Cost of living comparison

compared to

Surat Thani vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Surat Thani is 26.8% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 36.7% less in Surat Thani
Groceries: pay 8.4% less in Surat Thani
Transportation: pay 67.7% more in Surat Thani
Housing: pay 40.1% less in Surat Thani
Childcare: pay 2.7 times more in Surat Thani
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.3% less in Surat Thani
Clothing: pay 41.0% more in Surat Thani

The cost of childcare, transportation, and clothing in Surat Thani are more expensive than in Manila. Expenses including housing, restaurants, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in Surat Thani. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Surat Thani.

Surat Thani vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Surat Thani instead of Manila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 36.7% less for restaurants

	Manila	Surat Thani
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.52	$1.94 THB61.57	-67.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱253.94	$4.65 THB147.78	+8.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.35	$0.50 THB15.76	-48.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.73	$0.31 THB9.85	-38.4%
Average			-36.7%

Manila vs. Surat Thani - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.4% less for groceries

	Manila	Surat Thani
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.74	$1.26 THB40.06	-5.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.46	$8.53 THB271.01	+99.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱432.22	$7.55 THB239.92	+3.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.69	$1.95 THB62.07	-11.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.82	$1.84 THB58.48	-19.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.50	$1.51 THB47.96	-0.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.55	$0.90 THB28.61	+9.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.64	$0.98 THB31.28	-39.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.45	$0.80 THB25.32	-22.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱69.08	$0.56 THB17.87	-51.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.15	$0.63 THB20.03	-54.1%
Average			-8.4%

Manila vs. Surat Thani - Cost of groceries

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pay 67.7% more for transportation

	Manila	Surat Thani
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱246.80	$4.69 THB149.11	+12.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱812.61	$21.71 THB689.62	+57.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1M	$27,911.74 THB887K	+10.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.68	$8.50 THB269.92	+190.5%
Average			+67.7%

Manila vs. Surat Thani - Cost of transportation

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pay 40.1% less for housing

	Manila	Surat Thani
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,600.23	$19.53 THB620.48	-27.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,288.01	$242.94 THB7,717.22	-52.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,863.86	$155.07 THB4,925.88	-38.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,933.48	$58.70 THB1,864.59	-41.6%
Average			-40.1%

Manila vs. Surat Thani - Cost of housing

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pay 2.7 times more for childcare

	Manila	Surat Thani
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,182.49	$623.36 THB19,802.05	+349.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1M	$14,508.83 THB461K	-14.8%
Average			+167.5%

Manila vs. Surat Thani - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Surat Thani
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.34	$2.17 THB68.96	+48.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.77	$1.55 THB49.26	-40.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱192.99	$3.10 THB98.52	-5.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,487.76	$49.62 THB1,576.28	+17.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱441.85	$4.65 THB147.78	-37.8%
Average			-3.3%

Manila vs. Surat Thani - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 41.0% more for clothing

	Manila	Surat Thani
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,906.63	$66.46 THB2,111.09	+35.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,753.48	$29.92 THB950.53	+0.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,773.99	$117.41 THB3,729.60	+45.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,934.30	$90.82 THB2,885.16	+82.8%
Average			+41.0%

Manila vs. Surat Thani - 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: March 2026

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