Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tarragona and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,774 in Tarragona, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

85

Cost of Living Index in Tarragona
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Tarragona Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Tarragona

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,774

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,774 in Tarragona versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Tarragona $1,774
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,602 in Tarragona versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Tarragona $2,602
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,429 in Tarragona versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Tarragona $3,429
Phuket $3,154

Living in Tarragona is roughly 39% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tarragona is 30% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.82 €15.97

$4.47 ฿151

298.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.0 €53.8

$32.41 ฿1,094

85.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.19 €8.23

$8.81 ฿297

4.31%

Cappuccino

$2.42 €2.17

$2.83 ฿95.4

-14.49%

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

$2.50 €2.24

$0.87 ฿29.42

187.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.49 ฿16.66

302.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 €2.91

$2.56 ฿86.3

26.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.93 €3.52

$3.68 ฿124

6.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 €1.13

$1.66 ฿56.0

-24.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.46 ฿49.32

34.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.50 ฿50.5

-2.00%

Eggs

$3.40 €3.04

$2.09 ฿70.5

62.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.30 €11.92

$19.07 ฿643

-30.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.50 €9.41

$3.30 ฿111

218.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.50 €13.00

$10.91 ฿368

32.91%

Apples (1kg)

$2.84 €2.54

$2.93 ฿98.9

-3.07%

Banana (1kg)

$2.45 €2.20

$1.69 ฿57.0

44.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$2.25 ฿75.8

24.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.58 €2.31

$2.08 ฿70.1

24.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.54 €1.38

$1.51 ฿51.0

1.99%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 €1.70

$1.38 ฿46.54

36.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.50 €1.34

$1.07 ฿35.97

40.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 €0.61

$0.52 ฿17.51

30.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.63 €5.94

$4.20 ฿142

57.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.00 €4.48

$18.79 ฿634

-73.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.82 ฿61.5

8.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 €1.64

$2.84 ฿95.9

-35.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.70 €1.52

$1.45 ฿49.00

17.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.24 €24.41

$56.7 ฿1,912

-51.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.57

$3.02 ฿102

31.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.52 €1.36

$1.02 ฿34.34

49.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.90 €19.63

$3.69 ฿125

493.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 €1.62

$1.47 ฿49.78

23.13%

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

$35.8K €32.0K

$26.8K ฿903.7K

33.56%

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

$29.4K €26.4K

$26.7K ฿900.8K

10.20%

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

$128 €114

$96.4 ฿3,252

32.34%

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

$23.01 €20.62

$11.26 ฿380

104.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.52 €30.93

$16.85 ฿569

104.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.4 €54.2

$67.2 ฿2,269

-10.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.62 €21.16

$10.73 ฿362

120.13%

Cinema Ticket

$8.95 €8.02

$7.50 ฿253

19.33%

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

$320 €287

$476 ฿16.1K

-32.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 €91.9

$62.4 ฿2,105

64.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.90 €29.48

$28.41 ฿959

15.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.9 €72.5

$94.3 ฿3,182

-14.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.0 €79.7

$85.8 ฿2,896

3.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$911 €817

$716 ฿24.2K

27.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$799 €716

$491 ฿16.6K

62.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 €1,095

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-36.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,168 €1,047

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-18.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,704 €2,423

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-35.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,289 €1,155

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-57.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,024 €1,814

$502 ฿17.0K

302.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.02

5.57

-45.78%

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

Last update for Tarragona: 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

Tarragona

$799 45.1%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 38.6% $309

Groceries & Markets

Tarragona

$287 16.2%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 7.1% $20

Eating Out

Tarragona

$241 13.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 49.5% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tarragona

$185 10.4%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 32.7% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Tarragona

$137 7.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 11.3% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Tarragona

$78 4.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 5% $3.9

Getting Around

Tarragona

$46 2.6%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 54.8% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $911 in Tarragona and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tarragona pays about 4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $60 in Tarragona vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $287 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Tarragona

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

12:10 12:10 PM

18:10 6:10 PM

6 h ahead of Tarragona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

138,262

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Tarragona Phuket 10,020 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Tarragona
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

Tarragona vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 28% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, utilities, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Tarragona is about 4 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: $911 in Tarragona versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $320 in Tarragona 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 8% higher in Tarragona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,774 in Tarragona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Tarragona. 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, Tarragona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.