Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lulea and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,820 in Lulea, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Lulea
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Lulea Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Lulea

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,820

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,820 in Lulea versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Lulea $1,820
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,946 in Lulea versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Lulea $2,946
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,073 in Lulea versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Lulea $4,073
Phuket $2,867

Living in Lulea is roughly 51% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lulea is 35% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.71 SEK 116

$4.58 ฿153

155.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$96.1 SEK 952

$32.48 ฿1,086

195.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.04 SEK 109

$8.55 ฿286

29.12%

Cappuccino

$4.38 SEK 43.41

$2.72 ฿91.0

61.03%

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

$2.45 SEK 24.24

$0.94 ฿31.25

160.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 SEK 19.20

$0.49 ฿16.39

295.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.56 SEK 84.8

$2.59 ฿86.6

230.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.41 SEK 93.2

$3.83 ฿128

145.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 SEK 17.99

$1.74 ฿58.1

4.60%

White Bread (500g)

$3.42 SEK 33.84

$1.43 ฿47.82

139.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.75 SEK 47.11

$1.53 ฿51.0

210.46%

Eggs

$4.67 SEK 46.31

$2.17 ฿72.7

115.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.48 SEK 124

$19.15 ฿640

-34.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.11 SEK 130

$3.30 ฿110

297.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$26.07 SEK 258

$11.14 ฿372

134.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.44 SEK 24.16

$2.95 ฿98.5

-17.29%

Banana (1kg)

$2.66 SEK 26.36

$1.68 ฿56.1

58.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 SEK 23.36

$2.30 ฿76.8

2.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.16 SEK 41.21

$2.13 ฿71.3

95.31%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 SEK 20.69

$1.53 ฿51.1

36.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 SEK 14.82

$1.36 ฿45.55

10.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.30 SEK 32.69

$1.12 ฿37.44

194.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 SEK 12.59

$0.55 ฿18.24

130.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.06 SEK 70.0

$4.26 ฿142

65.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.04 SEK 119

$18.19 ฿608

-33.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 SEK 17.63

$1.74 ฿58.2

2.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 SEK 17.53

$2.79 ฿93.3

-36.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.23 SEK 31.99

$2.22 ฿74.1

45.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.5 SEK 560

$22.06 ฿737

156.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.73 SEK 86.5

$2.91 ฿97.3

200.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 SEK 20.33

$1.01 ฿33.79

102.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$70.8 SEK 702

$3.83 ฿128

1748.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 SEK 17.24

$1.49 ฿49.85

16.78%

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

$31.9K SEK 316.5K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

19.73%

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

$33.3K SEK 329.9K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

24.65%

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

$161 SEK 1,595

$99.4 ฿3,321

61.99%

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

$31.36 SEK 311

$11.28 ฿377

178.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.51 SEK 263

$17.36 ฿580

52.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.47 SEK 450

$52.3 ฿1,747

-13.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.02 SEK 347

$10.85 ฿362

222.76%

Cinema Ticket

$12.85 SEK 127

$7.57 ฿253

69.75%

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

$150 SEK 1,490

$558 ฿18.7K

-73.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,570 SEK 55.2K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-51.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 SEK 1,189

$62.9 ฿2,102

90.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.64 SEK 323

$28.58 ฿955

14.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 SEK 1,188

$96.1 ฿3,213

24.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$161 SEK 1,593

$88.1 ฿2,943

82.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$783 SEK 7,763

$729 ฿24.4K

7.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$584 SEK 5,786

$460 ฿15.4K

26.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,449 SEK 14.4K

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-30.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,104 SEK 10.9K

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-9.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,072 SEK 30.4K

$3,459 ฿115.6K

-11.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,194 SEK 21.7K

$2,489 ฿83.2K

-11.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,498 SEK 24.8K

$493 ฿16.5K

406.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.57

-30.88%

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

Last update for Lulea: October 11, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lulea

$584 32.1%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 21.2% $124

Groceries & Markets

Lulea

$404 22.2%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 33.7% $136

Eating Out

Lulea

$259 14.2%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 53.1% $137

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lulea

$219 12%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 41.5% $91

Clothing & Footwear

Lulea

$195 10.7%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 36.4% $71

Getting Around

Lulea

$88 4.9%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 56% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Lulea

$71 3.9%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 5.3% $3.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $783 in Lulea and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lulea pays 407% 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: $96.0 in Lulea vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $404 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Lulea

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

16:23 4:23 PM

21:23 9:23 PM

5 h ahead of Lulea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

73,864

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 18, 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 18, 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

Lulea Phuket 8,580 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lulea
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

Lulea vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 51% lower than in Lulea. 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 407% higher in Lulea, 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: $783 in Lulea versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 51% higher in Lulea. 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 $32.00 versus $96.0 in Lulea. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,820 in Lulea, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Lulea. 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, Lulea 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 51% less than in Lulea. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.