Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Stenungsund

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,887 in Stenungsund, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 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
91

Cost of Living Index in Stenungsund
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Stenungsund Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Stenungsund

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,887

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Stenungsund

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,887 in Stenungsund.

Phuket $1,278
Stenungsund $1,887

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,880 in Stenungsund.

Phuket $2,216
Stenungsund $2,880

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,872 in Stenungsund.

Phuket $3,154
Stenungsund $3,872

Living in Phuket costs roughly 32% less than in Stenungsund, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Stenungsund is 39% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$14.02 SEK 139

-68.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$66.8 SEK 664

-51.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$8.64 SEK 85.8

1.97%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$4.40 SEK 43.67

-35.68%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$1.47 SEK 14.60

-40.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$2.22 SEK 22.03

-77.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$7.03 SEK 69.9

-63.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$6.89 SEK 68.5

-46.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.43 SEK 14.21

16.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$3.15 SEK 31.26

-53.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$5.60 SEK 55.7

-73.21%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$5.23 SEK 51.9

-60.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$13.62 SEK 135

40.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$13.38 SEK 133

-75.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$16.96 SEK 168

-35.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$3.24 SEK 32.14

-9.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$2.67 SEK 26.49

-36.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.05 SEK 20.39

9.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$4.62 SEK 45.91

-54.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.43 SEK 14.19

5.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$1.74 SEK 17.32

-20.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$2.26 SEK 22.44

-52.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$1.82 SEK 18.04

-71.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$7.35 SEK 73.0

-42.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$8.14 SEK 80.8

130.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.00 SEK 19.89

-9.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.21 SEK 21.93

28.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$2.57 SEK 25.52

-43.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$77.9 SEK 773

-27.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$13.37 SEK 133

-77.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$2.05 SEK 20.41

-50.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$81.3 SEK 808

-95.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.76 SEK 17.48

-16.48%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$32.7K SEK 324.5K

-18.05%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$33.8K SEK 335.9K

-21.09%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$178 SEK 1,768

-45.86%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$28.89 SEK 287

-61.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$47.61 SEK 473

-64.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$37.19 SEK 369

80.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$26.84 SEK 267

-60.02%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$17.15 SEK 170

-56.27%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$219 SEK 2,176

117.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$5,035 SEK 50.0K

123.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$98.0 SEK 973

-36.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$53.0 SEK 527

-46.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$95.1 SEK 944

-0.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$218 SEK 2,169

-60.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$813 SEK 8,071

-11.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$606 SEK 6,014

-18.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$1,378 SEK 13.7K

39.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,002 SEK 9,947

42.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$3,961 SEK 39.3K

5.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$2,832 SEK 28.1K

7.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$1,935 SEK 19.2K

-74.04%

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 Stenungsund: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Stenungsund

$606 32.1% 23.4% $115

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Stenungsund

$381 20.2% 42.9% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Stenungsund

$254 13.5% 105% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Stenungsund

$209 11.1% 71.5% $87

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Stenungsund

$255 13.5% 109% $133

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Stenungsund

$72 3.8% 13% $11

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Stenungsund

$112 5.9% 58.4% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $813 in Stenungsund. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Stenungsund pays about 3.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $67 in Stenungsund for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $381 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇸🇪 Stenungsund

🕒 Local time

21:54 9:54 PM

15:54 3:54 PM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

27,842

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 SEK = 10.07 USD

100 SEK = 9.05 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.93 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.05 SEK (100 SEK = 9.05 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Stenungsund 9,060 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Stenungsund

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 Stenungsund: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 48% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 74% 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 $813 in Stenungsund. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $219 in Stenungsund. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 43% higher in Stenungsund. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,887 in Stenungsund, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Stenungsund. 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 Stenungsund 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 32% less than in Stenungsund. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.