Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sandefjord and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,549 in Sandefjord, rent and utilities included – about $16,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

123

Cost of Living Index in Sandefjord
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Sandefjord Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Sandefjord

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,549

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sandefjord and in Phuket

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Sandefjord and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,549 in Sandefjord versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Sandefjord $2,549
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,748 in Sandefjord versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Sandefjord $3,748
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,948 in Sandefjord versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Sandefjord $4,948
Phuket $2,867

Living in Sandefjord is roughly 111% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sandefjord is 89% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.53 NOK 193

$4.58 ฿153

348.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$125 NOK 1,179

$32.48 ฿1,086

285.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.78 NOK 149

$8.55 ฿286

84.56%

Cappuccino

$5.68 NOK 53.4

$2.72 ฿91.0

108.82%

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

$4.17 NOK 39.30

$0.94 ฿31.25

343.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 NOK 20.19

$0.49 ฿16.39

338.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$10.05 NOK 94.6

$2.59 ฿86.6

288.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.31 NOK 97.1

$3.83 ฿128

169.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.12 NOK 19.97

$1.74 ฿58.1

21.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.57 NOK 24.18

$1.43 ฿47.82

79.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.14 NOK 38.93

$1.53 ฿51.0

170.59%

Eggs

$4.08 NOK 38.44

$2.17 ฿72.7

88.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.78 NOK 139

$19.15 ฿640

-22.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.66 NOK 147

$3.30 ฿110

374.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$30.89 NOK 291

$11.14 ฿372

177.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 NOK 20.27

$2.95 ฿98.5

-27.12%

Banana (1kg)

$2.68 NOK 25.27

$1.68 ฿56.1

59.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 NOK 20.56

$2.30 ฿76.8

-5.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.85 NOK 26.80

$2.13 ฿71.3

33.80%

Potato (1kg)

$1.12 NOK 10.50

$1.53 ฿51.1

-26.80%

Onion (1kg)

$2.68 NOK 25.26

$1.36 ฿45.55

97.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.09 NOK 29.09

$1.12 ฿37.44

175.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.38 NOK 22.36

$0.55 ฿18.24

332.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$15.81 NOK 149

$4.26 ฿142

271.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.05 NOK 123

$18.19 ฿608

-28.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.53 NOK 33.21

$1.74 ฿58.2

102.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.14 NOK 39.00

$2.79 ฿93.3

48.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.10 NOK 47.96

$2.22 ฿74.1

129.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.5 NOK 626

$22.06 ฿737

201.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$11.71 NOK 110

$2.91 ฿97.3

302.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 NOK 16.76

$1.01 ฿33.79

76.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$48.90 NOK 460

$3.83 ฿128

1176.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 NOK 21.22

$1.49 ฿49.85

51.01%

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

$47.4K NOK 446.0K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

77.58%

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

$41.6K NOK 391.8K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

55.82%

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

$264 NOK 2,487

$99.4 ฿3,321

165.83%

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

$33.62 NOK 317

$11.28 ฿377

198.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.0 NOK 508

$17.36 ฿580

211.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.5 NOK 475

$52.3 ฿1,747

-3.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$56.9 NOK 535

$10.85 ฿362

424.24%

Cinema Ticket

$15.54 NOK 146

$7.57 ฿253

105.28%

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

$232 NOK 2,186

$558 ฿18.7K

-58.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,887 NOK 46.0K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-57.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 NOK 949

$62.9 ฿2,102

60.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.41 NOK 418

$28.58 ฿955

55.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.0 NOK 753

$96.1 ฿3,213

-16.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$153 NOK 1,443

$88.1 ฿2,943

74.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,213 NOK 11.4K

$729 ฿24.4K

66.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 NOK 9,556

$460 ฿15.4K

120.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,539 NOK 14.5K

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-26.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,339 NOK 12.6K

$1,222 ฿40.8K

9.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,273 NOK 59.1K

$3,459 ฿115.6K

81.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,696 NOK 34.8K

$2,489 ฿83.2K

48.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,976 NOK 37.4K

$493 ฿16.5K

706.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.38

5.57

-21.36%

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

Last update for Sandefjord: October 11, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sandefjord

$1K 39.8%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 54.7% $555

Groceries & Markets

Sandefjord

$447 17.5%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 40.1% $179

Eating Out

Sandefjord

$376 14.8%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 67.7% $255

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sandefjord

$352 13.8%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 63.6% $224

Clothing & Footwear

Sandefjord

$170 6.7%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 27.2% $46

Getting Around

Sandefjord

$107 4.2%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 63.8% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Sandefjord

$82 3.2%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 17.3% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,213 in Sandefjord and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sandefjord pays 706% 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: $125 in Sandefjord vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $447 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Sandefjord

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

21:41 9:41 PM

02:41 2:41 AM

5 h ahead of Sandefjord

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

66,366

79,308

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sandefjord Phuket 9,150 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Sandefjord
Phuket

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

Sandefjord vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 111% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 706% higher in Sandefjord, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,213 in Sandefjord versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $232 in Sandefjord versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 67% higher in Sandefjord. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,549 in Sandefjord, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Sandefjord. 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 Sandefjord, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Sandefjord and Phuket 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 111% less than in Sandefjord. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.