Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Torshavn and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,190 a month against $2,524 in Torshavn, rent and utilities included – about $16,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

123

Cost of Living Index in Torshavn
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Torshavn Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Torshavn

🇫🇴 Faroe Islands

$2,524

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Torshavn 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 Torshavn and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,524 in Torshavn versus $1,190 in Phuket.

Torshavn $2,524
Phuket $1,190

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,982 in Torshavn versus $2,006 in Phuket.

Torshavn $3,982
Phuket $2,006

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,441 in Torshavn versus $2,822 in Phuket.

Torshavn $5,441
Phuket $2,822

Living in Torshavn is roughly 112% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Torshavn is 88% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.65 FOK 178

$4.35 ฿146

512.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$152 FOK 1,012

$32.45 ฿1,087

366.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$19.79 FOK 132

$8.42 ฿282

135.04%

Cappuccino

$6.96 FOK 46.49

$2.81 ฿94.0

147.69%

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

$3.16 FOK 21.11

$0.87 ฿29.29

263.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 FOK 17.99

$0.46 ฿15.39

484.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.37 FOK 62.6

$2.59 ฿86.6

261.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.12 FOK 61.0

$3.64 ฿122

150.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.33 FOK 15.54

$1.71 ฿57.2

36.26%

White Bread (500g)

$4.87 FOK 32.53

$1.45 ฿48.42

235.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.99 FOK 19.95

$1.56 ฿52.3

91.67%

Eggs

$6.55 FOK 43.77

$2.10 ฿70.3

211.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 FOK 110

$19.53 ฿654

-15.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.33 FOK 95.7

$3.40 ฿114

321.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.73 FOK 118

$11.14 ฿373

59.16%

Apples (1kg)

$4.09 FOK 27.31

$2.83 ฿94.8

44.52%

Banana (1kg)

$5.66 FOK 37.84

$1.62 ฿54.3

249.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.93 FOK 39.62

$2.22 ฿74.5

167.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.21 FOK 34.80

$2.15 ฿71.9

142.33%

Potato (1kg)

$3.66 FOK 24.47

$1.49 ฿49.95

145.64%

Onion (1kg)

$4.63 FOK 30.95

$1.33 ฿44.40

248.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.21 FOK 21.44

$1.07 ฿35.72

200.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.84 FOK 25.65

$0.51 ฿17.01

652.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.14 FOK 74.4

$4.38 ฿147

154.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.77 FOK 92.0

$18.77 ฿629

-26.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.13 FOK 27.60

$1.74 ฿58.3

137.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 FOK 19.57

$2.78 ฿92.9

5.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.17 ฿72.6

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.56 FOK 204

$22.28 ฿746

37.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$15.18 FOK 101

$3.02 ฿101

402.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.43

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.71 ฿124

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.70 FOK 11.36

$1.43 ฿47.88

18.88%

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

$26.3K ฿882.1K

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

$26.2K ฿877.3K

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

$130 FOK 865

$96.7 ฿3,236

34.04%

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

$44.35 FOK 296

$11.41 ฿382

288.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$90.9 FOK 607

$17.11 ฿573

431.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.3 FOK 370

$52.8 ฿1,768

4.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.07 ฿371

Cinema Ticket

$16.05 FOK 107

$7.65 ฿256

109.80%

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

$489 FOK 3,270

$555 ฿18.6K

-11.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿377.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$141 FOK 944

$63.4 ฿2,123

122.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.4 FOK 397

$28.61 ฿958

107.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$166 FOK 1,108

$96.7 ฿3,238

71.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$248 FOK 1,655

$88.6 ฿2,967

179.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,096 FOK 7,324

$735 ฿24.6K

49.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$890 FOK 5,947

$458 ฿15.3K

94.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,842 FOK 12.3K

$2,102 ฿70.4K

-12.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,411 FOK 9,425

$1,187 ฿39.7K

18.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,520 FOK 30.2K

$3,493 ฿116.9K

29.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,718 FOK 31.5K

$2,491 ฿83.4K

89.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,205 FOK 21.4K

$501 ฿16.8K

539.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

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

Last update for Torshavn: October 4, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Torshavn

$890 35.2%

Phuket

$458 38.1% 48.6% $432

Groceries & Markets

Torshavn

$522 20.6%

Phuket

$268 22.3% 48.6% $254

Eating Out

Torshavn

$445 17.6%

Phuket

$119 9.9% 73.2% $325

Clothing & Footwear

Torshavn

$276 10.9%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 54.9% $152

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Torshavn

$265 10.5%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 52.7% $140

Sport & Entertainment

Torshavn

$87 3.5%

Phuket

$68 5.7% 22.1% $19

Getting Around

Torshavn

$46 * 1.8%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 14.2% $6.5

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,096 in Torshavn and $735 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Torshavn pays 540% 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: $152 in Torshavn vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $522 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇫🇴 Torshavn

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

12:58 12:58 PM

18:58 6:58 PM

6 h ahead of Torshavn

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,145 Capital

79,308

💱 Currency

Faroese Króna FOK kr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 FOK = 0.15 USD

1 FOK = 0.134 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to FOK – Faroese Króna Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇫🇴 Faroese Króna (kr)

Faroese Króna exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 FOK (1 FOK = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 FOK (1 FOK = 0.134 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

USD to FOK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Torshavn Phuket 10,010 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Torshavn
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

Torshavn vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 112% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 540% higher in Torshavn, 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: $1,096 in Torshavn versus $735 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $489 in Torshavn versus $555 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 95% higher in Torshavn. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,190 in Phuket versus $2,524 in Torshavn, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Torshavn. 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 Torshavn, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Torshavn 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 112% less than in Torshavn. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.