Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ulsteinvik and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $2,608 in Ulsteinvik, rent and utilities included – about $16,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Ulsteinvik
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Ulsteinvik Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Ulsteinvik

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,608

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,608 in Ulsteinvik versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Ulsteinvik $2,608
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,954 in Ulsteinvik versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Ulsteinvik $3,954
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,301 in Ulsteinvik versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Ulsteinvik $5,301
Phuket $2,867

Living in Ulsteinvik is roughly 116% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ulsteinvik is 93% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.24 NOK 191

$4.58 ฿153

341.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 NOK 996

$32.48 ฿1,086

225.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.39 NOK 126

$8.55 ฿286

56.61%

Cappuccino

$4.68 NOK 44.06

$2.72 ฿91.0

72.06%

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

$4.17 NOK 39.26

$0.94 ฿31.25

343.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 NOK 26.77

$0.49 ฿16.39

479.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.40 NOK 126

$2.59 ฿86.6

417.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.98 NOK 93.9

$3.83 ฿128

160.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.50 NOK 23.54

$1.74 ฿58.1

43.68%

White Bread (500g)

$3.59 NOK 33.75

$1.43 ฿47.82

151.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.81 NOK 35.86

$1.53 ฿51.0

149.02%

Eggs

$4.92 NOK 46.35

$2.17 ฿72.7

126.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.40 NOK 126

$19.15 ฿640

-30.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.42 NOK 145

$3.30 ฿110

367.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$31.06 NOK 292

$11.14 ฿372

178.82%

Apples (1kg)

$3.29 NOK 30.93

$2.95 ฿98.5

11.53%

Banana (1kg)

$2.70 NOK 25.44

$1.68 ฿56.1

60.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 NOK 32.39

$2.30 ฿76.8

49.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.77 NOK 44.87

$2.13 ฿71.3

123.94%

Potato (1kg)

$2.52 NOK 23.72

$1.53 ฿51.1

64.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.93 NOK 27.55

$1.36 ฿45.55

115.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.90 NOK 27.27

$1.12 ฿37.44

158.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.55 NOK 23.97

$0.55 ฿18.24

363.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.56 NOK 165

$4.26 ฿142

312.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.52 NOK 156

$18.19 ฿608

-9.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.81 NOK 35.82

$1.74 ฿58.2

118.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.90 NOK 36.72

$2.79 ฿93.3

39.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.86 NOK 45.79

$2.22 ฿74.1

118.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$85.7 NOK 806

$22.06 ฿737

288.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$13.46 NOK 127

$2.91 ฿97.3

362.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.73 NOK 16.25

$1.01 ฿33.79

71.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$69.0 NOK 649

$3.83 ฿128

1701.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 NOK 20.01

$1.49 ฿49.85

42.95%

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

$41.7K NOK 393.0K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

56.47%

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

$42.9K NOK 404.3K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

60.80%

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

$266 NOK 2,505

$99.4 ฿3,321

167.78%

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

$29.25 NOK 275

$11.28 ฿377

159.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.4 NOK 503

$17.36 ฿580

207.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.70 NOK 458

$52.3 ฿1,747

-6.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.49 NOK 325

$10.85 ฿362

217.88%

Cinema Ticket

$17.01 NOK 160

$7.57 ฿253

124.70%

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

$214 NOK 2,017

$558 ฿18.7K

-61.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K NOK 137.2K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

26.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$98.4 NOK 927

$62.9 ฿2,102

56.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.95 NOK 470

$28.58 ฿955

74.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 NOK 1,136

$96.1 ฿3,213

25.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$135 NOK 1,271

$88.1 ฿2,943

53.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,096 NOK 10.3K

$729 ฿24.4K

50.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,002 NOK 9,434

$460 ฿15.4K

117.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,785 NOK 16.8K

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-14.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,659 NOK 15.6K

$1,222 ฿40.8K

35.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,015 NOK 66.0K

$3,459 ฿115.6K

102.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,138 NOK 39.0K

$2,489 ฿83.2K

66.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.94

5.57

-11.31%

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

Last update for Ulsteinvik: 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

Ulsteinvik

$1K 38.4%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 54.1% $542

Groceries & Markets

Ulsteinvik

$492 18.9%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 45.6% $224

Eating Out

Ulsteinvik

$373 14.3%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 67.5% $252

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ulsteinvik

$349 13.4%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 63.3% $221

Clothing & Footwear

Ulsteinvik

$182 7%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 31.8% $58

Getting Around

Ulsteinvik

$127 4.9%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 69.4% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Ulsteinvik

$83 3.2%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 18.5% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,096 in Ulsteinvik and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $106 in Ulsteinvik vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $492 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Ulsteinvik

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:09 5:09 PM

22:09 10:09 PM

5 h ahead of Ulsteinvik

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,600

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 19, 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 19, 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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Between locations

Ulsteinvik Phuket 9,360 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Ulsteinvik
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

Ulsteinvik vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 116% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $3,912 in Ulsteinvik and $1,811 in Phuket to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,096 in Ulsteinvik versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $214 in Ulsteinvik 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 84% higher in Ulsteinvik. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $2,608 in Ulsteinvik, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Ulsteinvik. 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 Ulsteinvik, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Ulsteinvik 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 116% less than in Ulsteinvik. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.