Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Larvik

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,657 in Larvik, rent and utilities included – about $16,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Phuket, Thailand
Larvik, Norway
Phuket
🇹🇭 Thailand
$1,278
/mo nomad
Larvik
🇳🇴 Norway
$2,657
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Larvik

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,657 in Larvik.

  • Phuket $1,278
  • Larvik $2,657

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $4,071 in Larvik.

  • Phuket $2,216
  • Larvik $4,071

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $5,486 in Larvik.

  • Phuket $3,154
  • Larvik $5,486

Living in Phuket costs roughly 52% less than in Larvik, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Larvik is 95% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Phuket
Larvik
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$4.47 ฿151
$21.45 NOK 197
-79.16%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$32.41 ฿1,093
$130 NOK 1,195
-75.09%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.81 ฿297
$16.41 NOK 151
-46.31%
Cappuccino
$2.83 ฿95.4
$6.16 NOK 56.6
-54.06%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.87 ฿29.41
$4.31 NOK 39.64
-79.81%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.49 ฿16.65
$3.48 NOK 32.01
-85.92%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.56 ฿86.3
$11.89 NOK 109
-78.47%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.68 ฿124
$12.63 NOK 116
-70.86%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Phuket
Larvik
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.66 ฿55.9
$2.59 NOK 23.80
-35.91%
White Bread (500g)
$1.46 ฿49.31
$4.34 NOK 39.91
-66.36%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.50 ฿50.5
$1.57 NOK 14.39
-4.46%
Eggs
$2.09 ฿70.5
$3.79 NOK 34.81
-44.85%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$19.07 ฿643
$15.49 NOK 142
23.11%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.30 ฿111
$15.61 NOK 143
-78.86%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.91 ฿368
$31.63 NOK 291
-65.51%
Apples (1kg)
$2.93 ฿98.9
$3.16 NOK 29.06
-7.28%
Banana (1kg)
$1.69 ฿57.0
$2.73 NOK 25.04
-38.10%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.25 ฿75.8
$2.75 NOK 25.29
-18.18%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.08 ฿70.0
$4.41 NOK 40.54
-52.83%
Potato (1kg)
$1.51 ฿51.0
$2.74 NOK 25.18
-44.89%
Onion (1kg)
$1.38 ฿46.52
$2.86 NOK 26.26
-51.75%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.07 ฿35.96
$2.61 NOK 23.99
-59.00%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.52 ฿17.51
$1.62 NOK 14.93
-67.90%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.20 ฿142
$14.73 NOK 135
-71.49%
Wine (Bottle)
$18.79 ฿634
$16.74 NOK 154
12.25%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.82 ฿61.5
$3.60 NOK 33.05
-49.44%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.84 ฿95.8
$4.22 NOK 38.75
-32.70%
🚌 Getting Around
Phuket
Larvik
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.45 ฿48.98
$4.81 NOK 44.18
-69.85%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$56.7 ฿1,912
$63.9 NOK 587
-11.32%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.02 ฿102
$9.68 NOK 89.0
-68.80%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.02 ฿34.33
$1.56 NOK 14.36
-34.62%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.69 ฿125
$71.5 NOK 656
-94.84%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.47 ฿49.76
$2.51 NOK 23.06
-41.43%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$26.8K ฿903.4K
$42.2K NOK 387.5K
-36.52%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$26.7K ฿900.5K
$45.6K NOK 419.3K
-41.52%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Phuket
Larvik
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$96.4 ฿3,251
$303 NOK 2,785
-68.22%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$11.26 ฿380
$21.38 NOK 196
-47.33%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$16.85 ฿568
$43.43 NOK 399
-61.20%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Phuket
Larvik
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$67.2 ฿2,268
$50.9 NOK 467
32.19%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$10.73 ฿362
$37.93 NOK 348
-71.71%
Cinema Ticket
$7.50 ฿253
$15.97 NOK 147
-53.04%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Phuket
Larvik
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$476 ฿16.1K
$161 NOK 1,476
196.31%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.3K ฿380.0K
$16.2K NOK 148.9K
-30.51%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Phuket
Larvik
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$62.4 ฿2,104
$75.6 NOK 695
-17.52%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$28.41 ฿958
$61.2 NOK 562
-53.59%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$94.3 ฿3,181
$106 NOK 972
-10.90%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$85.8 ฿2,895
$130 NOK 1,196
-34.11%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Phuket
Larvik
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$716 ฿24.2K
$1,247 NOK 11.5K
-42.59%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$491 ฿16.6K
$1,048 NOK 9,625
-53.14%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,927 ฿65.0K
$2,099 NOK 19.3K
-8.21%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,431 ฿48.3K
$1,738 NOK 16.0K
-17.67%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,175 ฿140.9K
$6,462 NOK 59.4K
-35.39%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,045 ฿102.7K
$4,373 NOK 40.2K
-30.38%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Phuket
Larvik
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$502 ฿16.9K
$3,303 NOK 30.3K
-84.80%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.57
4.75
17.26%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Larvik: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Phuket
$491
Larvik
$1K 113% $557
Groceries & Markets
Phuket
$266
Larvik
$479 80% $213
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Phuket
$124
Larvik
$368 196% $244
Clothing & Footwear
Phuket
$122
Larvik
$168 37.7% $46
Eating Out
Phuket
$122
Larvik
$411 238% $289
Sport & Entertainment
Phuket
$82
Larvik
$83 0.7% $0.6
Getting Around
Phuket
$71
Larvik
$101 42.6% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,247 in Larvik. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Larvik pays about 6.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $130 in Larvik for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $479 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇹🇭 Phuket
🇳🇴 Larvik
🕒 Local time
13:07 1:07 PM
07:07 7:07 AM
6 h behind Phuket
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
79,308
48,743
💱 Currency
Thai Baht THB ฿
Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.19 NOK (1 NOK = 0.109 USD). 1 EUR = 10.26 NOK (100 NOK = 9.75 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Phuket Larvik 9,160 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Phuket
  • Larvik

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 Larvik: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Phuket or Larvik?
Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 52% lower than in Larvik. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Phuket the obvious pick if budget is a priority.
Are salaries higher in Phuket or in Larvik?
On paper, salaries run 85% lower in Phuket. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
How much does a 1-bedroom apartment cost in Phuket compared to Larvik?
Rent for a central apartment: $716 in Phuket versus $1,247 in Larvik. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
How expensive is transport in Phuket compared to Larvik?
A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 11% less than in Larvik. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.
How do childcare costs compare in Phuket and in Larvik?
Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $161 in Larvik. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Can you live on $1,500/month in Phuket or in Larvik?
At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,657 in Larvik, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Larvik. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Which city offers a better quality of life: Phuket or Larvik?
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.
How safe is Phuket compared to Larvik?
Safety-wise, Phuket and Larvik are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.
Which city is more affordable for expats?
Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Larvik. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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