Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Uppsala and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,978 in Uppsala, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

96

Cost of Living Index in Uppsala
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Uppsala Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Uppsala

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,978

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,978 in Uppsala versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Uppsala $1,978
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,051 in Uppsala versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Uppsala $3,051
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,124 in Uppsala versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Uppsala $4,124
Phuket $2,867

Living in Uppsala is roughly 64% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Uppsala is 46% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.90 SEK 148

$4.58 ฿153

225.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.0 SEK 802

$32.48 ฿1,086

149.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.87 SEK 97.8

$8.55 ฿286

15.44%

Cappuccino

$4.98 SEK 49.39

$2.72 ฿91.0

83.09%

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

$3.05 SEK 30.25

$0.94 ฿31.25

224.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 SEK 23.74

$0.49 ฿16.39

389.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.96 SEK 78.9

$2.59 ฿86.6

207.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.87 SEK 97.8

$3.83 ฿128

157.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 SEK 17.91

$1.74 ฿58.1

4.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 SEK 27.57

$1.43 ฿47.82

94.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.59 SEK 45.48

$1.53 ฿51.0

200.00%

Eggs

$5.05 SEK 50.1

$2.17 ฿72.7

132.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.12 SEK 100

$19.15 ฿640

-47.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.77 SEK 146

$3.30 ฿110

347.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.86 SEK 177

$11.14 ฿372

60.32%

Apples (1kg)

$4.18 SEK 41.42

$2.95 ฿98.5

41.69%

Banana (1kg)

$2.73 SEK 27.06

$1.68 ฿56.1

62.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.49 SEK 34.63

$2.30 ฿76.8

51.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.12 SEK 50.7

$2.13 ฿71.3

140.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 SEK 19.20

$1.53 ฿51.1

26.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.70 SEK 16.80

$1.36 ฿45.55

25.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.64 SEK 26.21

$1.12 ฿37.44

135.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 SEK 12.68

$0.55 ฿18.24

132.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 SEK 78.9

$4.26 ฿142

86.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.91 SEK 98.2

$18.19 ฿608

-45.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.47 SEK 24.51

$1.74 ฿58.2

41.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 SEK 24.94

$2.79 ฿93.3

-9.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.92 SEK 38.80

$2.22 ฿74.1

76.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$111 SEK 1,103

$22.06 ฿737

404.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.33 SEK 52.8

$2.91 ฿97.3

83.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.32 SEK 13.13

$1.01 ฿33.79

30.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$61.3 SEK 607

$3.83 ฿128

1499.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.77 SEK 17.54

$1.49 ฿49.85

18.79%

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

$33.2K SEK 329.1K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

24.50%

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

$32.1K SEK 318.3K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

20.28%

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

$109 SEK 1,077

$99.4 ฿3,321

9.42%

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

$15.95 SEK 158

$11.28 ฿377

41.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.42 SEK 470

$17.36 ฿580

173.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.13 SEK 388

$52.3 ฿1,747

-25.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.27 SEK 231

$10.85 ฿362

114.47%

Cinema Ticket

$18.61 SEK 184

$7.57 ฿253

145.84%

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

$126 SEK 1,248

$558 ฿18.7K

-77.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$105 SEK 1,037

$62.9 ฿2,102

66.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.48 SEK 480

$28.58 ฿955

69.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.4 SEK 935

$96.1 ฿3,213

-1.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$200 SEK 1,982

$88.1 ฿2,943

127.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$892 SEK 8,836

$729 ฿24.4K

22.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$707 SEK 7,009

$460 ฿15.4K

53.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,750 SEK 17.3K

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-16.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,138 SEK 11.3K

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-6.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,186 SEK 51.4K

$3,459 ฿115.6K

49.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,595 SEK 25.7K

$2,489 ฿83.2K

4.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,008 SEK 29.8K

$493 ฿16.5K

510.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.8

5.57

-31.78%

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

Last update for Uppsala: October 10, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Uppsala

$707 35.8%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 35% $247

Groceries & Markets

Uppsala

$391 19.8%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 31.7% $124

Eating Out

Uppsala

$290 14.7%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 58.2% $169

Clothing & Footwear

Uppsala

$201 10.2%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 38.4% $77

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Uppsala

$172 8.7%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 25.6% $44

Getting Around

Uppsala

$139 7%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 72% $100

Sport & Entertainment

Uppsala

$76 3.9%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 11.7% $8.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $892 in Uppsala and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Uppsala pays 510% 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: $81.0 in Uppsala vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $391 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Uppsala

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

02:15 2:15 AM

07:15 7:15 AM

5 h ahead of Uppsala

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

166,698

79,308

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 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 SEK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Uppsala Phuket 8,730 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Uppsala
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

Uppsala vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 64% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 510% higher in Uppsala, 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: $892 in Uppsala versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $126 in Uppsala 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 46% higher in Uppsala. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,978 in Uppsala, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Uppsala. 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 Uppsala, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Uppsala 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 64% less than in Uppsala. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.