Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tarifa and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,620 in Tarifa, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Tarifa
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Tarifa Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Tarifa

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,620

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,620 in Tarifa versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Tarifa $1,620
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,373 in Tarifa versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Tarifa $2,373
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,127 in Tarifa versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Tarifa $3,127
Phuket $3,154

Living in Tarifa 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: Tarifa is 19% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.11 €13.58

$4.47 ฿151

238.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.2 €51.4

$32.41 ฿1,094

76.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.60 €9.52

$8.81 ฿297

20.32%

Cappuccino

$2.18 €1.96

$2.83 ฿95.5

-22.97%

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

$2.31 €2.07

$0.87 ฿29.43

165.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 €1.54

$0.49 ฿16.67

248.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.36 €3.02

$2.56 ฿86.4

31.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.52 €3.16

$3.68 ฿124

-4.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 €1.07

$1.66 ฿56.0

-28.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.46 ฿49.35

-3.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 €1.46

$1.50 ฿50.6

8.67%

Eggs

$2.89 €2.60

$2.09 ฿70.5

38.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.52 €12.14

$19.07 ฿644

-29.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.27 €7.43

$3.30 ฿111

150.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.95 €13.43

$10.91 ฿368

37.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.43 €2.18

$2.93 ฿99.0

-17.06%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.82

$1.69 ฿57.1

19.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 €1.79

$2.25 ฿75.8

-11.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.58 €2.32

$2.08 ฿70.1

24.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 €1.53

$1.51 ฿51.0

12.58%

Onion (1kg)

$2.06 €1.85

$1.38 ฿46.56

49.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.07 ฿35.99

27.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 €0.64

$0.52 ฿17.52

36.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.46 €5.80

$4.20 ฿142

53.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.92 €5.31

$18.79 ฿634

-68.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 €1.08

$1.82 ฿61.5

-34.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.86

$2.84 ฿95.9

-27.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.71 €1.53

$1.45 ฿49.03

17.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.06 €30.60

$56.7 ฿1,913

-39.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.07 €3.65

$3.02 ฿102

34.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.26 €1.13

$1.02 ฿34.36

23.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.05 €22.51

$3.69 ฿125

578.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 €1.63

$1.47 ฿49.81

23.13%

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

$38.6K €34.7K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

44.24%

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

$30.2K €27.2K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

13.33%

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

$135 €121

$96.4 ฿3,254

40.34%

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

$20.46 €18.38

$11.26 ฿380

81.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.77 €27.64

$16.85 ฿569

82.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.06 €42.28

$67.2 ฿2,270

-30.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.19 €13.64

$10.73 ฿362

41.57%

Cinema Ticket

$9.22 €8.28

$7.50 ฿253

22.93%

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

$402 €361

$476 ฿16.1K

-15.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,997 €7,183

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-29.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.9 €76.3

$62.4 ฿2,106

36.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.78 €32.14

$28.41 ฿959

25.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.7 €80.6

$94.3 ฿3,184

-4.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 €97.0

$85.8 ฿2,898

25.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$851 €764

$716 ฿24.2K

18.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$693 €623

$491 ฿16.6K

41.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,310 €1,176

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-32.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,001 €899

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-30.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,342 €3,002

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-19.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,368 €2,127

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-22.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.5

5.57

-37.16%

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

Last update for Tarifa: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tarifa

$693 42.8%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 29.2% $203

Groceries & Markets

Tarifa

$261 16.1%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 2% $5.1

Eating Out

Tarifa

$219 13.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 44.4% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tarifa

$186 11.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 33.2% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Tarifa

$143 8.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 14.9% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Tarifa

$66 4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 25.5% $17

Getting Around

Tarifa

$51 3.2%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 37.7% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $851 in Tarifa and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $57 in Tarifa vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $261 vs $266, with Tarifa cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Tarifa

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

19:25 7:25 PM

01:25 1:25 AM

6 h ahead of Tarifa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

18,657

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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Between locations

Tarifa Phuket 10,730 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Tarifa
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

Tarifa vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, utilities, and clothing. The 27% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,430 in Tarifa 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: $851 in Tarifa versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $402 in Tarifa versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $57 in Tarifa. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,620 in Tarifa, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Tarifa. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Phuket delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,278 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Tarifa 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.