Cost of living comparison

Thailand

compared to

Malaysia

Shah Alam vs. Koh Samui Cost of Living Summary

Shah Alam is 26.7% cheaper than Koh Samui.

Restaurants: pay 31.7% less in Shah Alam
Groceries: pay 7.7% more in Shah Alam
Transportation: pay 33.3% less in Shah Alam
Housing: pay 43.6% less in Shah Alam
Childcare: pay 54.9% less in Shah Alam
Entertainment and Sports: pay 16.9% more in Shah Alam
Clothing: pay 1.3% more in Shah Alam

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

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Shah Alam vs. Koh Samui Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Shah Alam instead of Koh Samui, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 31.7% less for restaurants

	Koh Samui	Shah Alam
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.46 THB148.24	$3.67 MYR14.99	-17.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.62 THB286.59	$4.16 MYR16.99	-51.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.92 THB30.54	$0.74 MYR3.03	-19.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 THB15.87	$0.40 MYR1.63	-16.2%
Average			-31.7%

Koh Samui vs. Shah Alam - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.7% more for groceries

	Koh Samui	Shah Alam
Bread 1 loaf	$1.42 THB47.33	$1.07 MYR4.35	-25.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.70 THB322.52	$6.82 MYR27.84	-29.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.59 THB185.80	$6.95 MYR28.37	+24.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.13 THB70.84	$2.19 MYR8.94	+2.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.46 THB48.50	$2.00 MYR8.15	+36.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.32 THB43.97	$1.58 MYR6.46	+19.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 THB16.51	$0.75 MYR3.08	+51.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.02 THB33.84	$1.22 MYR4.99	+20.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.95 THB31.62	$0.81 MYR3.30	-15.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.62 THB20.62	$0.55 MYR2.27	-10.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.61 THB20.32	$0.90 MYR3.70	+48.2%
Average			+7.7%

Koh Samui vs. Shah Alam - Cost of groceries

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pay 33.3% less for transportation

	Koh Samui	Shah Alam
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.41 THB180.01	$3.19 MYR13.01	-41.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$44.56 THB1,482.38	$15.91 MYR64.95	-64.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,737.57 THB889K	$41,736.41 MYR170K	+56.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.29 THB375.54	$4.36 MYR17.79	-61.4%
Average			-33.3%

Koh Samui vs. Shah Alam - Cost of transportation

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pay 43.6% less for housing

	Koh Samui	Shah Alam
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$17.15 THB570.48	$28.91 MYR118.04	+68.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$842.23 THB28,017.01	$340.14 MYR1,388.84	-59.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$391.56 THB13,025.19	$312.00 MYR1,273.94	-20.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$74.96 THB2,493.60	$28.39 MYR115.93	-62.1%
Average			-43.6%

Koh Samui vs. Shah Alam - Cost of housing

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pay 54.9% less for childcare

	Koh Samui	Shah Alam
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$555.38 THB18,474.87	$195.76 MYR799.33	-64.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,921.52 THB264K	$4,567.77 MYR18,651.14	-42.3%
Average			-54.9%

Koh Samui vs. Shah Alam - Cost of childcare

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pay 16.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Koh Samui	Shah Alam
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.38 THB79.06	$3.43 MYR13.99	+44.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.14 THB71.03	$2.95 MYR12.04	+38.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.33 THB143.89	$4.26 MYR17.39	-1.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$40.11 THB1,334.14	$39.76 MYR162.36	-0.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.94 THB197.65	$6.48 MYR26.48	+9.1%
Average			+16.9%

Koh Samui vs. Shah Alam - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.3% more for clothing

	Koh Samui	Shah Alam
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$41.59 THB1,383.56	$57.26 MYR233.81	+37.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.69 THB954.49	$39.76 MYR162.36	+38.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$95.68 THB3,182.71	$66.51 MYR271.57	-30.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$87.87 THB2,922.95	$69.71 MYR284.65	-20.7%
Average			+1.3%

Koh Samui vs. Shah Alam - 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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