Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Sala, Sweden

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,555 in Sala, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 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
75

Cost of Living Index in Sala
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Sala Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Sala

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,555

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Sala

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,555 in Sala.

Phuket $1,278
Sala $1,555

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,301 in Sala.

Phuket $2,216
Sala $2,301

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,046 in Sala.

Phuket $3,154
Sala $3,046

Living in Phuket costs roughly 18% less than in Sala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Sala is 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$12.16 SEK 119

-63.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$60.1 SEK 590

-46.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$9.87 SEK 96.9

-10.74%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.04 SEK 29.84

-6.91%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$1.74 SEK 17.05

-50.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$2.24 SEK 21.97

-78.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$7.19 SEK 70.5

-64.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$7.24 SEK 71.1

-49.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.72 SEK 16.89

-3.49%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$2.57 SEK 25.25

-43.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$3.42 SEK 33.61

-56.14%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$5.26 SEK 51.6

-60.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$11.30 SEK 111

68.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$12.99 SEK 127

-74.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$22.54 SEK 221

-51.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$2.90 SEK 28.43

1.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.67 SEK 26.21

-36.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.68 SEK 26.32

-16.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$4.59 SEK 45.05

-54.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.45 SEK 14.21

4.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$1.13 SEK 11.11

22.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$2.53 SEK 24.81

-57.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.03 SEK 10.14

-49.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$6.96 SEK 68.3

-39.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$6.01 SEK 59.0

212.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.01 SEK 19.70

-9.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$1.76 SEK 17.30

61.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$2.98 SEK 29.25

-51.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$20.73 SEK 203

173.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$5.86 SEK 57.5

-48.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$1.78 SEK 17.48

-42.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$81.0 SEK 795

-95.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.70 SEK 16.70

-13.53%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$33.9K SEK 332.6K

-20.99%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$33.6K SEK 330.0K

-20.63%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$178 SEK 1,742

-45.72%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$19.84 SEK 195

-43.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$39.07 SEK 383

-56.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$45.69 SEK 448

47.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$19.95 SEK 196

-46.22%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$16.33 SEK 160

-54.07%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$221 SEK 2,164

115.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$1,219 SEK 12.0K

824.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$44.53 SEK 437

40.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$34.85 SEK 342

-18.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$52.4 SEK 514

79.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$55.0 SEK 540

55.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$716 SEK 7,028

-0.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$516 SEK 5,065

-4.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$921 SEK 9,035

109.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$713 SEK 7,001

100.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$3,986 SEK 39.1K

4.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$2,798 SEK 27.5K

8.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$2,432 SEK 23.9K

-79.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.8

98.93%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Sala: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Sala

$516 33.2% 5.1% $25

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Sala

$363 23.4% 36.4% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Sala

$236 15.2% 89.9% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Sala

$84 5.4% 31% $38

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Sala

$230 14.8% 88.8% $108

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Sala

$78 5% 4.7% $3.9

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Sala

$47 3.1% 32.8% $23

Cost Breakdown

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

Sala pays about 4.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $60 in Sala for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $363 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇸🇪 Sala

🕒 Local time

07:55 7:55 AM

01:55 1:55 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

22,994

💱 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 2, 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 2, 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 Sala 8,790 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Sala

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 Sala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 18% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 79% 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 $716 in Sala. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $221 in Sala. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 36% higher in Sala. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,555 in Sala, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Sala. 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 Sala are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Sala on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.