Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Vasteras

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,818 in Vasteras, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 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
88

Cost of Living Index in Vasteras
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Vasteras Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Vasteras

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,818

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Vasteras

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,818 in Vasteras.

Phuket $1,207
Vasteras $1,818

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $2,764 in Vasteras.

Phuket $2,037
Vasteras $2,764

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $3,710 in Vasteras.

Phuket $2,867
Vasteras $3,710

Living in Phuket costs roughly 34% less than in Vasteras, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Vasteras is 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$13.70 SEK 136

-66.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$64.6 SEK 640

-49.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$9.91 SEK 98.2

-13.72%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$4.23 SEK 41.92

-35.70%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$2.25 SEK 22.27

-58.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$2.22 SEK 21.97

-77.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$7.15 SEK 70.8

-63.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$7.08 SEK 70.2

-45.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.40 SEK 13.87

24.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$3.00 SEK 29.70

-52.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$3.57 SEK 35.37

-57.14%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$3.89 SEK 38.55

-44.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$12.11 SEK 120

58.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$12.74 SEK 126

-74.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$22.30 SEK 221

-50.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$3.19 SEK 31.59

-7.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$2.53 SEK 25.05

-33.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$3.67 SEK 36.37

-37.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$4.39 SEK 43.46

-51.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$1.47 SEK 14.55

4.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$1.70 SEK 16.80

-20.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$2.18 SEK 21.62

-48.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$1.49 SEK 14.73

-63.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$7.08 SEK 70.2

-39.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$13.30 SEK 132

36.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$1.32 SEK 13.10

31.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$2.17 SEK 21.54

28.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$3.32 SEK 32.88

-33.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

$70.7 SEK 700

-68.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$3.51 SEK 34.78

-17.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$2.50 SEK 24.78

-59.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$81.0 SEK 802

-95.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$1.66 SEK 16.49

-10.24%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$33.2K SEK 328.6K

-19.56%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$32.0K SEK 317.5K

-16.63%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$183 SEK 1,817

-45.82%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$22.17 SEK 220

-49.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$43.15 SEK 428

-59.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

$34.14 SEK 338

53.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

$19.65 SEK 195

-44.78%

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$16.74 SEK 166

-54.78%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$151 SEK 1,499

268.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$4,881 SEK 48.4K

135.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$101 SEK 1,002

-37.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$40.24 SEK 399

-28.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$86.7 SEK 859

10.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$134 SEK 1,323

-34.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$750 SEK 7,429

-2.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$601 SEK 5,957

-23.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$1,366 SEK 13.5K

53.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$997 SEK 9,880

22.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

$3,564 SEK 35.3K

-2.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

$2,404 SEK 23.8K

3.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$2,996 SEK 29.7K

-83.54%

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 Vasteras: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Vasteras

$601 33.1% 30.7% $141

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Vasteras

$380 20.9% 42.2% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Vasteras

$249 13.7% 94.3% $121

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Vasteras

$163 9% 31.2% $39

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Vasteras

$258 14.2% 113% $137

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Vasteras

$68 3.7% 0.3% $0.2

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Vasteras

$100 5.5% 157% $61

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Phuket and $750 in Vasteras. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Vasteras pays 508% 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 $65.0 in Vasteras for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $380 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇸🇪 Vasteras

🕒 Local time

05:29 5:29 AM

00:29 12:29 AM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

110,877

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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 Vasteras 8,790 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Vasteras

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 Vasteras: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 51% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 508% lower in Vasteras. 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 $750 in Vasteras. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $558 in Phuket versus $151 in Vasteras. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Vasteras. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,818 in Vasteras, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Vasteras. 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 Vasteras, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Vasteras 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 51% less than in Vasteras. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.