Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Tumba

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,301 a month against $1,929 in Tumba, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 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
92

Cost of Living Index in Tumba
Learn more

Tumba Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,301

/mo nomad

Tumba

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,929

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Tumba

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,301 in Phuket versus $1,929 in Tumba.

Phuket $1,301
Tumba $1,929

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,238 in Phuket versus $2,940 in Tumba.

Phuket $2,238
Tumba $2,940

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,175 in Phuket versus $3,952 in Tumba.

Phuket $3,175
Tumba $3,952

Living in Phuket costs roughly 33% less than in Tumba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 3% below, Tumba is 44% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿150

$14.27 SEK 140

-68.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.98 ฿1,103

$65.6 SEK 642

-49.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.46 ฿283

$10.20 SEK 99.9

-17.06%

Cappuccino

$2.74 ฿91.6

$4.35 SEK 42.53

-37.01%

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

$0.97 ฿32.43

$2.72 SEK 26.67

-64.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.46

$2.29 SEK 22.37

-75.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿84.6

$7.12 SEK 69.7

-64.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿123

$7.31 SEK 71.5

-49.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 ฿56.0

$1.81 SEK 17.73

-7.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.25

$3.06 SEK 29.93

-53.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.5

$3.96 SEK 38.72

-59.60%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.6

$5.31 SEK 51.9

-59.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.79 ฿662

$12.72 SEK 125

55.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.38 ฿113

$13.25 SEK 130

-74.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.03 ฿369

$17.23 SEK 169

-35.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.0

$3.26 SEK 31.93

-10.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.6

$2.71 SEK 26.48

-37.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.29 ฿76.7

$2.08 SEK 20.37

10.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.15 ฿72.0

$4.65 SEK 45.48

-53.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 ฿50.9

$1.51 SEK 14.78

0.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.32 ฿44.16

$1.82 SEK 17.86

-27.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.58

$2.35 SEK 22.96

-52.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.38

$1.86 SEK 18.16

-72.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.33 ฿145

$7.48 SEK 73.2

-42.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.47 ฿618

$10.20 SEK 99.9

81.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 ฿59.0

$2.01 SEK 19.71

-12.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿92.9

$2.37 SEK 23.16

17.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$4.24 SEK 41.52

-65.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.1 ฿1,843

$102 SEK 1,003

-46.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.52 ฿50.9

$5.95 SEK 58.3

-74.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.73 ฿24.35

$1.55 SEK 15.14

-52.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$57.0 SEK 558

-93.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 ฿49.54

$1.78 SEK 17.40

-16.85%

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

$27.0K ฿903.2K

$33.8K SEK 330.4K

-20.01%

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

$26.5K ฿887.2K

$33.9K SEK 331.8K

-21.75%

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

$101 ฿3,368

$177 SEK 1,735

-43.20%

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

$11.17 ฿374

$22.03 SEK 216

-49.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.33 ฿580

$47.48 SEK 465

-63.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$72.6 ฿2,427

$41.79 SEK 409

73.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.26 ฿511

$26.65 SEK 261

-42.74%

Cinema Ticket

$7.86 ฿263

$17.50 SEK 171

-55.09%

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

$542 ฿18.1K

$154 SEK 1,504

252.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿628.4K

$4,882 SEK 47.8K

284.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.5 ฿2,090

$115 SEK 1,128

-45.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.83 ฿964

$54.0 SEK 528

-46.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.0 ฿3,279

$97.8 SEK 957

0.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.1 ฿2,980

$182 SEK 1,784

-51.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$738 ฿24.7K

$804 SEK 7,866

-8.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$503 ฿16.8K

$622 SEK 6,084

-19.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,941 ฿64.9K

$1,380 SEK 13.5K

40.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,424 ฿47.6K

$1,037 SEK 10.2K

37.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,216 ฿141.0K

$4,114 SEK 40.3K

2.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,296 ฿110.2K

$2,930 SEK 28.7K

12.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$496 ฿16.6K

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: November 9, 2026

Last update for Tumba: November 9, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$503 38.6%

Tumba

$622 32.2% 23.6% $119

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 20.7%

Tumba

$381 19.8% 41.5% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$129 9.9%

Tumba

$247 12.8% 91% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$125 9.6%

Tumba

$202 10.5% 61.3% $77

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Tumba

$267 13.9% 123% $147

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$88 6.8%

Tumba

$77 4% 13% $11

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Tumba

$133 6.9% 101% $67

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $738 in Phuket and $804 in Tumba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $33 in Phuket vs $66 in Tumba for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $381 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇸🇪 Tumba

🕒 Local time

01:57 1:57 AM

19:57 7:57 PM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

42,344

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 SEK = 10.22 USD

100 SEK = 9.1 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 November 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.45 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.55 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.79 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.99 SEK (100 SEK = 9.1 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Tumba 8,720 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Tumba

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 Tumba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 33% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,951 in Phuket and $2,893 in Tumba to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $738 in Phuket versus $804 in Tumba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $542 in Phuket versus $154 in Tumba. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Tumba. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,301 in Phuket versus $1,929 in Tumba, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Tumba. 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 Tumba are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Tumba. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.