Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

Thailand

Koh Samui vs. Shah Alam Cost of Living Summary

Koh Samui is 36.5% more expensive than Shah Alam.

Restaurants: pay 46.4% more in Koh Samui
Groceries: pay 7.2% less in Koh Samui
Transportation: pay 49.9% more in Koh Samui
Housing: pay 77.4% more in Koh Samui
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in Koh Samui
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.4% less in Koh Samui
Clothing: pay 1.3% less in Koh Samui

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

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Koh Samui vs. Shah Alam Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 46.4% more for restaurants

	Shah Alam	Koh Samui
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.67 MYR14.99	$4.46 THB148.24	+21.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.16 MYR16.99	$8.62 THB286.59	+107.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 MYR3.03	$0.92 THB30.54	+23.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.40 MYR1.63	$0.48 THB15.87	+19.4%
Average			+46.4%

Shah Alam vs. Koh Samui - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.2% less for groceries

	Shah Alam	Koh Samui
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 MYR4.35	$1.42 THB47.33	+33.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.82 MYR27.84	$9.70 THB322.52	+42.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.95 MYR28.37	$5.59 THB185.80	-19.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.19 MYR8.94	$2.13 THB70.84	-2.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.00 MYR8.15	$1.46 THB48.50	-27.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.58 MYR6.46	$1.32 THB43.97	-16.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 MYR3.08	$0.50 THB16.51	-34.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 MYR4.99	$1.02 THB33.84	-16.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.81 MYR3.30	$0.95 THB31.62	+17.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 MYR2.27	$0.62 THB20.62	+11.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.90 MYR3.70	$0.61 THB20.32	-32.5%
Average			-7.2%

Shah Alam vs. Koh Samui - Cost of groceries

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pay 49.9% more for transportation

	Shah Alam	Koh Samui
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.19 MYR13.01	$5.41 THB180.01	+69.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.91 MYR64.95	$44.56 THB1,482.38	+180.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$41,736.41 MYR170K	$26,737.57 THB889K	-35.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.36 MYR17.79	$11.29 THB375.54	+159.2%
Average			+49.9%

Shah Alam vs. Koh Samui - Cost of transportation

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pay 77.4% more for housing

	Shah Alam	Koh Samui
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$28.91 MYR118.04	$17.15 THB570.48	-40.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$340.14 MYR1,388.84	$842.23 THB28,017.01	+147.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$312.00 MYR1,273.94	$391.56 THB13,025.19	+25.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$28.39 MYR115.93	$74.96 THB2,493.60	+164.0%
Average			+77.4%

Shah Alam vs. Koh Samui - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	Shah Alam	Koh Samui
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$195.76 MYR799.33	$555.38 THB18,474.87	+183.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,567.77 MYR18,651.14	$7,921.52 THB264K	+73.4%
Average			+121.8%

Shah Alam vs. Koh Samui - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Shah Alam	Koh Samui
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.43 MYR13.99	$2.38 THB79.06	-30.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.95 MYR12.04	$2.14 THB71.03	-27.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.26 MYR17.39	$4.33 THB143.89	+1.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.76 MYR162.36	$40.11 THB1,334.14	+0.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.48 MYR26.48	$5.94 THB197.65	-8.4%
Average			-14.4%

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

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pay 1.3% less for clothing

	Shah Alam	Koh Samui
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.26 MYR233.81	$41.59 THB1,383.56	-27.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.76 MYR162.36	$28.69 THB954.49	-27.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$66.51 MYR271.57	$95.68 THB3,182.71	+43.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$69.71 MYR284.65	$87.87 THB2,922.95	+26.0%
Average			-1.3%

Shah Alam vs. Koh Samui - 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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