Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Malmo

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,092 in Malmo, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in Malmo
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Malmo Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Malmo

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,092

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Malmo

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

A single person spends $1,278 per month in Phuket vs $2,092 in Malmo, rent included.

Phuket $1,278
Malmo $2,092

A couple spends around $2,216 per month in Phuket vs $3,149 in Malmo, rent included.

Phuket $2,216
Malmo $3,149

A family of three spends $3,154 per month in Phuket vs $4,206 in Malmo, rent included.

Phuket $3,154
Malmo $4,206

Phuket is about 39% cheaper than Malmo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Phuket sits 6% below the global median, while Malmo is 54% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$15.17 SEK 149

-70.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$76.1 SEK 746

-57.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$12.18 SEK 120

-27.67%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$4.94 SEK 48.44

-42.71%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$3.50 SEK 34.36

-75.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$2.70 SEK 26.51

-81.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$8.69 SEK 85.3

-70.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$9.11 SEK 89.4

-59.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.67 SEK 16.36

-0.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$2.84 SEK 27.91

-48.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$3.44 SEK 33.76

-56.40%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$4.12 SEK 40.42

-49.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$13.17 SEK 129

44.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$11.85 SEK 116

-72.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$21.25 SEK 209

-48.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$2.97 SEK 29.11

-1.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.63 SEK 25.76

-35.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.94 SEK 28.85

-23.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$4.26 SEK 41.77

-51.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.63 SEK 15.97

-7.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$1.55 SEK 15.26

-10.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$2.51 SEK 24.65

-57.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.18 SEK 11.55

-55.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$8.17 SEK 80.2

-48.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$11.38 SEK 112

65.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.05 SEK 20.11

-11.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$2.37 SEK 23.29

19.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$3.22 SEK 31.65

-54.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$63.9 SEK 627

-11.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$6.05 SEK 59.4

-50.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$2.48 SEK 24.37

-58.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$49.44 SEK 485

-92.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.79 SEK 17.55

-17.88%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$32.6K SEK 320.3K

-17.96%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$33.3K SEK 326.5K

-19.77%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$144 SEK 1,412

-33.02%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$25.21 SEK 247

-55.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$40.19 SEK 394

-58.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$39.31 SEK 386

71.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$29.48 SEK 289

-63.60%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$17.12 SEK 168

-56.19%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$168 SEK 1,651

182.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$3,352 SEK 32.9K

236.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$102 SEK 1,001

-38.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$45.62 SEK 448

-37.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$111 SEK 1,086

-14.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$156 SEK 1,533

-45.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$1,100 SEK 10.8K

-34.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$852 SEK 8,363

-42.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,765 SEK 17.3K

9.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,343 SEK 13.2K

6.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$4,098 SEK 40.2K

1.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$3,158 SEK 31.0K

-3.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$2,979 SEK 29.2K

-83.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.05

82.62%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Malmo: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Malmo

$852 40.8% 73.6% $361

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Malmo

$371 17.8% 39.5% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Malmo

$209 10% 68.1% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Malmo

$187 8.9% 53% $65

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Malmo

$304 14.5% 149% $182

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Malmo

$74 3.5% 10.6% $8.7

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Malmo

$95 4.6% 35% $25

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $716 in Phuket versus $1,100 in Malmo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Malmo are about 5.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Phuket versus $76 in Malmo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $266 vs $371 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇸🇪 Malmo

🕒 Local time

06:08 6:08 AM

00:08 12:08 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

316,588

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 SEK = 10.19 USD

100 SEK = 9.13 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

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

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 9.81 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 SEK (100 SEK = 9.13 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Malmo 9,000 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Malmo

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 Malmo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Malmo costs about 64% more than Phuket, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. 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 $3,138 in Malmo. 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 $1,100 in Malmo.

Kindergarten costs $476 per month in Phuket and $168 in Malmo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 39% more in Malmo, 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 Malmo at $2,092. In Phuket it covers expenses comfortably, while in Malmo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Phuket costs $1,278 versus $2,092 in Malmo. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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