Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Longyearbyen

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,753 in Longyearbyen, rent and utilities included – about $18,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
133

Cost of Living Index in Longyearbyen
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Longyearbyen Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Longyearbyen

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,753

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Longyearbyen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,753 in Longyearbyen.

Phuket $1,208
Longyearbyen $2,753

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $4,188 in Longyearbyen.

Phuket $2,027
Longyearbyen $4,188

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $5,624 in Longyearbyen.

Phuket $2,845
Longyearbyen $5,624

Living in Phuket costs roughly 56% less than in Longyearbyen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Longyearbyen is 103% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$20.60 NOK 194

-78.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$104 NOK 980

-69.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$18.21 NOK 171

-51.89%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$6.99 NOK 65.8

-59.51%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$6.02 NOK 56.7

-85.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$5.54 NOK 52.1

-91.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$7.36 NOK 69.2

-65.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$9.23 NOK 86.9

-58.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$2.39 NOK 22.48

-27.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$3.59 NOK 33.84

-59.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$4.37 NOK 41.13

-65.45%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$4.89 NOK 46.05

-55.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$14.26 NOK 134

38.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$20.14 NOK 190

-83.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$31.12 NOK 293

-64.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$6.72 NOK 63.2

-57.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$2.67 NOK 25.14

-36.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$6.80 NOK 64.0

-67.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$6.57 NOK 61.9

-68.80%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$5.46 NOK 51.4

-73.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$4.47 NOK 42.05

-69.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$4.37 NOK 41.12

-75.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$3.54 NOK 33.36

-85.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$17.10 NOK 161

-75.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$14.34 NOK 135

29.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$3.40 NOK 32.01

-47.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$4.20 NOK 39.52

-32.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$4.68 NOK 44.07

-51.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$83.2 NOK 783

-73.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$9.19 NOK 86.5

-67.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$1.88 NOK 17.73

-43.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$70.8 NOK 667

-94.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$2.20 NOK 20.73

-34.09%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$47.2K NOK 444.5K

-44.25%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$43.0K NOK 404.9K

-37.35%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$266 NOK 2,501

-63.72%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$33.76 NOK 318

-67.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$52.8 NOK 497

-67.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$49.32 NOK 464

5.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$37.00 NOK 348

-69.84%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$17.11 NOK 161

-54.35%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$234 NOK 2,201

137.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$13.2K NOK 124.2K

-12.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$98.3 NOK 925

-34.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$56.6 NOK 533

-49.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$127 NOK 1,198

-25.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$157 NOK 1,482

-44.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$1,107 NOK 10.4K

-33.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$1,011 NOK 9,518

-54.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$1,947 NOK 18.3K

7.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$1,675 NOK 15.8K

-28.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$6,182 NOK 58.2K

-43.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$4,028 NOK 37.9K

-37.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$2,904 NOK 27.3K

-82.76%

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 Longyearbyen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Longyearbyen

$1K 36.7% 119% $549

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Longyearbyen

$583 21.2% 117% $314

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Longyearbyen

$352 12.8% 183% $228

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Longyearbyen

$198 7.2% 59.1% $74

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Longyearbyen

$405 14.7% 234% $284

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Longyearbyen

$84 3% 23.2% $16

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Longyearbyen

$121 4.4% 206% $81

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $1,107 in Longyearbyen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Longyearbyen pays 480% 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 $104 in Longyearbyen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $583 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇳🇴 Longyearbyen

🕒 Local time

23:57 11:57 PM

18:57 6:57 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

2,400

💱 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 Longyearbyen 8,980 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Longyearbyen

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 Longyearbyen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 128% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 480% lower in Longyearbyen. 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 $1,107 in Longyearbyen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 276% less than in Longyearbyen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $234 in Longyearbyen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,753 in Longyearbyen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Longyearbyen. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Longyearbyen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Longyearbyen 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 128% less than in Longyearbyen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.