Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Longyearbyen and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,753 in Longyearbyen, rent and utilities included – about $18,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

133

Cost of Living Index in Longyearbyen
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Longyearbyen Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Longyearbyen

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,753

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,753 in Longyearbyen versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Longyearbyen $2,753
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,188 in Longyearbyen versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Longyearbyen $4,188
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,624 in Longyearbyen versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Longyearbyen $5,624
Phuket $2,845

Living in Longyearbyen is roughly 128% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Longyearbyen is 103% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.60 NOK 194

$4.40 ฿147

368.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$104 NOK 980

$32.26 ฿1,078

222.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$18.21 NOK 171

$8.76 ฿293

107.88%

Cappuccino

$6.99 NOK 65.8

$2.83 ฿94.5

147.00%

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

$6.02 NOK 56.7

$0.90 ฿30.14

568.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 NOK 52.1

$0.47 ฿15.56

1078.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.36 NOK 69.2

$2.55 ฿85.2

188.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.23 NOK 86.9

$3.83 ฿128

140.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.39 NOK 22.48

$1.73 ฿57.7

38.15%

White Bread (500g)

$3.59 NOK 33.84

$1.47 ฿49.11

144.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.37 NOK 41.13

$1.51 ฿50.6

189.40%

Eggs

$4.89 NOK 46.05

$2.17 ฿72.7

125.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.26 NOK 134

$19.70 ฿658

-27.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$20.14 NOK 190

$3.34 ฿112

502.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$31.12 NOK 293

$11.16 ฿373

178.85%

Apples (1kg)

$6.72 NOK 63.2

$2.85 ฿95.1

135.79%

Banana (1kg)

$2.67 NOK 25.14

$1.70 ฿56.9

57.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.80 NOK 64.0

$2.19 ฿73.3

210.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.57 NOK 61.9

$2.05 ฿68.4

220.49%

Potato (1kg)

$5.46 NOK 51.4

$1.45 ฿48.57

276.55%

Onion (1kg)

$4.47 NOK 42.05

$1.38 ฿46.16

223.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$4.37 NOK 41.12

$1.07 ฿35.69

308.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.54 NOK 33.36

$0.51 ฿16.91

594.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.10 NOK 161

$4.26 ฿142

301.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.34 NOK 135

$18.58 ฿621

-22.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.40 NOK 32.01

$1.78 ฿59.7

91.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.20 NOK 39.52

$2.85 ฿95.2

47.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.68 NOK 44.07

$2.26 ฿75.6

107.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$83.2 NOK 783

$22.10 ฿738

276.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$9.19 NOK 86.5

$3.01 ฿101

205.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.88 NOK 17.73

$1.06 ฿35.34

77.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$70.8 NOK 667

$3.86 ฿129

1735.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 NOK 20.73

$1.45 ฿48.45

51.72%

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

$47.2K NOK 444.5K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

79.36%

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

$43.0K NOK 404.9K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

59.62%

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

$266 NOK 2,501

$96.4 ฿3,221

175.67%

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

$33.76 NOK 318

$11.04 ฿369

205.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.8 NOK 497

$17.14 ฿573

208.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.32 NOK 464

$52.2 ฿1,744

-5.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$37.00 NOK 348

$11.16 ฿373

231.54%

Cinema Ticket

$17.11 NOK 161

$7.81 ฿261

119.08%

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

$234 NOK 2,201

$556 ฿18.6K

-57.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K NOK 124.2K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

13.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$98.3 NOK 925

$64.2 ฿2,146

53.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.6 NOK 533

$28.69 ฿959

97.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 NOK 1,198

$95.4 ฿3,187

33.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$157 NOK 1,482

$88.0 ฿2,940

78.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,107 NOK 10.4K

$737 ฿24.6K

50.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,011 NOK 9,518

$462 ฿15.5K

118.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,947 NOK 18.3K

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-7.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,675 NOK 15.8K

$1,201 ฿40.1K

39.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,182 NOK 58.2K

$3,488 ฿116.6K

77.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,028 NOK 37.9K

$2,523 ฿84.3K

59.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,904 NOK 27.3K

$501 ฿16.7K

480.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.94

5.57

-11.31%

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

Last update for Longyearbyen: 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

Longyearbyen

$1K 36.7%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 54.3% $549

Groceries & Markets

Longyearbyen

$583 21.2%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 53.9% $314

Eating Out

Longyearbyen

$405 14.7%

Phuket

$121 10% 70% $284

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Longyearbyen

$352 12.8%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 64.6% $228

Clothing & Footwear

Longyearbyen

$198 7.2%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 37.2% $74

Getting Around

Longyearbyen

$121 4.4%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 67.3% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Longyearbyen

$84 3%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 18.9% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,107 in Longyearbyen and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Longyearbyen pays 480% 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: $104 in Longyearbyen vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $583 vs $269 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Longyearbyen

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

18:05 6:05 PM

23:05 11:05 PM

5 h ahead of Longyearbyen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,400

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 20, 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 20, 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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Highest

Between locations

Longyearbyen Phuket 8,980 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Longyearbyen
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

Longyearbyen vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 128% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 480% higher in Longyearbyen, 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: $1,107 in Longyearbyen 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 276% less than in Longyearbyen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $234 in Longyearbyen 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 $2,753 in Longyearbyen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Longyearbyen. 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 Longyearbyen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Longyearbyen 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 128% less than in Longyearbyen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.