Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bergen and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,869 in Bergen, rent and utilities included – about $19,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Bergen
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Bergen Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Bergen

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,869

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,869 in Bergen versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Bergen $2,869
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,330 in Bergen versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Bergen $4,330
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,790 in Bergen versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Bergen $5,790
Phuket $2,867

Living in Bergen is roughly 138% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bergen is 113% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.37 NOK 220

$4.58 ฿153

410.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$134 NOK 1,263

$32.48 ฿1,086

313.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.56 NOK 147

$8.55 ฿286

81.99%

Cappuccino

$5.30 NOK 49.86

$2.72 ฿91.0

94.85%

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

$5.07 NOK 47.70

$0.94 ฿31.25

439.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.51 NOK 42.48

$0.49 ฿16.39

820.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.55 NOK 118

$2.59 ฿86.6

384.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.56 NOK 99.4

$3.83 ฿128

175.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.19 NOK 20.66

$1.74 ฿58.1

25.86%

White Bread (500g)

$3.92 NOK 36.88

$1.43 ฿47.82

174.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.42 NOK 32.20

$1.53 ฿51.0

123.53%

Eggs

$6.34 NOK 59.7

$2.17 ฿72.7

192.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.80 NOK 139

$19.15 ฿640

-22.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$17.41 NOK 164

$3.30 ฿110

427.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$36.51 NOK 344

$11.14 ฿372

227.74%

Apples (1kg)

$4.12 NOK 38.83

$2.95 ฿98.5

39.66%

Banana (1kg)

$2.68 NOK 25.22

$1.68 ฿56.1

59.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.48 NOK 32.77

$2.30 ฿76.8

51.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.46 NOK 51.4

$2.13 ฿71.3

156.34%

Potato (1kg)

$2.51 NOK 23.59

$1.53 ฿51.1

64.05%

Onion (1kg)

$3.38 NOK 31.78

$1.36 ฿45.55

148.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.83 NOK 26.68

$1.12 ฿37.44

152.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 NOK 16.84

$0.55 ฿18.24

225.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.41 NOK 164

$4.26 ฿142

308.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.96 NOK 178

$18.19 ฿608

4.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.58 NOK 33.66

$1.74 ฿58.2

105.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 NOK 39.70

$2.79 ฿93.3

51.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.05 NOK 47.54

$2.22 ฿74.1

127.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$85.0 NOK 800

$22.06 ฿737

285.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$12.36 NOK 116

$2.91 ฿97.3

324.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.92 NOK 18.05

$1.01 ฿33.79

90.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$71.5 NOK 673

$3.83 ฿128

1767.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.44 NOK 22.96

$1.49 ฿49.85

63.76%

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

$48.7K NOK 458.5K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

82.56%

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

$43.0K NOK 405.0K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

61.07%

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

$281 NOK 2,641

$99.4 ฿3,321

182.31%

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

$32.84 NOK 309

$11.28 ฿377

191.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$81.5 NOK 767

$17.36 ฿580

369.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.18 NOK 425

$52.3 ฿1,747

-13.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.91 NOK 404

$10.85 ฿362

295.48%

Cinema Ticket

$18.56 NOK 175

$7.57 ฿253

145.18%

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

$239 NOK 2,251

$558 ฿18.7K

-57.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K NOK 109.6K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

1.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$107 NOK 1,003

$62.9 ฿2,102

69.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.3 NOK 502

$28.58 ฿955

86.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$119 NOK 1,116

$96.1 ฿3,213

23.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 NOK 1,534

$88.1 ฿2,943

84.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,483 NOK 14.0K

$729 ฿24.4K

103.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,117 NOK 10.5K

$460 ฿15.4K

142.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,327 NOK 21.9K

$2,096 ฿70.0K

11.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,714 NOK 16.1K

$1,222 ฿40.8K

40.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,835 NOK 73.8K

$3,459 ฿115.6K

126.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,754 NOK 44.8K

$2,489 ฿83.2K

91.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,567 NOK 43.0K

$493 ฿16.5K

826.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.27

5.57

-5.39%

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

Last update for Bergen: October 12, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bergen

$1.1K 38.9%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 58.8% $657

Groceries & Markets

Bergen

$530 18.5%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 49.6% $263

Eating Out

Bergen

$419 14.6%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 71.1% $298

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bergen

$395 13.8%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 67.6% $267

Clothing & Footwear

Bergen

$199 6.9%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 37.5% $75

Getting Around

Bergen

$127 4.4%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 69.4% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Bergen

$82 2.9%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 18.1% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,483 in Bergen and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bergen pays 826% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $134 in Bergen vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $530 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Bergen

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

02:19 2:19 AM

07:19 7:19 AM

5 h ahead of Bergen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

292,482

79,308

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bergen Phuket 9,410 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Bergen
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

Bergen vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 138% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 826% higher in Bergen, 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: $1,483 in Bergen versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $239 in Bergen versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 98% higher in Bergen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,869 in Bergen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Bergen. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Bergen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Bergen 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.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 138% less than in Bergen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.