Cost of living comparison

compared to

Koh Samui vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Koh Samui is 47.1% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 2.2% more in Koh Samui
Groceries: pay 8.8% less in Koh Samui
Transportation: pay 2.3 times more in Koh Samui
Housing: pay 3.6% more in Koh Samui
Childcare: pay 2.6 times more in Koh Samui
Entertainment and Sports: pay 9.3% more in Koh Samui
Clothing: pay 29.3% more in Koh Samui

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

Koh Samui vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.2% more for restaurants

	Manila	Koh Samui
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.94	$3.10 THB97.52	-48.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱254.24	$8.99 THB282.80	+109.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.42	$0.71 THB22.38	-26.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.77	$0.38 THB11.85	-25.2%
Average			+2.2%

Manila vs. Koh Samui - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.8% less for groceries

	Manila	Koh Samui
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.84	$1.73 THB54.25	+29.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.76	$8.53 THB268.27	+99.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱432.73	$6.58 THB206.99	-10.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.84	$2.28 THB71.68	+3.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.98	$1.07 THB33.51	-53.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.60	$1.51 THB47.48	-0.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.61	$0.56 THB17.60	-31.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.75	$1.03 THB32.46	-36.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.52	$0.98 THB30.81	-4.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱69.16	$0.73 THB22.84	-37.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.25	$0.63 THB19.83	-54.1%
Average			-8.8%

Manila vs. Koh Samui - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.3 times more for transportation

	Manila	Koh Samui
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱247.09	$5.04 THB158.34	+20.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱813.57	$46.52 THB1,462.78	+238.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,494,934.54	$27,911.74 THB877,667.34	+10.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.88	$10.30 THB323.76	+252.1%
Average			+130.2%

Manila vs. Koh Samui - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.6% more for housing

	Manila	Koh Samui
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,602.13	$17.79 THB559.51	-34.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,323.92	$554.27 THB17,428.69	+8.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,881.48	$413.51 THB13,002.48	+64.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,940.52	$76.59 THB2,408.37	-23.8%
Average			+3.6%

Manila vs. Koh Samui - Cost of housing

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pay 2.6 times more for childcare

	Manila	Koh Samui
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,192.20	$623.36 THB19,601.24	+349.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,007,046.89	$13,335.61 THB419,329.95	-21.7%
Average			+164.1%

Manila vs. Koh Samui - Cost of childcare

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pay 9.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Koh Samui
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.44	$2.17 THB68.26	+48.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.95	$2.31 THB72.53	-10.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱193.22	$4.34 THB136.53	+32.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,490.71	$34.11 THB1,072.70	-19.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱442.38	$7.13 THB224.29	-4.7%
Average			+9.3%

Manila vs. Koh Samui - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 29.3% more for clothing

	Manila	Koh Samui
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,910.08	$52.72 THB1,657.82	+7.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,755.55	$29.92 THB940.89	+0.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,779.65	$102.34 THB3,218.11	+26.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,937.78	$90.82 THB2,855.90	+82.8%
Average			+29.3%

Manila vs. Koh Samui - 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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