Cost of living comparison

compared to

Bethesda vs. Koh Samui Cost of Living Summary

Bethesda is 2.8 times more expensive than Koh Samui.

Restaurants
pay 4.0 times more in Bethesda
Groceries
pay 76.1% more in Bethesda
Transportation
pay 25.4% more in Bethesda
Housing
pay 3.3 times more in Bethesda
Childcare
pay 5.0 times more in Bethesda
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.9 times more in Bethesda
Clothing
pay 44.4% more in Bethesda

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

Bethesda vs. Koh Samui Cost Breakdown

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

pay 4.0 times more for restaurants

 
Koh Samui
Bethesda
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $3.10
THB102.19
$16.50
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$8.99
THB296.34
$8.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.71
THB23.45
$2.50
 

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pay 76.1% more for groceries

 
Koh Samui
Bethesda
Bread
1 loaf
$1.73
THB56.85
$3.97
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.53
THB281.10
$4.38
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.58
THB216.89
$3.58
 

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pay 25.4% more for transportation

 
Koh Samui
Bethesda
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.04
THB165.91
$3.16
 
Monthly public transit pass $46.52
THB1,532.78
$100.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $27,911.74
THB920K
$23,000.00
 

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pay 3.3 times more for housing

 
Koh Samui
Bethesda
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$17.79
THB586.29
$62.50
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $554.27
THB18,262.78
$2,250.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $413.51
THB13,624.74
$1,866.67
 

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pay 5.0 times more for childcare

 
Koh Samui
Bethesda
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $623.36
THB20,539.30
$3,175.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $13,335.61
THB439K
$65,000.00
 

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pay 2.9 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Koh Samui
Bethesda
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.17
THB71.53
$5.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.31
THB76.00
$5.60
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.34
THB143.06
$14.00
 

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pay 44.4% more for clothing

 
Koh Samui
Bethesda
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$52.72
THB1,737.15
$70.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$29.92
THB985.92
$56.67
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$102.34
THB3,372.12
$115.00
 

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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: June 2026
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