Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Visby

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,724 in Visby, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 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
83

Cost of Living Index in Visby
Learn more

Visby Living Index

Jump to prices

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Visby

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,724

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Visby

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,724 in Visby.

Phuket $1,278
Visby $1,724

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,717 in Visby.

Phuket $2,216
Visby $2,717

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,709 in Visby.

Phuket $3,154
Visby $3,709

Living in Phuket costs roughly 26% less than in Visby, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Visby is 27% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$12.84 SEK 126

-65.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$79.2 SEK 777

-59.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$9.24 SEK 90.8

-4.65%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.83 SEK 37.58

-26.11%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$2.34 SEK 23.00

-62.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$2.54 SEK 24.92

-80.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$7.55 SEK 74.1

-66.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$4.06 SEK 39.82

-9.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.47 SEK 14.42

12.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$2.92 SEK 28.71

-50.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$3.06 SEK 30.06

-50.98%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$3.82 SEK 37.50

-45.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$10.14 SEK 99.5

88.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$11.64 SEK 114

-71.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$16.22 SEK 159

-32.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$2.95 SEK 28.98

-0.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.54 SEK 24.92

-33.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$3.09 SEK 30.38

-27.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$4.31 SEK 42.36

-51.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.72 SEK 16.92

-12.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$1.67 SEK 16.37

-17.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$2.13 SEK 20.95

-49.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$1.03 SEK 10.16

-49.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$5.01 SEK 49.21

-16.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$11.85 SEK 116

58.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$2.20 SEK 21.59

-17.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.53 SEK 15.02

85.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$2.98 SEK 29.31

-51.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$78.1 SEK 767

-27.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.44 SEK 33.82

-12.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$2.47 SEK 24.30

-58.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$79.8 SEK 783

-95.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.81 SEK 17.79

-18.78%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$33.5K SEK 329.1K

-20.09%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$33.6K SEK 329.7K

-20.51%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$185 SEK 1,813

-47.81%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$22.66 SEK 223

-50.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$42.60 SEK 418

-60.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$37.83 SEK 371

77.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$26.46 SEK 260

-59.45%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$13.79 SEK 135

-45.61%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$149 SEK 1,467

218.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$4,977 SEK 48.9K

126.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$103 SEK 1,009

-39.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$39.66 SEK 389

-28.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$89.1 SEK 875

5.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$137 SEK 1,344

-37.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$715 SEK 7,018

0.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$556 SEK 5,458

-11.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,338 SEK 13.1K

43.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,036 SEK 10.2K

38.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$4,002 SEK 39.3K

4.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$2,746 SEK 27.0K

10.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$2,491 SEK 24.5K

-79.84%

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 26, 2026

Last update for Visby: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Visby

$556 32.2% 13.2% $65

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Visby

$340 19.7% 27.6% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Visby

$250 14.5% 101% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Visby

$166 9.6% 36% $44

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Visby

$242 14% 98.6% $120

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Visby

$65 3.8% 20.5% $17

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Visby

$106 6.1% 50% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $715 in Visby. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Visby pays about 5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $79 in Visby for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $340 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇸🇪 Visby

🕒 Local time

15:31 3:31 PM

09:31 9:31 AM

6 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

22,593

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 SEK = 10.18 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.82 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 Visby 8,680 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Visby

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 Visby: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 26% 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 80% 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 $715 in Visby. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $149 in Visby. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 28% higher in Visby. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,724 in Visby, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Visby. 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 Visby are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Phuket wins on affordability, Visby on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.