Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Trujillo and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Trujillo: $865 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Trujillo
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Trujillo Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Trujillo

🇵🇪 Peru

$865

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $865 in Trujillo versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Trujillo $865
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,339 in Trujillo versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Trujillo $1,339
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,813 in Trujillo versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Trujillo $1,813
Phuket $3,154

Living in Trujillo costs roughly 32% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Trujillo 36% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.46 PEN 11.93

$4.47 ฿151

-22.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.58 PEN 81.3

$32.41 ฿1,094

-27.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.20 PEN 24.82

$8.81 ฿297

-18.27%

Cappuccino

$3.24 PEN 11.17

$2.83 ฿95.5

14.49%

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

$0.97 PEN 3.33

$0.87 ฿29.43

11.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 PEN 2.25

$0.49 ฿16.67

32.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.06 PEN 7.10

$2.56 ฿86.4

-19.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.46 PEN 11.94

$3.68 ฿124

-5.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 PEN 4.75

$1.66 ฿56.0

-16.87%

White Bread (500g)

$2.03 PEN 7.01

$1.46 ฿49.35

39.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.14 PEN 3.94

$1.50 ฿50.6

-24.00%

Eggs

$3.97 PEN 13.69

$2.09 ฿70.5

89.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.73 PEN 26.66

$19.07 ฿644

-59.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.63 PEN 22.86

$3.30 ฿111

100.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.20 PEN 31.72

$10.91 ฿368

-15.67%

Apples (1kg)

$1.66 PEN 5.74

$2.93 ฿99.0

-43.34%

Banana (1kg)

$0.57 PEN 1.96

$1.69 ฿57.1

-66.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.56 PEN 1.95

$2.25 ฿75.8

-75.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.83 PEN 2.87

$2.08 ฿70.1

-60.10%

Potato (1kg)

$0.93 PEN 3.21

$1.51 ฿51.0

-38.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 PEN 4.05

$1.38 ฿46.56

-15.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 PEN 4.28

$1.07 ฿35.99

15.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 PEN 3.89

$0.52 ฿17.52

117.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.46 PEN 15.38

$4.20 ฿142

6.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.81 PEN 20.04

$18.79 ฿634

-69.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 PEN 5.92

$1.82 ฿61.5

-5.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 PEN 5.63

$2.84 ฿95.9

-42.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 PEN 1.91

$1.45 ฿49.03

-62.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.35 PEN 59.8

$56.7 ฿1,913

-69.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 PEN 8.34

$3.02 ฿102

-19.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 PEN 7.39

$1.02 ฿34.36

109.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.94 PEN 20.49

$3.69 ฿125

60.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.67 PEN 5.76

$1.47 ฿49.81

13.61%

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

$17.2K PEN 59.4K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

-35.62%

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

$27.9K PEN 96.3K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

4.62%

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

$98.2 PEN 338

$96.4 ฿3,254

1.90%

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

$13.20 PEN 45.50

$11.26 ฿380

17.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.11 PEN 93.4

$16.85 ฿569

60.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.89 PEN 134

$67.2 ฿2,270

-42.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.73 PEN 19.77

$10.73 ฿362

-46.60%

Cinema Ticket

$4.32 PEN 14.88

$7.50 ฿253

-42.40%

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

$108 PEN 374

$476 ฿16.1K

-77.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,063 PEN 7,113

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-81.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.8 PEN 251

$62.4 ฿2,106

16.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$14.34 PEN 49.42

$28.41 ฿959

-49.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$47.05 PEN 162

$94.3 ฿3,184

-50.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.87 PEN 148

$85.8 ฿2,898

-50.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$376 PEN 1,297

$716 ฿24.2K

-47.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$251 PEN 866

$491 ฿16.6K

-48.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$734 PEN 2,531

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-61.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$511 PEN 1,763

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-64.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,142 PEN 3,936

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-72.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$558 PEN 1,923

$502 ฿17.0K

11.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.7

5.57

110.05%

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

Last update for Trujillo: 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

Trujillo

$251 29%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 95.3% $240

Groceries & Markets

Trujillo

$204 23.6%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 30.6% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Trujillo

$138 16%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 10.1% $14

Eating Out

Trujillo

$112 12.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 8.8% $9.8

Clothing & Footwear

Trujillo

$80 9.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 53% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Trujillo

$48 5.5%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 73% $35

Getting Around

Trujillo

$33 3.8%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 116% $38

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $376 in Trujillo and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Trujillo pays 11% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $24 in Trujillo vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $204 vs $266 per month, with Trujillo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Trujillo

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:54 5:54 PM

05:54 5:54 AM

12 h ahead of Trujillo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

314,939

79,308

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.29 USD

1 PEN = 0.261 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3.45 PEN (1 PEN = 0.29 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.261 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Trujillo Phuket 19,730 km ≈ 25 h nonstop flight

From you

Trujillo
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

Trujillo vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Trujillo is about 32% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 11% higher in Trujillo, 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: $376 in Trujillo versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $108 in Trujillo 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 31% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $865 in Trujillo versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Trujillo but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Trujillo 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.

Expats usually find Trujillo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.