Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Stockholm

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,574 in Stockholm, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
125

Cost of Living Index in Stockholm
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Stockholm Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Stockholm

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,574

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Stockholm

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,574 in Stockholm.

Phuket $1,207
Stockholm $2,574

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $3,871 in Stockholm.

Phuket $2,037
Stockholm $3,871

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $5,167 in Stockholm.

Phuket $2,867
Stockholm $5,167

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Stockholm is 91% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$18.12 SEK 180

-74.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$99.6 SEK 986

-67.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$11.76 SEK 117

-27.30%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$4.95 SEK 49.03

-45.05%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$3.68 SEK 36.46

-74.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$3.16 SEK 31.28

-84.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$8.05 SEK 79.8

-67.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$8.82 SEK 87.4

-56.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.80 SEK 17.80

-3.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$3.88 SEK 38.43

-63.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$3.83 SEK 37.99

-60.05%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$5.14 SEK 50.9

-57.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$12.45 SEK 123

53.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$12.63 SEK 125

-73.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$21.90 SEK 217

-49.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$3.47 SEK 34.41

-14.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$2.74 SEK 27.15

-38.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$3.08 SEK 30.54

-25.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$4.48 SEK 44.41

-52.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$1.77 SEK 17.54

-13.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$1.79 SEK 17.70

-24.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$2.40 SEK 23.76

-53.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$2.37 SEK 23.50

-76.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$8.72 SEK 86.4

-51.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$11.99 SEK 119

51.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$2.11 SEK 20.90

-17.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$2.56 SEK 25.34

8.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$4.34 SEK 42.96

-48.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

$107 SEK 1,063

-79.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$5.74 SEK 56.9

-49.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$1.47 SEK 14.58

-31.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$57.1 SEK 566

-93.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$1.80 SEK 17.86

-17.22%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$32.4K SEK 321.2K

-17.69%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$33.6K SEK 332.8K

-20.47%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$249 SEK 2,469

-60.12%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$21.60 SEK 214

-47.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$40.18 SEK 398

-56.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

$46.98 SEK 466

11.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

$38.15 SEK 378

-71.56%

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$19.09 SEK 189

-60.35%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$158 SEK 1,569

252.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$16.4K SEK 162.0K

-29.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$111 SEK 1,104

-43.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$59.0 SEK 584

-51.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$138 SEK 1,364

-30.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$186 SEK 1,847

-52.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$1,658 SEK 16.4K

-56.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$1,079 SEK 10.7K

-57.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$2,982 SEK 29.5K

-29.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$1,746 SEK 17.3K

-30.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

$11.3K SEK 111.8K

-69.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

$6,332 SEK 62.7K

-60.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$3,583 SEK 35.5K

-86.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.37

65.28%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Stockholm: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Stockholm

$1.1K 41.9% 135% $619

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Stockholm

$414 16.1% 54.7% $146

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Stockholm

$311 12.1% 143% $183

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Stockholm

$222 8.6% 79.4% $98

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Stockholm

$325 12.6% 168% $204

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Stockholm

$85 3.3% 26.3% $18

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Stockholm

$138 5.4% 254% $99

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Phuket and $1,658 in Stockholm. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Stockholm pays 627% 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 $100 in Stockholm for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $414 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇸🇪 Stockholm

🕒 Local time

18:49 6:49 PM

13:49 1:49 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

984,748 Capital

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Stockholm 8,710 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Stockholm

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 Stockholm: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 113% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 627% lower in Stockholm. 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 $1,658 in Stockholm. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $558 in Phuket versus $158 in Stockholm. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 55% higher in Stockholm. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,574 in Stockholm, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Stockholm. 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 Stockholm, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Stockholm 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 113% less than in Stockholm. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.