Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gothenburg and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,026 in Gothenburg, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

99

Cost of Living Index in Gothenburg
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Gothenburg Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Gothenburg

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,026

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,026 in Gothenburg versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Gothenburg $2,026
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,062 in Gothenburg versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Gothenburg $3,062
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,099 in Gothenburg versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Gothenburg $4,099
Phuket $2,867

Living in Gothenburg is roughly 68% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Gothenburg is 50% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.13 SEK 130

$4.58 ฿153

186.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.8 SEK 830

$32.48 ฿1,086

157.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.47 SEK 124

$8.55 ฿286

45.85%

Cappuccino

$5.03 SEK 49.80

$2.72 ฿91.0

84.93%

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

$2.84 SEK 28.14

$0.94 ฿31.25

202.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 SEK 23.44

$0.49 ฿16.39

383.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.84 SEK 67.8

$2.59 ฿86.6

164.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.51 SEK 74.4

$3.83 ฿128

96.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 SEK 16.68

$1.74 ฿58.1

-3.45%

White Bread (500g)

$2.69 SEK 26.63

$1.43 ฿47.82

88.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.09 SEK 30.60

$1.53 ฿51.0

101.96%

Eggs

$3.81 SEK 37.74

$2.17 ฿72.7

75.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.45 SEK 113

$19.15 ฿640

-40.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.32 SEK 112

$3.30 ฿110

243.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.54 SEK 164

$11.14 ฿372

48.47%

Apples (1kg)

$3.07 SEK 30.42

$2.95 ฿98.5

4.07%

Banana (1kg)

$2.41 SEK 23.88

$1.68 ฿56.1

43.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.01 SEK 29.83

$2.30 ฿76.8

30.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.25 SEK 42.09

$2.13 ฿71.3

99.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.74 SEK 17.24

$1.53 ฿51.1

13.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.62 SEK 16.06

$1.36 ฿45.55

19.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.96 SEK 19.47

$1.12 ฿37.44

75.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 SEK 16.30

$0.55 ฿18.24

200.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.38 SEK 83.0

$4.26 ฿142

96.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.69 SEK 146

$18.19 ฿608

-19.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.03 SEK 20.14

$1.74 ฿58.2

16.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 SEK 22.24

$2.79 ฿93.3

-19.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.63 SEK 35.97

$2.22 ฿74.1

63.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.4 SEK 857

$22.06 ฿737

291.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.92 SEK 58.7

$2.91 ฿97.3

103.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.72 SEK 17.01

$1.01 ฿33.79

70.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$58.6 SEK 581

$3.83 ฿128

1430.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 SEK 17.29

$1.49 ฿49.85

16.78%

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

$33.5K SEK 331.8K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

25.52%

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

$33.4K SEK 331.3K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

25.19%

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

$102 SEK 1,011

$99.4 ฿3,321

2.72%

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

$19.73 SEK 196

$11.28 ฿377

74.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.00 SEK 327

$17.36 ฿580

90.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.48 SEK 352

$52.3 ฿1,747

-32.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.00 SEK 238

$10.85 ฿362

121.20%

Cinema Ticket

$18.32 SEK 182

$7.57 ฿253

142.01%

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

$217 SEK 2,147

$558 ฿18.7K

-61.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,293 SEK 42.5K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-62.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.5 SEK 867

$62.9 ฿2,102

39.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.46 SEK 332

$28.58 ฿955

17.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.0 SEK 862

$96.1 ฿3,213

-9.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 SEK 1,298

$88.1 ฿2,943

48.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,026 SEK 10.2K

$729 ฿24.4K

40.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$903 SEK 8,951

$460 ฿15.4K

96.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,791 SEK 17.7K

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-14.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,409 SEK 14.0K

$1,222 ฿40.8K

15.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,190 SEK 61.3K

$3,459 ฿115.6K

78.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,427 SEK 34.0K

$2,489 ฿83.2K

37.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,492 SEK 34.6K

$493 ฿16.5K

608.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.06

5.57

-45.06%

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

Last update for Gothenburg: 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

Gothenburg

$903 44.6%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 49.1% $443

Groceries & Markets

Gothenburg

$355 17.5%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 24.6% $87

Eating Out

Gothenburg

$273 13.5%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 55.5% $152

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gothenburg

$155 7.6%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 17.3% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Gothenburg

$153 7.5%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 18.7% $28

Getting Around

Gothenburg

$115 5.7%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 66.3% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Gothenburg

$72 3.6%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 6.5% $4.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,026 in Gothenburg and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Gothenburg pays 608% 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: $84.0 in Gothenburg vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $355 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Gothenburg

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

05:24 5:24 AM

10:24 10:24 AM

5 h ahead of Gothenburg

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

607,882

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 19, 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 19, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Gothenburg Phuket 9,050 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Gothenburg
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

Gothenburg vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 68% lower than in Gothenburg. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 608% higher in Gothenburg, 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: $1,026 in Gothenburg versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $217 in Gothenburg 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 33% higher in Gothenburg. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,026 in Gothenburg, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Gothenburg. 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 $1,207 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Gothenburg 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 68% less than in Gothenburg. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.