Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Kalix

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $1,674 in Kalix, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
84

Cost of Living Index in Kalix
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Kalix Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Kalix

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,674

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Kalix

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 Kalix actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,674 in Kalix.

Phuket $1,294
Kalix $1,674

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $2,718 in Kalix.

Phuket $2,204
Kalix $2,718

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $3,761 in Kalix.

Phuket $3,115
Kalix $3,761

Living in Phuket costs roughly 23% less than in Kalix, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 4% below, Kalix is 24% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

$13.52 SEK 132

-67.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,078

$87.6 SEK 856

-63.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿290

$10.26 SEK 100

-15.20%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿90.9

$3.96 SEK 38.71

-31.31%

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

$0.93 ฿31.06

$2.36 SEK 23.11

-60.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.67

$2.27 SEK 22.22

-77.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿84.5

$6.86 SEK 67.1

-63.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿121

$7.63 SEK 74.5

-52.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.78 SEK 17.35

-2.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.42

$2.66 SEK 25.99

-45.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.1

$3.31 SEK 32.35

-54.68%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.5

$4.56 SEK 44.55

-52.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿637

$12.59 SEK 123

51.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿113

$11.50 SEK 112

-70.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿364

$19.73 SEK 193

-44.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.2

$3.24 SEK 31.70

-9.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.5

$2.33 SEK 22.79

-27.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.2

$2.92 SEK 28.55

-25.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿70.9

$4.18 SEK 40.83

-49.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.68

$1.58 SEK 15.48

-7.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.66

$1.48 SEK 14.49

-7.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿35.91

$2.16 SEK 21.15

-50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.21

$1.39 SEK 13.55

-60.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿148

$8.01 SEK 78.2

-44.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿609

$10.43 SEK 102

74.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.2

$2.12 SEK 20.74

-16.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.2

$2.53 SEK 24.76

13.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.32

$3.55 SEK 34.72

-59.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,832

$77.5 SEK 757

-29.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.5

$5.33 SEK 52.1

-71.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿25.90

$1.66 SEK 16.22

-53.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿128

$60.4 SEK 590

-93.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.65

$1.88 SEK 18.33

-20.74%

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

$26.9K ฿897.3K

$30.4K SEK 296.7K

-11.45%

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

$26.3K ฿879.4K

$29.8K SEK 291.6K

-11.70%

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

$97.8 ฿3,265

$102 SEK 995

-3.98%

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

$11.29 ฿377

$20.82 SEK 203

-45.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿574

$40.61 SEK 397

-57.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,281

$38.64 SEK 378

76.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿365

$30.28 SEK 296

-63.94%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿248

$17.77 SEK 174

-58.19%

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

$530 ฿17.7K

$163 SEK 1,596

224.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿626.9K

$5,146 SEK 50.3K

264.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,059

$93.2 SEK 911

-33.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿943

$40.94 SEK 400

-31.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,204

$88.3 SEK 863

8.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,898

$136 SEK 1,325

-35.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.1K

$760 SEK 7,430

-5.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.0K

$553 SEK 5,407

-8.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.1K

$1,181 SEK 11.5K

65.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.6K

$1,037 SEK 10.1K

34.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿139.9K

$3,716 SEK 36.3K

12.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.1K

$2,489 SEK 24.3K

32.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.38

64.79%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Kalix: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Kalix

$553 33% 8.7% $44

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Kalix

$363 21.7% 35.9% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Kalix

$163 9.8% 29.3% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Kalix

$161 9.6% 31.3% $38

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Kalix

$255 15.2% 113% $135

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Kalix

$74 4.4% 10.8% $9

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Kalix

$105 6.3% 59.4% $39

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $760 in Kalix. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $88 in Kalix for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $363 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇸🇪 Kalix

🕒 Local time

09:53 9:53 AM

03:53 3:53 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

15,734

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 3 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

100 SEK = 10.23 USD

100 SEK = 9.12 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 33.38 THB (100 THB = 3 USD). 1 EUR = 37.47 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.77 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.97 SEK (100 SEK = 9.12 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Kalix 8,550 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Kalix

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 Kalix: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 23% lower than in Kalix. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,940 in Phuket and $2,512 in Kalix to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $721 in Phuket versus $760 in Kalix. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 29% less than in Kalix. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $163 in Kalix. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,674 in Kalix, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Kalix. 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 Kalix are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Kalix. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.