Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Gavle

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.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
69

Cost of Living Index in Gavle
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Gavle Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Gavle

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,439

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Gavle

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Phuket and in Gavle actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

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

Phuket $1,208
Gavle $1,439

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

Phuket $2,027
Gavle $2,286

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

Phuket $2,845
Gavle $3,134

Living in Phuket costs roughly 16% less than in Gavle, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$13.69 SEK 136

-67.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$79.4 SEK 786

-59.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$9.31 SEK 92.2

-5.91%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$4.42 SEK 43.79

-35.97%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$2.07 SEK 20.51

-56.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$1.91 SEK 18.95

-75.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$7.79 SEK 77.2

-67.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$7.75 SEK 76.8

-50.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.63 SEK 16.12

6.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$2.61 SEK 25.84

-43.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$3.73 SEK 36.95

-59.52%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.81 SEK 37.80

-43.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$9.13 SEK 90.4

115.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$10.29 SEK 102

-67.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$18.73 SEK 186

-40.42%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$3.05 SEK 30.25

-6.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$2.74 SEK 27.16

-37.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$3.27 SEK 32.43

-33.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$4.35 SEK 43.07

-52.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$1.73 SEK 17.12

-16.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$1.82 SEK 17.99

-24.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$2.55 SEK 25.26

-58.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$2.05 SEK 20.35

-75.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$7.99 SEK 79.1

-46.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$11.13 SEK 110

66.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$1.64 SEK 16.23

8.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$1.55 SEK 15.34

83.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$3.25 SEK 32.22

-30.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$60.4 SEK 598

-63.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$4.52 SEK 44.83

-33.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$1.53 SEK 15.16

-30.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$33.87 SEK 336

-88.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.81 SEK 17.90

-19.89%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$25.8K SEK 255.2K

2.22%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$28.1K SEK 278.1K

-4.02%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$55.6 SEK 551

73.28%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$21.93 SEK 217

-49.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$39.60 SEK 392

-56.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$47.32 SEK 469

10.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$15.22 SEK 151

-48.69%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$133 SEK 1,321

316.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$15.3K SEK 151.1K

-24.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$70.6 SEK 699

-9.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$58.8 SEK 583

-51.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$50.9 SEK 505

87.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$89.5 SEK 887

-1.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$579 SEK 5,738

27.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$425 SEK 4,208

8.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$762 SEK 7,546

175.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$665 SEK 6,593

80.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$1,945 SEK 19.3K

79.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$1,333 SEK 13.2K

89.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$3,144 SEK 31.1K

-84.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.37

65.28%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Gavle: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Gavle

$425 29.5% 8.2% $38

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Gavle

$351 24.4% 30.8% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Gavle

$117 8.1% 5.9% $7.4

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Gavle

$121 8.4% 2.3% $2.9

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Gavle

$261 18.1% 115% $140

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Gavle

$78 5.4% 14.7% $10

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Gavle

$86 6% 117% $46

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $579 in Gavle. 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: $32.00 in Phuket vs $79.0 in Gavle for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $351 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇸🇪 Gavle

🕒 Local time

15:20 3:20 PM

10:20 10:20 AM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

100,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

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).

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).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Gavle 8,770 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Gavle

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

Phuket vs Gavle: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

On paper, salaries run 528% lower in Gavle. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $737 in Phuket versus $579 in Gavle. 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 $556 in Phuket versus $133 in Gavle. 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, Phuket and Gavle 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.