Cost of living comparison

compared to

Koh Samui vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Koh Samui is 4.7 times more expensive than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 4.6% less in Koh Samui
Groceries: pay 22.6% more in Koh Samui
Transportation: pay 3.2 times more in Koh Samui
Housing: pay 77.9% more in Koh Samui
Childcare: pay 22.4 times more in Koh Samui
Entertainment and Sports: pay 38.9% more in Koh Samui
Clothing: pay 89.5% more in Koh Samui

The cost of childcare, transportation, clothing, housing, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Koh Samui are more expensive than in Colombo. Notably, childcare, transportation, and clothing are significantly more expensive in Koh Samui.

Koh Samui vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Koh Samui instead of Colombo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 4.6% less for restaurants

	Colombo	Koh Samui
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.13 LKR1,273.88	$3.10 THB98.67	-24.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.26 LKR2,547.76	$8.99 THB286.15	+8.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 LKR234.13	$0.71 THB22.64	-6.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.36 LKR111.85	$0.38 THB11.99	+3.9%
Average			-4.6%

Colombo vs. Koh Samui - Cost of restaurants

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pay 22.6% more for groceries

	Colombo	Koh Samui
Bread 1 loaf	$0.52 LKR160.70	$1.73 THB54.90	+231.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.78 LKR2,091.71	$8.53 THB271.44	+25.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.70 LKR2,068.08	$6.58 THB209.44	-1.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.95 LKR603.00	$2.28 THB72.52	+16.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.05 LKR632.29	$1.07 THB33.90	-48.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.42 LKR1,055.80	$1.51 THB48.04	-55.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 LKR152.94	$0.56 THB17.81	+12.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.69 LKR829.96	$1.03 THB32.84	-61.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 LKR169.06	$0.98 THB31.18	+78.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR157.76	$0.73 THB23.11	+42.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 LKR178.36	$0.63 THB20.07	+9.1%
Average			+22.6%

Colombo vs. Koh Samui - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.2 times more for transportation

	Colombo	Koh Samui
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.12 LKR1,269.60	$5.04 THB160.21	+22.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.61 LKR2,038.21	$46.52 THB1,480.09	+604.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,432.11 LKR8,152,842.32	$27,911.74 THB888,051.71	+5.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.04 LKR937.58	$10.30 THB327.59	+238.7%
Average			+217.7%

Colombo vs. Koh Samui - Cost of transportation

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pay 77.9% more for housing

	Colombo	Koh Samui
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.01 LKR4,322.46	$17.79 THB566.13	+27.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$360.90 LKR111,317.65	$554.27 THB17,634.90	+53.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$177.21 LKR54,661.01	$413.51 THB13,156.32	+133.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$38.78 LKR11,961.31	$76.59 THB2,436.87	+97.5%
Average			+77.9%

Colombo vs. Koh Samui - Cost of housing

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pay 22.4 times more for childcare

	Colombo	Koh Samui
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$33.87 LKR10,445.83	$623.36 THB19,833.15	+1740.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$505.51 LKR155,923.11	$13,335.61 THB424,291.37	+2538.0%
Average			+2139.3%

Colombo vs. Koh Samui - Cost of childcare

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pay 38.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Koh Samui
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 LKR713.37	$2.17 THB69.07	-6.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.67 LKR823.16	$2.31 THB73.39	-13.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.24 LKR3,159.23	$4.34 THB138.14	-57.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.33 LKR4,112.82	$34.11 THB1,085.40	+155.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.30 LKR1,019.11	$7.13 THB226.95	+115.9%
Average			+38.9%

Colombo vs. Koh Samui - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 89.5% more for clothing

	Colombo	Koh Samui
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.56 LKR8,193.18	$52.72 THB1,677.43	+98.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.76 LKR5,477.69	$29.92 THB952.02	+68.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 LKR20,730.75	$102.34 THB3,256.19	+52.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$38.07 LKR11,743.98	$90.82 THB2,889.69	+138.5%
Average			+89.5%

Colombo vs. Koh Samui - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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