Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Thailand

Koh Samui vs. Guangzhou Cost of Living Summary

Koh Samui is 20.7% more expensive than Guangzhou.

Restaurants: pay 54.4% more in Koh Samui
Groceries: pay 6.3% more in Koh Samui
Transportation: pay 44.8% more in Koh Samui
Housing: pay 48.6% more in Koh Samui
Childcare: pay 65.3% less in Koh Samui
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.5% less in Koh Samui
Clothing: pay 3.7% less in Koh Samui

The cost of restaurants, housing, transportation, and groceries in Koh Samui are more expensive than in Guangzhou. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in Koh Samui.

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Koh Samui vs. Guangzhou Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 54.4% more for restaurants

	Guangzhou	Koh Samui
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.98 CN¥19.96	$4.46 THB148.24	+49.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$8.62 THB286.59	+65.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.56 CN¥3.76	$0.92 THB30.54	+63.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.36 CN¥2.38	$0.48 THB15.87	+34.3%
Average			+54.4%

Guangzhou vs. Koh Samui - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.3% more for groceries

	Guangzhou	Koh Samui
Bread 1 loaf	$1.86 CN¥12.46	$1.42 THB47.33	-23.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.28 CN¥55.41	$9.70 THB322.52	+17.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.03 CN¥47.02	$5.59 THB185.80	-20.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.54 CN¥10.32	$2.13 THB70.84	+38.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.31 CN¥15.49	$1.46 THB48.50	-37.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.02 CN¥6.81	$1.32 THB43.97	+29.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.57 CN¥3.83	$0.50 THB16.51	-13.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 CN¥4.56	$1.02 THB33.84	+49.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.79 CN¥5.29	$0.95 THB31.62	+20.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.44 CN¥2.97	$0.62 THB20.62	+39.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.54 CN¥3.63	$0.61 THB20.32	+12.7%
Average			+6.3%

Guangzhou vs. Koh Samui - Cost of groceries

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pay 44.8% more for transportation

	Guangzhou	Koh Samui
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.08 CN¥33.96	$5.41 THB180.01	+6.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.37 CN¥149.69	$44.56 THB1,482.38	+99.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$26,737.57 THB889K	+38.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.13 CN¥34.33	$11.29 THB375.54	+120.0%
Average			+44.8%

Guangzhou vs. Koh Samui - Cost of transportation

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pay 48.6% more for housing

	Guangzhou	Koh Samui
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.60 CN¥97.66	$17.15 THB570.48	+17.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$538.60 CN¥3,603.68	$842.23 THB28,017.01	+56.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$277.42 CN¥1,856.17	$391.56 THB13,025.19	+41.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$46.59 CN¥311.75	$74.96 THB2,493.60	+60.9%
Average			+48.6%

Guangzhou vs. Koh Samui - Cost of housing

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pay 65.3% less for childcare

	Guangzhou	Koh Samui
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,497.11 CN¥10,016.84	$555.38 THB18,474.87	-62.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,341.50 CN¥163K	$7,921.52 THB264K	-67.5%
Average			-65.3%

Guangzhou vs. Koh Samui - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Guangzhou	Koh Samui
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$2.38 THB79.06	+99.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.99 CN¥20.02	$2.14 THB71.03	-28.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.80 CN¥25.45	$4.33 THB143.89	+13.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$69.27 CN¥463.49	$40.11 THB1,334.14	-42.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.56 CN¥43.91	$5.94 THB197.65	-9.5%
Average			-7.5%

Guangzhou vs. Koh Samui - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.7% less for clothing

	Guangzhou	Koh Samui
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.22 CN¥329.32	$41.59 THB1,383.56	-15.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.10 CN¥274.99	$28.69 THB954.49	-30.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$82.39 CN¥551.28	$95.68 THB3,182.71	+16.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$69.90 CN¥467.66	$87.87 THB2,922.95	+25.7%
Average			-3.7%

Guangzhou vs. Koh Samui - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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