamarin

$131 12.5%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 8.9% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Tamarin

$116 11.1%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 5.9% $6.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tamarin

$84 8%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 50.2% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Tamarin

$54 5.2%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 53.9% $29

Getting Around

Tamarin

$23 * 2.2%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 189% $43

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $958 in Tamarin and $721 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tamarin pays 70% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Tamarin vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $212 vs $267 per month, with Tamarin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇺 Tamarin

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

00:13 12:13 AM

03:13 3:13 AM

3 h ahead of Tamarin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,371

79,308

💱 Currency

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MUR = 2.15 USD

100 MUR = 1.91 EUR

100 THB = 3 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MUR – Mauritian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇺 Mauritian Rupee (₨)

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 46.6 MUR (100 MUR = 2.15 USD). 1 EUR = 52.31 MUR (100 MUR = 1.91 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.38 THB (100 THB = 3 USD). 1 EUR = 37.47 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

USD to MUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Tamarin Phuket 5,470 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Tamarin
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

Tamarin vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tamarin is about 19% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 70% higher in Tamarin, 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: $958 in Tamarin versus $721 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Childcare runs $127 in Tamarin versus $530 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Tamarin is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

Safety-wise, Tamarin and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.