Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Umea and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,190 a month against $1,608 in Umea, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. The total is higher in Umea despite lower rent and utilities.

80

Cost of Living Index in Umea
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Umea Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Umea

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,608

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Umea versus $1,190 in Phuket.

Umea $1,608
Phuket $1,190

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,579 in Umea versus $2,006 in Phuket.

Umea $2,579
Phuket $2,006

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,550 in Umea versus $2,822 in Phuket.

Umea $3,550
Phuket $2,822

Living in Umea is roughly 35% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Umea is 20% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.02 SEK 150

$4.35 ฿146

245.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.3 SEK 791

$32.45 ฿1,091

144.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.00 SEK 120

$8.42 ฿283

42.52%

Cappuccino

$3.99 SEK 39.80

$2.81 ฿94.4

41.99%

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

$3.20 SEK 31.91

$0.87 ฿29.42

267.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 SEK 23.53

$0.46 ฿15.46

413.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.30 SEK 82.8

$2.59 ฿86.9

220.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.40 SEK 73.8

$3.64 ฿123

103.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 SEK 16.25

$1.71 ฿57.4

-4.68%

White Bread (500g)

$3.44 SEK 34.33

$1.45 ฿48.62

137.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.07 SEK 40.58

$1.56 ฿52.5

160.90%

Eggs

$3.90 SEK 38.85

$2.10 ฿70.6

85.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.24 SEK 112

$19.53 ฿656

-42.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.73 SEK 107

$3.40 ฿114

215.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.23 SEK 172

$11.14 ฿375

54.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.46 SEK 24.50

$2.83 ฿95.2

-13.07%

Banana (1kg)

$2.26 SEK 22.57

$1.62 ฿54.6

39.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 SEK 28.09

$2.22 ฿74.8

27.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.30 SEK 42.89

$2.15 ฿72.2

100.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.64 SEK 16.31

$1.49 ฿50.2

10.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.66 SEK 16.56

$1.33 ฿44.59

24.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.49 SEK 24.84

$1.07 ฿35.87

132.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 SEK 12.80

$0.51 ฿17.08

150.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.89 SEK 68.7

$4.38 ฿147

57.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.89 SEK 98.6

$18.77 ฿631

-47.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.27 SEK 22.61

$1.74 ฿58.5

30.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 SEK 24.34

$2.78 ฿93.3

-12.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.92 SEK 29.09

$2.17 ฿72.9

34.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.9 SEK 567

$22.28 ฿749

155.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.80 SEK 67.8

$3.02 ฿101

125.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$5.02 SEK 50.1

$1.06 ฿35.57

373.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.71 ฿125

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 SEK 17.33

$1.43 ฿48.08

21.68%

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

$33.0K SEK 329.2K

$26.3K ฿885.8K

25.34%

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

$33.6K SEK 335.4K

$26.2K ฿881.0K

28.41%

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

$86.0 SEK 858

$96.7 ฿3,250

-10.99%

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

$32.39 SEK 323

$11.41 ฿384

183.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.15 SEK 271

$17.11 ฿575

58.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.96 SEK 488

$52.8 ฿1,775

-7.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.34 SEK 352

$11.07 ฿372

219.24%

Cinema Ticket

$16.17 SEK 161

$7.65 ฿257

111.37%

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

$137 SEK 1,364

$555 ฿18.7K

-75.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿379.3K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.5 SEK 992

$63.4 ฿2,132

56.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.44 SEK 363

$28.61 ฿962

27.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 SEK 1,163

$96.7 ฿3,252

20.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$141 SEK 1,402

$88.6 ฿2,979

58.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$736 SEK 7,338

$735 ฿24.7K

0.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$504 SEK 5,028

$458 ฿15.4K

10.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,105 SEK 11.0K

$2,102 ฿70.7K

-47.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$823 SEK 8,207

$1,187 ฿39.9K

-30.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,542 SEK 45.3K

$3,493 ฿117.4K

30.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,043 SEK 30.3K

$2,491 ฿83.8K

22.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,674 SEK 26.7K

$501 ฿16.8K

433.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.65

5.57

-34.47%

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

Last update for Umea: 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

Umea

$504 30.7%

Phuket

$458 38.1% 9.2% $46

Groceries & Markets

Umea

$350 21.3%

Phuket

$268 22.3% 23.4% $82

Eating Out

Umea

$283 17.2%

Phuket

$119 9.9% 57.8% $163

Clothing & Footwear

Umea

$177 10.8%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 29.5% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Umea

$146 8.9%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 14% $20

Getting Around

Umea

$100 6.1%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 60.9% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Umea

$81 5%

Phuket

$68 5.7% 16.2% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $736 in Umea and $735 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Umea pays 434% 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: $79.0 in Umea vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $350 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Umea

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

08:42 8:42 AM

13:42 1:42 PM

5 h ahead of Umea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,594

79,308

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.03 USD

100 SEK = 8.94 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.97 SEK (1 SEK = 0.1 USD). 1 EUR = 11.18 SEK (100 SEK = 8.94 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.71 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Umea Phuket 8,640 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Umea
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

Umea vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 35% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 434% higher in Umea, 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: $736 in Umea versus $735 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $137 in Umea 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 31% higher in Umea. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,190 in Phuket versus $1,608 in Umea, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Umea. 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 Umea, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Umea 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 35% less than in Umea. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.