Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Kristiansund

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,340 in Kristiansund, rent and utilities included – about $13,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
113

Cost of Living Index in Kristiansund
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Kristiansund Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Kristiansund

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Kristiansund

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,340 in Kristiansund.

Phuket $1,208
Kristiansund $2,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $3,549 in Kristiansund.

Phuket $2,027
Kristiansund $3,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $4,757 in Kristiansund.

Phuket $2,845
Kristiansund $4,757

Living in Phuket costs roughly 48% less than in Kristiansund, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Kristiansund is 73% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$20.85 NOK 196

-78.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$105 NOK 992

-69.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$15.89 NOK 150

-44.87%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$5.56 NOK 52.3

-49.10%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$4.12 NOK 38.74

-78.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$3.05 NOK 28.70

-84.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$11.64 NOK 110

-78.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$10.27 NOK 96.7

-62.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$2.45 NOK 23.11

-29.39%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$3.69 NOK 34.71

-60.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$3.75 NOK 35.32

-59.73%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$4.88 NOK 45.91

-55.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$13.32 NOK 125

47.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$15.21 NOK 143

-78.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$31.26 NOK 294

-64.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$3.34 NOK 31.41

-14.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$2.58 NOK 24.32

-34.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$3.37 NOK 31.71

-35.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$4.74 NOK 44.63

-56.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$2.61 NOK 24.54

-44.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$2.93 NOK 27.60

-52.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$3.05 NOK 28.68

-64.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$2.24 NOK 21.12

-77.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$17.16 NOK 162

-75.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$16.25 NOK 153

14.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$3.51 NOK 33.03

-49.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$4.33 NOK 40.78

-34.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$4.58 NOK 43.08

-50.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$85.2 NOK 802

-74.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$11.99 NOK 113

-74.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$1.86 NOK 17.49

-43.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$68.4 NOK 643

-94.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$2.49 NOK 23.46

-41.77%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$47.1K NOK 443.8K

-44.16%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$43.3K NOK 408.1K

-37.85%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$265 NOK 2,497

-63.66%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$33.19 NOK 312

-66.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$53.0 NOK 499

-67.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$39.18 NOK 369

33.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$28.93 NOK 272

-61.42%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$25.69 NOK 242

-69.60%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$239 NOK 2,253

132.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$13.0K NOK 122.7K

-11.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$102 NOK 956

-36.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$55.5 NOK 523

-48.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$125 NOK 1,181

-24.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$157 NOK 1,473

-43.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$777 NOK 7,310

-5.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$700 NOK 6,592

-33.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$1,239 NOK 11.7K

69.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$1,048 NOK 9,864

14.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$6,024 NOK 56.7K

-42.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$4,115 NOK 38.7K

-38.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$3,708 NOK 34.9K

-86.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.94

12.75%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Kristiansund: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Kristiansund

$700 29.9% 51.5% $238

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Kristiansund

$487 20.8% 81.1% $218

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Kristiansund

$351 15% 182% $227

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Kristiansund

$198 8.4% 58.9% $73

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Kristiansund

$389 16.6% 221% $267

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Kristiansund

$91 3.9% 33.6% $23

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Kristiansund

$125 5.3% 216% $85

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $777 in Kristiansund. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kristiansund pays 641% 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 $105 in Kristiansund for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $487 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇳🇴 Kristiansund

🕒 Local time

21:22 9:22 PM

16:22 4:22 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

24,505

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

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).

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).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Kristiansund 9,260 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Kristiansund

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 Kristiansund: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket and Kristiansund differ by about 94% in total monthly costs ($1,208 vs $2,340 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 641% lower in Kristiansund. 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 $777 in Kristiansund. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 81% higher in Kristiansund. 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 $105 in Kristiansund. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,340 in Kristiansund, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Kristiansund. 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 Kristiansund 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 94% less than in Kristiansund. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.