Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Tonsberg

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $2,630 in Tonsberg, rent and utilities included – about $17,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index
127

Cost of Living Index in Tonsberg
Learn more

Tonsberg Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Tonsberg

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,630

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Tonsberg

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,630 in Tonsberg.

Phuket $1,208
Tonsberg $2,630

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $3,815 in Tonsberg.

Phuket $2,027
Tonsberg $3,815

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $5,000 in Tonsberg.

Phuket $2,845
Tonsberg $5,000

Living in Phuket costs roughly 54% less than in Tonsberg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Tonsberg is 94% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$20.94 NOK 197

-78.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$105 NOK 991

-69.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$15.53 NOK 146

-43.59%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$5.45 NOK 51.3

-48.07%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$5.61 NOK 52.8

-83.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$5.37 NOK 50.6

-91.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$11.46 NOK 108

-77.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$10.27 NOK 96.7

-62.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$2.47 NOK 23.28

-29.96%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$3.72 NOK 35.01

-60.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$3.85 NOK 36.24

-60.78%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$4.86 NOK 45.78

-55.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$12.96 NOK 122

52.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$15.73 NOK 148

-78.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$31.41 NOK 296

-64.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$3.22 NOK 30.33

-11.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$2.57 NOK 24.20

-33.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$3.38 NOK 31.79

-35.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$4.78 NOK 45.04

-57.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$2.52 NOK 23.75

-42.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$2.79 NOK 26.26

-50.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$2.93 NOK 27.54

-63.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$2.35 NOK 22.15

-78.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$17.24 NOK 162

-75.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$16.69 NOK 157

11.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$3.49 NOK 32.82

-49.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$4.14 NOK 38.94

-31.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$4.55 NOK 42.80

-50.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$84.5 NOK 795

-73.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$11.70 NOK 110

-74.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$1.78 NOK 16.77

-40.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$70.5 NOK 664

-94.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$2.35 NOK 22.13

-38.30%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$47.7K NOK 448.8K

-44.78%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$43.9K NOK 413.4K

-38.65%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$267 NOK 2,513

-63.89%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$33.09 NOK 312

-66.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$53.8 NOK 506

-68.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$49.11 NOK 462

6.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$37.03 NOK 349

-69.86%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$17.21 NOK 162

-54.62%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$238 NOK 2,236

134.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$12.8K NOK 120.8K

-9.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$99.7 NOK 938

-35.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$55.8 NOK 525

-48.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$123 NOK 1,159

-22.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$156 NOK 1,469

-43.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$1,187 NOK 11.2K

-37.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$983 NOK 9,254

-52.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$1,474 NOK 13.9K

42.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$1,277 NOK 12.0K

-6.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$6,073 NOK 57.2K

-42.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$4,046 NOK 38.1K

-37.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$4,435 NOK 41.7K

-88.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.94

12.75%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Tonsberg: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Tonsberg

$983 37.4% 113% $521

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Tonsberg

$490 18.6% 82.3% $221

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Tonsberg

$354 13.5% 184% $229

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Tonsberg

$196 7.4% 57.4% $71

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Tonsberg

$401 15.3% 231% $280

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Tonsberg

$84 3.2% 23.2% $16

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Tonsberg

$123 4.7% 213% $84

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $1,187 in Tonsberg. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tonsberg pays 786% 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 $105 in Tonsberg for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $490 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇳🇴 Tonsberg

🕒 Local time

08:11 8:11 AM

03:11 3:11 AM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

59,237

💱 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 24, 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 24, 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 Tonsberg 9,150 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Tonsberg

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 Tonsberg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 118% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 786% lower in Tonsberg. 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: $737 in Phuket versus $1,187 in Tonsberg. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $238 in Tonsberg. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 82% higher in Tonsberg. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $2,630 in Tonsberg, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Tonsberg. 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 Tonsberg, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Tonsberg 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 118% less than in Tonsberg. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.