Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Trollhattan

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,527 in Trollhattan, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Trollhattan
Learn more

Trollhattan Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Trollhattan

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Trollhattan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,527 in Trollhattan.

Phuket $1,207
Trollhattan $1,527

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $2,365 in Trollhattan.

Phuket $2,037
Trollhattan $2,365

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $3,203 in Trollhattan.

Phuket $2,867
Trollhattan $3,203

Living in Phuket costs roughly 21% less than in Trollhattan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Trollhattan is 13% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$11.79 SEK 117

-61.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$78.5 SEK 778

-58.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$11.10 SEK 110

-22.97%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$2.44 SEK 24.18

11.48%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$1.27 SEK 12.53

-25.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$1.31 SEK 12.97

-62.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$7.56 SEK 75.0

-65.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$7.43 SEK 73.6

-48.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.38 SEK 13.67

26.09%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$2.17 SEK 21.51

-34.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$2.62 SEK 26.00

-41.60%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.73 SEK 36.99

-41.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$9.57 SEK 94.9

100.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$8.80 SEK 87.2

-62.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$14.99 SEK 148

-25.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$1.27 SEK 12.59

132.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$2.44 SEK 24.15

-31.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$2.73 SEK 27.08

-15.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$2.35 SEK 23.29

-9.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$1.46 SEK 14.50

4.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$1.18 SEK 11.66

15.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$1.97 SEK 19.54

-43.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$1.09 SEK 10.78

-49.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$7.38 SEK 73.2

-42.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$7.78 SEK 77.1

133.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$1.41 SEK 13.95

23.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$1.94 SEK 19.23

43.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$3.55 SEK 35.22

-37.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

$80.2 SEK 794

-72.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$3.58 SEK 35.46

-18.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$1.74 SEK 17.28

-41.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$53.4 SEK 529

-92.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$1.79 SEK 17.76

-16.76%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$32.7K SEK 324.0K

-18.41%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$32.9K SEK 326.1K

-18.83%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$178 SEK 1,768

-44.31%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$22.42 SEK 222

-49.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$34.23 SEK 339

-49.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

$33.45 SEK 331

56.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

$33.25 SEK 329

-67.37%

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$14.71 SEK 146

-48.54%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$150 SEK 1,489

271.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$5,009 SEK 49.6K

129.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$97.1 SEK 962

-35.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$39.31 SEK 390

-27.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$85.5 SEK 847

12.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$89.3 SEK 885

-1.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$620 SEK 6,141

17.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$486 SEK 4,811

-5.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$1,016 SEK 10.1K

106.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$785 SEK 7,782

55.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

$2,911 SEK 28.8K

18.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

$2,524 SEK 25.0K

-1.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$3,116 SEK 30.9K

-84.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.53

57.79%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Trollhattan: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Trollhattan

$486 31.8% 5.6% $26

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Trollhattan

$276 18.1% 3.3% $8.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Trollhattan

$235 15.4% 83.6% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Trollhattan

$140 9.2% 12.9% $16

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Trollhattan

$220 14.4% 81.3% $99

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Trollhattan

$63 4.1% 6.7% $4.6

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Trollhattan

$107 7% 174% $68

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Phuket and $620 in Trollhattan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Trollhattan pays 532% 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 $78.0 in Trollhattan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $276 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇸🇪 Trollhattan

🕒 Local time

15:32 3:32 PM

10:32 10:32 AM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

44,498

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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 Trollhattan 9,030 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Trollhattan

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 Trollhattan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 26% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 532% lower in Trollhattan. 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 $620 in Trollhattan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $558 in Phuket versus $150 in Trollhattan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Trollhattan. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,527 in Trollhattan, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Trollhattan. 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 Trollhattan, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Trollhattan 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 26% less than in Trollhattan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.