Cost of living comparison

Thailand

compared to

Thailand

Bangkok vs. Koh Samui Cost of Living Summary

Bangkok is 1.1% more expensive than Koh Samui.

Restaurants: pay 27.4% less in Bangkok
Groceries: pay 17.1% more in Bangkok
Transportation: pay 2.7% less in Bangkok
Housing: pay 11.5% less in Bangkok
Childcare: pay 46.0% more in Bangkok
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.9% more in Bangkok
Clothing: pay 34.1% more in Bangkok

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

Bangkok vs. Koh Samui Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 27.4% less for restaurants

	Koh Samui	Bangkok
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.46 THB149.58	$2.97 THB99.72	-33.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.62 THB289.18	$6.98 THB234.34	-19.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.92 THB30.81	$0.65 THB21.84	-29.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 THB16.02	$0.35 THB11.83	-26.1%
Average			-27.4%

Koh Samui vs. Bangkok - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 17.1% more for groceries

	Koh Samui	Bangkok
Bread 1 loaf	$1.42 THB47.75	$1.48 THB49.61	+3.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.70 THB325.43	$8.63 THB289.61	-11.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.59 THB187.48	$7.27 THB244.07	+30.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.13 THB71.48	$2.56 THB86.09	+20.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.46 THB48.94	$1.63 THB54.77	+11.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.32 THB44.37	$1.77 THB59.39	+33.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 THB16.66	$0.81 THB27.07	+62.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.02 THB34.15	$1.24 THB41.72	+22.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.95 THB31.90	$0.87 THB29.35	-8.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.62 THB20.81	$0.78 THB26.23	+26.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.61 THB20.50	$0.69 THB23.22	+13.3%
Average			+17.1%

Koh Samui vs. Bangkok - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.7% less for transportation

	Koh Samui	Bangkok
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.41 THB181.64	$5.32 THB178.50	-1.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$44.56 THB1,495.76	$34.98 THB1,174.17	-21.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,737.57 THB897K	$31,193.83 THB1M	+16.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.29 THB378.93	$10.55 THB354.00	-6.6%
Average			-2.7%

Koh Samui vs. Bangkok - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.5% less for housing

	Koh Samui	Bangkok
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$17.15 THB575.63	$17.88 THB600.00	+4.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$842.23 THB28,269.80	$675.80 THB22,683.32	-19.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$391.56 THB13,142.72	$346.10 THB11,617.04	-11.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$74.96 THB2,516.10	$82.03 THB2,753.26	+9.4%
Average			-11.5%

Koh Samui vs. Bangkok - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 46.0% more for childcare

	Koh Samui	Bangkok
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$555.38 THB18,641.56	$568.31 THB19,075.51	+2.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,921.52 THB266K	$16,500.59 THB554K	+108.3%
Average			+46.0%

Koh Samui vs. Bangkok - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Koh Samui	Bangkok
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.38 THB79.77	$2.67 THB89.75	+12.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.14 THB71.67	$2.79 THB93.79	+30.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.33 THB145.19	$4.60 THB154.56	+6.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$40.11 THB1,346.18	$58.43 THB1,961.10	+45.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.94 THB199.43	$7.58 THB254.28	+27.5%
Average			+26.9%

Koh Samui vs. Bangkok - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 34.1% more for clothing

	Koh Samui	Bangkok
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$41.59 THB1,396.04	$70.75 THB2,374.76	+70.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.69 THB963.11	$42.94 THB1,441.24	+49.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$95.68 THB3,211.43	$97.05 THB3,257.43	+1.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$87.87 THB2,949.32	$109.92 THB3,689.53	+25.1%
Average			+34.1%

Koh Samui vs. Bangkok - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Koh Samui vs. Bangkok

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Bangkok?

More cost comparisons

Koh Samui vs.

Sydney

Koh Samui vs.

London

Koh Samui vs.

Vienna

Koh Samui vs.

Cairo

Koh Samui vs.

Rome

Koh Samui vs.

Lima

Koh Samui vs.

Toronto

Koh Samui vs.

Dublin

Share this

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Koh Samui

Add prices for Bangkok

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Bangkok or Koh Samui. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.