Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gavle and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $1,439 in Gavle, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. The total is higher in Gavle despite lower rent and utilities.

69

Cost of Living Index in Gavle
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Gavle Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Gavle

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,439

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,439 in Gavle versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Gavle $1,439
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,286 in Gavle versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Gavle $2,286
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,134 in Gavle versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Gavle $3,134
Phuket $2,845

Living in Gavle is roughly 19% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Gavle is 6% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.69 SEK 136

$4.40 ฿147

211.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.4 SEK 786

$32.26 ฿1,078

146.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.31 SEK 92.2

$8.76 ฿293

6.28%

Cappuccino

$4.42 SEK 43.79

$2.83 ฿94.5

56.18%

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

$2.07 SEK 20.51

$0.90 ฿30.14

130.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 SEK 18.95

$0.47 ฿15.56

306.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.79 SEK 77.2

$2.55 ฿85.2

205.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.75 SEK 76.8

$3.83 ฿128

102.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 SEK 16.12

$1.73 ฿57.7

-5.78%

White Bread (500g)

$2.61 SEK 25.84

$1.47 ฿49.11

77.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.73 SEK 36.95

$1.51 ฿50.6

147.02%

Eggs

$3.81 SEK 37.80

$2.17 ฿72.7

75.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.13 SEK 90.4

$19.70 ฿658

-53.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.29 SEK 102

$3.34 ฿112

208.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.73 SEK 186

$11.16 ฿373

67.83%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 SEK 30.25

$2.85 ฿95.1

7.02%

Banana (1kg)

$2.74 SEK 27.16

$1.70 ฿56.9

61.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.27 SEK 32.43

$2.19 ฿73.3

49.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.35 SEK 43.07

$2.05 ฿68.4

112.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.73 SEK 17.12

$1.45 ฿48.57

19.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 SEK 17.99

$1.38 ฿46.16

31.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.55 SEK 25.26

$1.07 ฿35.69

138.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.05 SEK 20.35

$0.51 ฿16.91

301.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.99 SEK 79.1

$4.26 ฿142

87.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.13 SEK 110

$18.58 ฿621

-40.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 SEK 16.23

$1.78 ฿59.7

-7.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 SEK 15.34

$2.85 ฿95.2

-45.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.25 SEK 32.22

$2.26 ฿75.6

43.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.4 SEK 598

$22.10 ฿738

173.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.52 SEK 44.83

$3.01 ฿101

50.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 SEK 15.16

$1.06 ฿35.34

44.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.87 SEK 336

$3.86 ฿129

777.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 SEK 17.90

$1.45 ฿48.45

24.83%

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

$25.8K SEK 255.2K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

-2.17%

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

$28.1K SEK 278.1K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

4.18%

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

$55.6 SEK 551

$96.4 ฿3,221

-42.29%

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

$21.93 SEK 217

$11.04 ฿369

98.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.60 SEK 392

$17.14 ฿573

131.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.32 SEK 469

$52.2 ฿1,744

-9.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$15.22 SEK 151

$7.81 ฿261

94.88%

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

$133 SEK 1,321

$556 ฿18.6K

-76.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.3K SEK 151.1K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

31.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.6 SEK 699

$64.2 ฿2,146

9.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.8 SEK 583

$28.69 ฿959

104.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$50.9 SEK 505

$95.4 ฿3,187

-46.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.5 SEK 887

$88.0 ฿2,940

1.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$579 SEK 5,738

$737 ฿24.6K

-21.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$425 SEK 4,208

$462 ฿15.5K

-8.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$762 SEK 7,546

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-63.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 SEK 6,593

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-44.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,945 SEK 19.3K

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-44.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,333 SEK 13.2K

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-47.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,144 SEK 31.1K

$501 ฿16.7K

527.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.37

5.57

-39.50%

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

Last update for Gavle: October 17, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Gavle

$425 29.5%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 8.9% $38

Groceries & Markets

Gavle

$351 24.4%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 23.5% $83

Eating Out

Gavle

$261 18.1%

Phuket

$121 10% 53.5% $140

Clothing & Footwear

Gavle

$121 8.4%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 2.4% $2.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gavle

$117 8.1%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 6.3% $7.4

Getting Around

Gavle

$86 6%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 53.9% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Gavle

$78 5.4%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 12.8% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $579 in Gavle and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Gavle pays 528% 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: $79.0 in Gavle vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $351 vs $269 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Gavle

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

09:44 9:44 AM

14:44 2:44 PM

5 h ahead of Gavle

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

100,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Gavle Phuket 8,770 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Gavle
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

Gavle vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gavle and Phuket differ by about 19% in total monthly costs ($1,439 vs $1,208 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 528% higher in Gavle, 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: $579 in Gavle versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 173% less than in Gavle. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $133 in Gavle versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,439 in Gavle, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Gavle. 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.

Safety-wise, Gavle 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 19% less than in Gavle. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.