Cost of living comparison

compared to

Beijing vs. Koh Samui Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 1.0% more expensive than Koh Samui.

Restaurants: pay 15.2% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 12.4% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 34.6% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 3.7% more in Beijing
Childcare: pay 44.1% more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.4% more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 9.0% more in Beijing

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

Beijing vs. Koh Samui Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 15.2% less for restaurants

	Koh Samui	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.10 THB97.52	$4.21 CN¥29.67	+35.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.99 THB282.80	$4.91 CN¥34.62	-45.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 THB22.38	$0.48 CN¥3.38	-32.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.38 THB11.85	$0.31 CN¥2.17	-18.6%
Average			-15.2%

Koh Samui vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.4% less for groceries

	Koh Samui	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 THB54.25	$1.71 CN¥12.04	-1.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.53 THB268.27	$7.47 CN¥52.69	-12.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.58 THB206.99	$6.64 CN¥46.85	+0.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.28 THB71.68	$1.78 CN¥12.53	-22.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.07 THB33.51	$1.53 CN¥10.80	+43.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.51 THB47.48	$0.98 CN¥6.93	-34.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.56 THB17.60	$0.77 CN¥5.43	+37.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.03 THB32.46	$0.80 CN¥5.65	-22.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.98 THB30.81	$0.60 CN¥4.25	-38.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 THB22.84	$0.35 CN¥2.46	-52.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.63 THB19.83	$0.41 CN¥2.91	-34.6%
Average			-12.4%

Koh Samui vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 34.6% less for transportation

	Koh Samui	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.04 THB158.34	$4.21 CN¥29.71	-16.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.52 THB1,462.78	$31.54 CN¥222.53	-32.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,911.74 THB877,667.34	$18,225.66 CN¥128,572.93	-34.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.30 THB323.76	$4.63 CN¥32.64	-55.1%
Average			-34.6%

Koh Samui vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.7% more for housing

	Koh Samui	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$17.79 THB559.51	$12.93 CN¥91.22	-27.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$554.27 THB17,428.69	$935.23 CN¥6,597.60	+68.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$413.51 THB13,002.48	$504.41 CN¥3,558.33	+22.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$76.59 THB2,408.37	$39.27 CN¥277.00	-48.7%
Average			+3.7%

Koh Samui vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 44.1% more for childcare

	Koh Samui	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$623.36 THB19,601.24	$710.76 CN¥5,014.09	+14.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,335.61 THB419,329.95	$23,242.73 CN¥163,965.81	+74.3%
Average			+44.1%

Koh Samui vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Koh Samui	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.17 THB68.26	$1.12 CN¥7.91	-48.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.31 THB72.53	$2.90 CN¥20.47	+25.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.34 THB136.53	$4.21 CN¥29.67	-3.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.11 THB1,072.70	$57.84 CN¥408.00	+69.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.13 THB224.29	$8.41 CN¥59.34	+17.9%
Average			+12.4%

Koh Samui vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.0% more for clothing

	Koh Samui	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.72 THB1,657.82	$62.30 CN¥439.49	+18.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.92 THB940.89	$36.37 CN¥256.59	+21.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.34 THB3,218.11	$81.74 CN¥576.64	-20.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$90.82 THB2,855.90	$105.53 CN¥744.46	+16.2%
Average			+9.0%

Koh Samui vs. Beijing - 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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