Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Mandal

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $2,725 in Mandal, rent and utilities included – about $17,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
136

Cost of Living Index in Mandal
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Mandal Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Mandal

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,725

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Mandal

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,725 in Mandal.

Phuket $1,278
Mandal $2,725

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $4,267 in Mandal.

Phuket $2,216
Mandal $4,267

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $5,809 in Mandal.

Phuket $3,154
Mandal $5,809

Living in Phuket costs roughly 53% less than in Mandal, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Mandal is 100% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$25.01 NOK 231

-82.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,092

$98.7 NOK 913

-67.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$16.02 NOK 148

-45.01%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.3

$6.34 NOK 58.6

-55.36%

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

$0.87 ฿29.37

$5.72 NOK 52.9

-84.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.64

$4.69 NOK 43.37

-89.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.2

$13.93 NOK 129

-81.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$10.59 NOK 97.9

-65.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$2.24 NOK 20.71

-25.89%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.25

$3.50 NOK 32.36

-58.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.4

$3.90 NOK 36.05

-61.54%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.4

$3.20 NOK 29.59

-34.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿642

$13.80 NOK 128

38.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$17.23 NOK 159

-80.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$36.02 NOK 333

-69.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.7

$3.69 NOK 34.15

-20.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.9

$2.79 NOK 25.81

-39.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.7

$3.51 NOK 32.50

-35.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$5.06 NOK 46.79

-58.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.9

$2.67 NOK 24.66

-43.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.47

$3.20 NOK 29.60

-56.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.91

$1.60 NOK 14.77

-33.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.49

$2.31 NOK 21.33

-77.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$18.32 NOK 169

-77.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿633

$18.74 NOK 173

0.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.4

$3.26 NOK 30.20

-44.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.7

$3.00 NOK 27.78

-5.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$4.18 NOK 38.71

-65.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,909

$97.6 NOK 903

-41.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$6.07 NOK 56.2

-50.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.29

$1.28 NOK 11.83

-20.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿124

$106 NOK 977

-96.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.70

$2.28 NOK 21.06

-35.53%

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

$26.8K ฿902.4K

$49.7K NOK 460.0K

-46.15%

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

$26.7K ฿899.5K

$42.6K NOK 394.4K

-37.39%

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

$96.4 ฿3,247

$247 NOK 2,284

-60.97%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$34.68 NOK 321

-67.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$80.0 NOK 740

-78.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,266

$49.47 NOK 458

35.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿361

$38.91 NOK 360

-72.42%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$22.61 NOK 209

-66.83%

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

$476 ฿16.0K

$333 NOK 3,080

42.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.6K

$14.6K NOK 134.8K

-22.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,102

$130 NOK 1,203

-52.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿957

$62.2 NOK 576

-54.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,178

$147 NOK 1,357

-35.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,892

$202 NOK 1,868

-57.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.1K

$1,277 NOK 11.8K

-43.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.5K

$937 NOK 8,669

-47.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿64.9K

$2,009 NOK 18.6K

-4.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.2K

$1,819 NOK 16.8K

-21.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.7K

$5,862 NOK 54.2K

-28.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.6K

$4,360 NOK 40.3K

-30.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$4,450 NOK 41.2K

-88.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.24

6.30%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mandal: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Mandal

$937 34.4% 90.9% $446

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Mandal

$504 18.5% 89.4% $238

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Mandal

$362 13.3% 191% $237

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Mandal

$243 8.9% 99.7% $122

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Mandal

$457 16.8% 275% $335

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Mandal

$95 3.5% 15.2% $12

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Mandal

$127 4.7% 79.6% $56

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $1,277 in Mandal. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mandal pays about 8.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $99 in Mandal for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $504 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇳🇴 Mandal

🕒 Local time

12:25 12:25 PM

06:25 6:25 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

11,477

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

100 NOK = 10.81 USD

100 NOK = 9.71 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 9.25 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.3 NOK (100 NOK = 9.71 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Mandal 9,320 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Mandal

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 Mandal: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 53% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 89% 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $716 in Phuket versus $1,277 in Mandal. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,278 per month in Phuket versus $2,725 in Mandal – Phuket is about 53% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 42% less than in Mandal. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $2,725 in Mandal, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Mandal. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Mandal are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 53% less than in Mandal. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.