Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Lund

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,190 a month against $1,777 in Lund, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

Phuket
🇹🇭 Thailand
$1,190
/mo nomad
Lund
🇸🇪 Sweden
$1,777
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Lund

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,190 in Phuket versus $1,777 in Lund.

  • Phuket $1,190
  • Lund $1,777

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,006 in Phuket versus $2,922 in Lund.

  • Phuket $2,006
  • Lund $2,922

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,822 in Phuket versus $4,067 in Lund.

  • Phuket $2,822
  • Lund $4,067

Living in Phuket costs roughly 33% less than in Lund, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Lund is 33% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Phuket
Lund
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$4.35 ฿146
$12.72 SEK 127
-65.80%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$32.45 ฿1,087
$91.0 SEK 909
-64.32%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.42 ฿282
$11.72 SEK 117
-28.16%
Cappuccino
$2.81 ฿94.0
$4.60 SEK 46.01
-38.91%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.87 ฿29.29
$2.79 SEK 27.88
-68.82%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.46 ฿15.39
$2.07 SEK 20.65
-77.78%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.59 ฿86.6
$8.18 SEK 81.7
-68.34%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.64 ฿122
$6.79 SEK 67.9
-46.39%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Phuket
Lund
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.71 ฿57.2
$1.63 SEK 16.28
4.91%
White Bread (500g)
$1.45 ฿48.42
$2.55 SEK 25.47
-43.14%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.56 ฿52.3
$3.38 SEK 33.74
-53.85%
Eggs
$2.10 ฿70.3
$4.57 SEK 45.63
-54.05%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$19.53 ฿654
$12.53 SEK 125
55.87%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.40 ฿114
$11.84 SEK 118
-71.28%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.14 ฿373
$15.33 SEK 153
-27.33%
Apples (1kg)
$2.83 ฿94.8
$3.06 SEK 30.63
-7.52%
Banana (1kg)
$1.62 ฿54.3
$2.58 SEK 25.82
-37.21%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.22 ฿74.5
$2.83 SEK 28.26
-21.55%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.15 ฿71.9
$4.68 SEK 46.78
-54.06%
Potato (1kg)
$1.49 ฿49.95
$1.70 SEK 16.98
-12.35%
Onion (1kg)
$1.33 ฿44.40
$1.43 SEK 14.25
-6.99%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.07 ฿35.72
$2.55 SEK 25.50
-58.04%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.51 ฿17.01
$1.52 SEK 15.20
-66.45%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.38 ฿147
$8.10 SEK 81.0
-45.93%
Wine (Bottle)
$18.77 ฿629
$11.15 SEK 111
68.34%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.74 ฿58.3
$1.85 SEK 18.50
-5.95%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.78 ฿92.9
$2.73 SEK 27.27
1.83%
🚌 Getting Around
Phuket
Lund
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$2.17 ฿72.6
$3.28 SEK 32.79
-33.84%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$22.28 ฿746
$63.3 SEK 632
-64.79%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.02 ฿101
$5.08 SEK 50.7
-40.55%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.06 ฿35.43
$1.10 SEK 11.02
-3.64%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.71 ฿124
$41.40 SEK 414
-91.04%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.43 ฿47.88
$1.80 SEK 17.97
-20.56%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$26.3K ฿882.1K
$33.1K SEK 331.0K
-20.46%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$26.2K ฿877.3K
$32.8K SEK 328.1K
-20.18%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Phuket
Lund
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$96.7 ฿3,236
$76.4 SEK 764
26.50%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$11.41 ฿382
$28.05 SEK 280
-59.32%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$17.11 ฿573
$41.33 SEK 413
-58.60%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Phuket
Lund
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$52.8 ฿1,768
$38.07 SEK 381
38.69%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$11.07 ฿371
$27.39 SEK 274
-59.58%
Cinema Ticket
$7.65 ฿256
$15.11 SEK 151
-49.37%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Phuket
Lund
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$555 ฿18.6K
$157 SEK 1,571
252.80%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.3K ฿377.7K
-
-
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Phuket
Lund
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$63.4 ฿2,123
$78.5 SEK 785
-19.24%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$28.61 ฿958
$56.6 SEK 566
-49.46%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$96.7 ฿3,238
$97.7 SEK 976
-0.99%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$88.6 ฿2,967
$121 SEK 1,213
-27.01%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Phuket
Lund
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$735 ฿24.6K
$826 SEK 8,255
-11.05%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$458 ฿15.3K
$672 SEK 6,716
-31.85%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,102 ฿70.4K
$1,697 SEK 17.0K
23.87%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,187 ฿39.7K
$1,365 SEK 13.6K
-13.02%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,493 ฿116.9K
$6,116 SEK 61.1K
-42.90%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,491 ฿83.4K
$3,597 SEK 35.9K
-30.74%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Phuket
Lund
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$501 ฿16.8K
$2,871 SEK 28.7K
-82.55%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.57
3.03
83.83%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Last update for Lund: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Phuket
$458
Lund
$672 46.7% $214
Groceries & Markets
Phuket
$268
Lund
$355 32.6% $87
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Phuket
$125
Lund
$146 16.5% $21
Clothing & Footwear
Phuket
$125
Lund
$159 27.7% $35
Eating Out
Phuket
$119
Lund
$266 123% $147
Sport & Entertainment
Phuket
$68
Lund
$68 0.3% $0.2
Getting Around
Phuket
$39
Lund
$87 122% $48

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $735 in Phuket and $826 in Lund. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lund pays 473% 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 $91.0 in Lund for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $355 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇹🇭 Phuket
🇸🇪 Lund
🕒 Local time
13:42 1:42 PM
08:42 8:42 AM
5 h behind Phuket
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
79,308
82,800
💱 Currency
Thai Baht THB ฿
Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.55 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.99 SEK (1 SEK = 0.1 USD). 1 EUR = 11.21 SEK (100 SEK = 8.92 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Phuket Lund 8,980 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Phuket
  • Lund

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 Lund: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Phuket or Lund?
Phuket wins on cost – living expenses run 49% lower than in Lund. 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 Lund?
On paper, salaries run 473% lower in Lund. 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 Lund?
Rent for a central apartment: $735 in Phuket versus $826 in Lund. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
How much does it cost to live in Phuket compared to Lund?
All in, you'll spend $1,190 per month in Phuket versus $1,777 in Lund – a 49% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
How expensive is transport in Phuket compared to Lund?
A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 184% less than in Lund. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.
Can you live on $1,500/month in Phuket or in Lund?
At $1,190 in Phuket versus $1,777 in Lund, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Lund. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Which city is better for digital nomads, Phuket or Lund?
Both work as nomad bases, but Phuket delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,190 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Phuket hard to pass up.
How safe is Phuket compared to Lund?
Safety-wise, Phuket and Lund are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is more affordable for expats?
Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Lund. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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