Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Varnamo

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,692 in Varnamo, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 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
81

Cost of Living Index in Varnamo
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Varnamo Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Varnamo

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Varnamo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,692 in Varnamo.

Phuket $1,278
Varnamo $1,692

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,672 in Varnamo.

Phuket $2,216
Varnamo $2,672

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,652 in Varnamo.

Phuket $3,154
Varnamo $3,652

Living in Phuket costs roughly 24% less than in Varnamo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Varnamo is 24% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$13.01 SEK 128

-65.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$89.7 SEK 880

-63.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$12.23 SEK 120

-27.96%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$4.68 SEK 45.91

-39.53%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$2.72 SEK 26.67

-68.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$2.13 SEK 20.90

-77.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$7.81 SEK 76.7

-67.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$7.08 SEK 69.5

-48.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.71 SEK 16.83

-2.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$2.50 SEK 24.51

-41.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$3.54 SEK 34.78

-57.63%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$4.63 SEK 45.42

-54.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$12.57 SEK 123

51.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$11.73 SEK 115

-71.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$15.69 SEK 154

-30.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$3.11 SEK 30.55

-5.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.55 SEK 25.01

-33.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.82 SEK 27.66

-20.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$4.52 SEK 44.35

-53.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.72 SEK 16.92

-12.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$1.41 SEK 13.85

-2.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$2.57 SEK 25.23

-58.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.52 SEK 14.95

-65.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$7.81 SEK 76.7

-46.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$11.14 SEK 109

68.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.93 SEK 18.99

-5.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$2.64 SEK 25.94

7.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$3.19 SEK 31.33

-54.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$74.7 SEK 733

-24.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$5.04 SEK 49.48

-40.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$1.08 SEK 10.58

-5.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$41.06 SEK 403

-91.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.72 SEK 16.87

-14.53%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$33.6K SEK 329.5K

-20.25%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$34.2K SEK 336.1K

-22.06%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$77.0 SEK 755

25.21%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$17.22 SEK 169

-34.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$30.45 SEK 299

-44.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$39.03 SEK 383

72.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$22.33 SEK 219

-51.95%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$15.36 SEK 151

-51.17%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$157 SEK 1,539

203.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$4,450 SEK 43.7K

153.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$80.4 SEK 789

-22.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$56.8 SEK 557

-49.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$99.9 SEK 980

-5.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$123 SEK 1,208

-30.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$794 SEK 7,795

-9.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$612 SEK 6,003

-19.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,178 SEK 11.6K

63.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$985 SEK 9,664

45.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$4,023 SEK 39.5K

3.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$2,853 SEK 28.0K

6.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$2,032 SEK 19.9K

-75.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.03

83.83%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Varnamo: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Varnamo

$612 36.2% 24.6% $121

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Varnamo

$357 21.1% 34% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Varnamo

$125 7.4% 0.1% $0.2

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Varnamo

$162 9.6% 33% $40

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Varnamo

$269 15.9% 121% $148

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Varnamo

$70 4.1% 15.2% $12

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Varnamo

$98 5.8% 38.7% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $794 in Varnamo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Varnamo pays about 4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $90 in Varnamo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $357 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇸🇪 Varnamo

🕒 Local time

05:14 5:14 AM

23:14 11:14 PM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

19,778

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 SEK = 10.19 USD

100 SEK = 9.13 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 9.81 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 SEK (100 SEK = 9.13 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phuket Varnamo 8,930 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Varnamo

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 Varnamo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 24% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 75% 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 $794 in Varnamo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $157 in Varnamo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 34% higher in Varnamo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,692 in Varnamo, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Varnamo. 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 Varnamo 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 24% less than in Varnamo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.