Cost of living comparison

compared to

Koh Samui vs. Phnom Penh Cost of Living Summary

Koh Samui is 39.7% more expensive than Phnom Penh.

Restaurants: pay 22.9% less in Koh Samui
Groceries: pay 6.8% less in Koh Samui
Transportation: pay 92.9% more in Koh Samui
Housing: pay 10.5% more in Koh Samui
Childcare: pay 99.6% more in Koh Samui
Entertainment and Sports: pay 54.9% more in Koh Samui
Clothing: pay 50.0% more in Koh Samui

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

Koh Samui vs. Phnom Penh Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Koh Samui instead of Phnom Penh, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 22.9% less for restaurants

	Phnom Penh	Koh Samui
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.00 KHR19,986.53	$3.10 THB97.52	-38.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.00 KHR27,981.15	$8.99 THB282.80	+28.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.93 KHR3,715.14	$0.71 THB22.38	-23.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.91 KHR3,650.72	$0.38 THB11.85	-58.7%
Average			-22.9%

Phnom Penh vs. Koh Samui - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.8% less for groceries

	Phnom Penh	Koh Samui
Bread 1 loaf	$1.65 KHR6,597.61	$1.73 THB54.25	+4.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.70 KHR26,781.96	$8.53 THB268.27	+27.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.17 KHR32,649.02	$6.58 THB206.99	-19.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.82 KHR7,270.66	$2.28 THB71.68	+25.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.01 KHR8,028.23	$1.07 THB33.51	-46.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.81 KHR7,237.49	$1.51 THB47.48	-16.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.88 KHR3,535.64	$0.56 THB17.60	-36.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.91 KHR7,651.49	$1.03 THB32.46	-46.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 KHR2,937.30	$0.98 THB30.81	+33.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.88 KHR3,505.42	$0.73 THB22.84	-17.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.54 KHR2,145.56	$0.63 THB19.83	+17.5%
Average			-6.8%

Phnom Penh vs. Koh Samui - Cost of groceries

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pay 92.9% more for transportation

	Phnom Penh	Koh Samui
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.33 KHR17,308.52	$5.04 THB158.34	+16.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.60 KHR38,374.14	$46.52 THB1,462.78	+384.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$49,000.00 KHR195,868,029.72	$27,911.74 THB877,667.34	-43.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.05 KHR36,186.85	$10.30 THB323.76	+13.7%
Average			+92.9%

Phnom Penh vs. Koh Samui - Cost of transportation

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pay 10.5% more for housing

	Phnom Penh	Koh Samui
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.29 KHR85,086.31	$17.79 THB559.51	-16.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$481.60 KHR1,925,112.27	$554.27 THB17,428.69	+15.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$273.92 KHR1,094,935.34	$413.51 THB13,002.48	+51.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$82.99 KHR331,720.63	$76.59 THB2,408.37	-7.7%
Average			+10.5%

Phnom Penh vs. Koh Samui - Cost of housing

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pay 99.6% more for childcare

	Phnom Penh	Koh Samui
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$293.33 KHR1,172,543.31	$623.36 THB19,601.24	+112.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,141.67 KHR28,547,432.22	$13,335.61 THB419,329.95	+86.7%
Average			+99.6%

Phnom Penh vs. Koh Samui - Cost of childcare

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pay 54.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Phnom Penh	Koh Samui
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.21 KHR4,829.58	$2.17 THB68.26	+79.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.53 KHR10,098.46	$2.31 THB72.53	-8.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.88 KHR7,494.95	$4.34 THB136.53	+131.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.67 KHR166,554.45	$34.11 THB1,072.70	-18.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.75 KHR14,989.90	$7.13 THB224.29	+90.2%
Average			+54.9%

Phnom Penh vs. Koh Samui - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 50.0% more for clothing

	Phnom Penh	Koh Samui
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$25.75 KHR102,930.65	$52.72 THB1,657.82	+104.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$23.33 KHR93,270.49	$29.92 THB940.89	+28.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.00 KHR351,762.99	$102.34 THB3,218.11	+16.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$60.20 KHR240,637.87	$90.82 THB2,855.90	+50.9%
Average			+50.0%

Phnom Penh 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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