Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Lillehammer

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,521 in Lillehammer, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. The total is higher in Lillehammer despite lower rent and utilities.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Lillehammer
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Lillehammer Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Lillehammer

🇳🇴 Norway

$1,521

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Lillehammer

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

A single person spends $1,278 per month in Phuket vs $1,521 in Lillehammer, rent included.

Phuket $1,278
Lillehammer $1,521

A couple spends around $2,216 per month in Phuket vs $2,414 in Lillehammer, rent included.

Phuket $2,216
Lillehammer $2,414

A family of three spends $3,154 per month in Phuket vs $3,308 in Lillehammer, rent included.

Phuket $3,154
Lillehammer $3,308

Phuket is about 16% cheaper than Lillehammer, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Phuket sits 6% below the global median, while Lillehammer is 12% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$17.22 NOK 158

-74.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$86.6 NOK 796

-62.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$14.65 NOK 135

-39.86%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$5.04 NOK 46.32

-43.85%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$3.58 NOK 32.91

-75.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$2.42 NOK 22.19

-79.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$10.94 NOK 101

-76.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$7.37 NOK 67.7

-50.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$2.49 NOK 22.86

-33.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$3.50 NOK 32.12

-58.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$3.69 NOK 33.92

-59.35%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$4.83 NOK 44.35

-56.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$13.57 NOK 125

40.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$17.04 NOK 157

-80.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$32.03 NOK 294

-65.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$4.08 NOK 37.46

-28.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$3.05 NOK 27.99

-44.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$3.94 NOK 36.21

-42.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$5.69 NOK 52.3

-63.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.99 NOK 27.45

-49.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$3.04 NOK 27.89

-54.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$3.01 NOK 27.64

-64.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$2.27 NOK 20.87

-77.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$17.85 NOK 164

-76.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$19.12 NOK 176

-1.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$3.59 NOK 33.03

-49.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$4.79 NOK 44.05

-40.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$2.41 NOK 22.19

-39.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$9.64 NOK 88.6

-68.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$1.64 NOK 15.08

-37.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$60.9 NOK 559

-93.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$2.47 NOK 22.67

-40.49%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$47.0K NOK 431.4K

-42.98%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$46.9K NOK 430.9K

-43.10%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$281 NOK 2,584

-65.74%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$35.85 NOK 329

-68.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$82.3 NOK 756

-79.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$19.23 NOK 177

-61.00%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$303 NOK 2,787

56.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$4,579 NOK 42.1K

145.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$110 NOK 1,010

-43.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$52.6 NOK 483

-45.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$125 NOK 1,147

-24.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$159 NOK 1,457

-45.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,090 NOK 10.0K

-34.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$3,392 NOK 31.2K

23.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$1,373 NOK 12.6K

121.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$2,148 NOK 19.7K

-76.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.32

4.70%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Lillehammer: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Lillehammer

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Lillehammer

$519 34.1% 94.9% $253

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Lillehammer

$399 26.3% 221% $275

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Lillehammer

$201 13.2% 64.6% $79

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Lillehammer

$336 22.1% 176% $214

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Lillehammer

$38 * 2.5% 53.2% $44

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Lillehammer

$28 * 1.8% 61% $43

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $716 in Phuket versus $1,090 in Lillehammer. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Lillehammer are about 4.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Phuket versus $87 in Lillehammer. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $266 vs $519 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇳🇴 Lillehammer

🕒 Local time

13:08 1:08 PM

07:08 7:08 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

28,831

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 NOK = 10.88 USD

100 NOK = 9.75 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 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).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Lillehammer 9,130 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Lillehammer

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 Lillehammer: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lillehammer costs about 19% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,917 per month in Phuket and $2,281 in Lillehammer. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Phuket, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $716 there versus $1,090 in Lillehammer.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Phuket and $87 in Lillehammer. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 95% more in Lillehammer, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Phuket, where all-in costs run around $1,278, than in Lillehammer at $1,521. In Phuket it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lillehammer it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Phuket has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,278 in Phuket to $1,521 in Lillehammer. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Phuket. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Lillehammer makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.