Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Harstad and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,611 in Harstad, rent and utilities included – about $16,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

127

Cost of Living Index in Harstad
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Harstad Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Harstad

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,611

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,611 in Harstad versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Harstad $2,611
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,888 in Harstad versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Harstad $3,888
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,164 in Harstad versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Harstad $5,164
Phuket $3,154

Living in Harstad is roughly 104% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Harstad is 92% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.27 NOK 131

$4.47 ฿151

219.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 NOK 971

$32.41 ฿1,093

226.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.97 NOK 147

$8.81 ฿297

81.27%

Cappuccino

$6.27 NOK 57.6

$2.83 ฿95.4

121.55%

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

$3.70 NOK 34.03

$0.87 ฿29.41

325.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.18 NOK 29.18

$0.49 ฿16.65

548.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.77 NOK 117

$2.56 ฿86.3

398.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$14.04 NOK 129

$3.68 ฿124

281.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.54 NOK 23.33

$1.66 ฿55.9

53.01%

White Bread (500g)

$3.39 NOK 31.10

$1.46 ฿49.31

132.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.14 NOK 28.83

$1.50 ฿50.5

109.33%

Eggs

$4.42 NOK 40.61

$2.09 ฿70.5

111.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.37 NOK 104

$19.07 ฿643

-40.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.31 NOK 141

$3.30 ฿111

363.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$41.97 NOK 386

$10.91 ฿368

284.69%

Apples (1kg)

$4.28 NOK 39.30

$2.93 ฿98.9

46.08%

Banana (1kg)

$2.87 NOK 26.38

$1.69 ฿57.0

69.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.87 NOK 35.55

$2.25 ฿75.8

72.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.79 NOK 43.97

$2.08 ฿70.0

130.29%

Potato (1kg)

$2.21 NOK 20.33

$1.51 ฿51.0

46.36%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 NOK 20.03

$1.38 ฿46.52

57.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.00 NOK 27.55

$1.07 ฿35.96

180.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.34 NOK 21.49

$0.52 ฿17.51

350.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$16.41 NOK 151

$4.20 ฿142

290.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.93 NOK 146

$18.79 ฿634

-15.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 NOK 35.82

$1.82 ฿61.5

114.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.89 NOK 44.90

$2.84 ฿95.8

72.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$6.17 NOK 56.7

$1.45 ฿48.98

325.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$84.1 NOK 772

$56.7 ฿1,912

48.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$15.98 NOK 147

$3.02 ฿102

429.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.91 NOK 17.52

$1.02 ฿34.33

87.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$58.0 NOK 533

$3.69 ฿125

1472.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 NOK 21.48

$1.47 ฿49.76

59.18%

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

$36.9K NOK 339.4K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

37.97%

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

$31.6K NOK 290.4K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

18.43%

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

$173 NOK 1,587

$96.4 ฿3,251

79.29%

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

$35.51 NOK 326

$11.26 ฿380

215.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$79.5 NOK 731

$16.85 ฿568

371.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.72 NOK 457

$67.2 ฿2,268

-26.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$36.95 NOK 339

$10.73 ฿362

244.36%

Cinema Ticket

$17.75 NOK 163

$7.50 ฿253

136.67%

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

$325 NOK 2,985

$476 ฿16.1K

-31.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,295 NOK 48.6K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

-52.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.8 NOK 632

$62.4 ฿2,104

10.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.70 NOK 328

$28.41 ฿958

25.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 NOK 1,115

$94.3 ฿3,181

28.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$170 NOK 1,563

$85.8 ฿2,895

98.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,411 NOK 13.0K

$716 ฿24.2K

97.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 NOK 9,673

$491 ฿16.6K

114.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,352 NOK 21.6K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

22.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,537 NOK 14.1K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

7.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,396 NOK 58.8K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

53.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,354 NOK 40.0K

$3,045 ฿102.7K

43.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,511 NOK 32.3K

$502 ฿16.9K

598.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-10.23%

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

Last update for Harstad: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Harstad

$1.1K 40.3%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 53.4% $562

Groceries & Markets

Harstad

$516 19.8%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 48.4% $250

Eating Out

Harstad

$357 13.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 65.9% $235

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Harstad

$288 11%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 56.7% $163

Clothing & Footwear

Harstad

$178 6.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 31.6% $56

Getting Around

Harstad

$134 5.1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 47.4% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Harstad

$85 3.3%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 3.5% $3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,411 in Harstad and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Harstad pays about 7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $106 in Harstad vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $516 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Harstad

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

14:31 2:31 PM

20:31 8:31 PM

6 h ahead of Harstad

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

25,119

79,308

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.88 USD

100 NOK = 9.75 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 9.19 NOK (1 NOK = 0.109 USD). 1 EUR = 10.26 NOK (100 NOK = 9.75 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Harstad Phuket 8,860 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Harstad
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

Harstad vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 51% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Harstad is about 7 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: $1,411 in Harstad versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 94% higher in Harstad. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $106 in Harstad. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,611 in Harstad, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Harstad. 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.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Harstad. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.