Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Trondheim and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $3,027 in Trondheim, rent and utilities included – about $21,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

145

Cost of Living Index in Trondheim
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Trondheim Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Trondheim

🇳🇴 Norway

$3,027

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,027 in Trondheim versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Trondheim $3,027
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,390 in Trondheim versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Trondheim $4,390
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,752 in Trondheim versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Trondheim $5,752
Phuket $3,154

Living in Trondheim is roughly 137% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Trondheim is 122% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.10 NOK 194

$4.47 ฿151

372.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 NOK 996

$32.41 ฿1,093

234.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.26 NOK 149

$8.81 ฿297

84.56%

Cappuccino

$5.58 NOK 51.3

$2.83 ฿95.4

97.17%

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

$5.90 NOK 54.2

$0.87 ฿29.41

578.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.40 NOK 40.38

$0.49 ฿16.65

797.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.21 NOK 121

$2.56 ฿86.3

416.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.16 NOK 121

$3.68 ฿124

257.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.52 NOK 23.12

$1.66 ฿55.9

51.81%

White Bread (500g)

$3.55 NOK 32.58

$1.46 ฿49.31

143.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.83 NOK 35.20

$1.50 ฿50.5

155.33%

Eggs

$5.01 NOK 45.98

$2.09 ฿70.5

139.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.20 NOK 121

$19.07 ฿643

-30.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$17.00 NOK 156

$3.30 ฿111

415.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$32.32 NOK 297

$10.91 ฿368

196.24%

Apples (1kg)

$4.01 NOK 36.84

$2.93 ฿98.9

36.86%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 NOK 28.04

$1.69 ฿57.0

80.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.87 NOK 35.57

$2.25 ฿75.8

72.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.60 NOK 51.4

$2.08 ฿70.0

169.23%

Potato (1kg)

$2.98 NOK 27.36

$1.51 ฿51.0

97.35%

Onion (1kg)

$3.03 NOK 27.86

$1.38 ฿46.52

119.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.98 NOK 27.35

$1.07 ฿35.96

178.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 NOK 21.63

$0.52 ฿17.51

351.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$18.01 NOK 165

$4.20 ฿142

328.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.61 NOK 171

$18.79 ฿634

-0.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.68 NOK 33.80

$1.82 ฿61.5

102.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 NOK 41.59

$2.84 ฿95.8

59.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.86 NOK 44.61

$1.45 ฿48.98

235.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$102 NOK 940

$56.7 ฿1,912

80.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$9.63 NOK 88.5

$3.02 ฿102

218.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.64 NOK 15.09

$1.02 ฿34.33

60.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$61.7 NOK 567

$3.69 ฿125

1572.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.54 NOK 23.34

$1.47 ฿49.76

72.79%

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

$46.3K NOK 425.6K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

73.00%

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

$46.2K NOK 424.2K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

72.98%

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

$281 NOK 2,579

$96.4 ฿3,251

191.41%

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

$36.31 NOK 334

$11.26 ฿380

222.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$84.9 NOK 780

$16.85 ฿568

404.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.31 NOK 416

$67.2 ฿2,268

-32.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.99 NOK 377

$10.73 ฿362

282.01%

Cinema Ticket

$19.70 NOK 181

$7.50 ฿253

162.67%

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

$305 NOK 2,798

$476 ฿16.1K

-36.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,591 NOK 42.2K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

-59.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$109 NOK 998

$62.4 ฿2,104

74.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.4 NOK 472

$28.41 ฿958

80.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 NOK 1,112

$94.3 ฿3,181

28.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$158 NOK 1,455

$85.8 ฿2,895

84.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,635 NOK 15.0K

$716 ฿24.2K

128.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,266 NOK 11.6K

$491 ฿16.6K

157.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,320 NOK 21.3K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

20.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,817 NOK 16.7K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

27.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,610 NOK 60.7K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

58.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,997 NOK 45.9K

$3,045 ฿102.7K

64.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,392 NOK 40.3K

$502 ฿16.9K

774.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.32

5.57

-4.49%

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

Last update for Trondheim: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Trondheim

$1.3K 41.8%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 61.2% $775

Groceries & Markets

Trondheim

$519 17.2%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 48.7% $253

Eating Out

Trondheim

$418 13.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 70.9% $296

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Trondheim

$402 13.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 69% $278

Clothing & Footwear

Trondheim

$198 6.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 38.4% $76

Getting Around

Trondheim

$140 4.6%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 49.4% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Trondheim

$85 2.8%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 2.9% $2.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,635 in Trondheim and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Trondheim pays about 8.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $108 in Trondheim vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $519 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Trondheim

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

06:46 6:46 AM

12:46 12:46 PM

6 h ahead of Trondheim

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

215,121

79,308

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.88 USD

100 NOK = 9.75 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 9.19 NOK (1 NOK = 0.109 USD). 1 EUR = 10.26 NOK (100 NOK = 9.75 EUR).

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).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Trondheim Phuket 9,120 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Trondheim
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

Trondheim vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 58% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Trondheim is about 8.7 times higher, 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: $1,635 in Trondheim versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $305 in Trondheim versus $476 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 Trondheim. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $3,027 in Trondheim, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Trondheim. 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, Trondheim and Phuket 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 58% less than in Trondheim. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.