Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Skien

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,336 in Skien, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 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
113

Cost of Living Index in Skien
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Skien Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Skien

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,336

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Skien

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,336 in Skien.

Phuket $1,207
Skien $2,336

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $3,267 in Skien.

Phuket $2,037
Skien $3,267

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $4,197 in Skien.

Phuket $2,867
Skien $4,197

Living in Phuket costs roughly 48% less than in Skien, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Skien is 73% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$21.21 NOK 200

-78.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$103 NOK 971

-68.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$15.47 NOK 146

-44.73%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$5.11 NOK 48.11

-46.77%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$4.36 NOK 41.01

-78.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$2.97 NOK 27.96

-83.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$11.89 NOK 112

-78.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$12.33 NOK 116

-68.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$2.11 NOK 19.84

-17.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$3.92 NOK 36.90

-63.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$4.57 NOK 42.98

-66.52%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$5.66 NOK 53.3

-61.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$13.16 NOK 124

45.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$15.17 NOK 143

-78.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$21.79 NOK 205

-48.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$3.35 NOK 31.49

-11.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$2.70 NOK 25.42

-37.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$3.49 NOK 32.86

-34.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$5.95 NOK 56.0

-64.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$2.24 NOK 21.04

-31.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$2.78 NOK 26.12

-51.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$3.04 NOK 28.63

-63.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$2.48 NOK 23.33

-77.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$19.02 NOK 179

-77.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$15.76 NOK 148

15.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$3.35 NOK 31.58

-48.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$4.33 NOK 40.76

-35.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$3.26 NOK 30.64

-31.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

$47.91 NOK 451

-53.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$11.13 NOK 105

-73.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$1.81 NOK 17.02

-44.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$70.8 NOK 667

-94.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$2.27 NOK 21.39

-34.36%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$47.5K NOK 447.3K

-43.85%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$43.4K NOK 408.1K

-38.39%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$93.9 NOK 884

5.87%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$33.89 NOK 319

-66.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$53.6 NOK 504

-67.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

$43.10 NOK 406

21.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$15.29 NOK 144

-50.49%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$239 NOK 2,247

133.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$15.7K NOK 148.1K

-26.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$63.7 NOK 600

-1.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$60.4 NOK 568

-52.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$87.9 NOK 827

9.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$153 NOK 1,442

-42.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$1,042 NOK 9,811

-30.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$975 NOK 9,183

-52.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$1,035 NOK 9,746

102.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$939 NOK 8,841

30.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

$3,395 NOK 32.0K

1.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

$3,149 NOK 29.6K

-20.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$4,236 NOK 39.9K

-88.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.37

27.46%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Skien: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Skien

$975 41.8% 112% $516

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Skien

$470 20.1% 75.5% $202

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Skien

$181 7.8% 41.6% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Skien

$164 7% 32.4% $40

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Skien

$391 16.7% 222% $270

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Skien

$74 3.2% 9.3% $6.3

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Skien

$81 3.5% 109% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Phuket and $1,042 in Skien. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Skien pays 759% 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 $103 in Skien for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $470 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇳🇴 Skien

🕒 Local time

22:45 10:45 PM

17:45 5:45 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

56,769

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Skien 9,190 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Skien

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 Skien: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 94% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 759% lower in Skien. 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: $729 in Phuket versus $1,042 in Skien. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $558 in Phuket versus $239 in Skien. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 76% higher in Skien. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,336 in Skien, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Skien. 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 Skien, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Skien 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 94% less than in Skien. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.