Cost of living comparison

Australia

compared to

Thailand

Koh Samui vs. Sydney Cost of Living Summary

Koh Samui is 58.5% cheaper than Sydney.

Restaurants: pay 62.8% less in Koh Samui
Groceries: pay 43.9% less in Koh Samui
Transportation: pay 30.6% less in Koh Samui
Housing: pay 70.4% less in Koh Samui
Childcare: pay 73.5% less in Koh Samui
Entertainment and Sports: pay 63.9% less in Koh Samui
Clothing: pay 40.7% less in Koh Samui

Expenses including childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, and clothing are lower in Koh Samui.

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Koh Samui vs. Sydney Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 62.8% less for restaurants

	Sydney	Koh Samui
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.41 A$25.04	$4.46 THB148.24	-74.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.84 A$17.03	$8.62 THB286.59	-27.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.81 A$4.04	$0.92 THB30.54	-67.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.22 A$3.19	$0.48 THB15.87	-78.5%
Average			-62.8%

Sydney vs. Koh Samui - Cost of restaurants

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pay 43.9% less for groceries

	Sydney	Koh Samui
Bread 1 loaf	$2.85 A$4.09	$1.42 THB47.33	-50.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.93 A$8.54	$9.70 THB322.52	+63.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.42 A$9.24	$5.59 THB185.80	-13.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.56 A$7.99	$2.13 THB70.84	-61.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.34 A$6.24	$1.46 THB48.50	-66.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.81 A$2.60	$1.32 THB43.97	-26.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.45 A$2.09	$0.50 THB16.51	-65.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.56 A$2.24	$1.02 THB33.84	-34.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.98 A$2.85	$0.95 THB31.62	-52.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.48 A$2.12	$0.62 THB20.62	-58.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.07 A$1.54	$0.61 THB20.32	-42.9%
Average			-43.9%

Sydney vs. Koh Samui - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.6% less for transportation

	Sydney	Koh Samui
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.40 A$7.77	$5.41 THB180.01	+0.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$151.36 A$217.75	$44.56 THB1,482.38	-70.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,893.97 A$41,568.07	$26,737.57 THB889K	-7.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.24 A$23.36	$11.29 THB375.54	-30.5%
Average			-30.6%

Sydney vs. Koh Samui - Cost of transportation

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pay 70.4% less for housing

	Sydney	Koh Samui
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$56.21 A$80.87	$17.15 THB570.48	-69.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,517.32 A$3,621.52	$842.23 THB28,017.01	-66.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,743.66 A$2,508.51	$391.56 THB13,025.19	-77.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$168.46 A$242.35	$74.96 THB2,493.60	-55.5%
Average			-70.4%

Sydney vs. Koh Samui - Cost of housing

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pay 73.5% less for childcare

	Sydney	Koh Samui
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,195.71 A$3,158.84	$555.38 THB18,474.87	-74.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$28,441.13 A$40,916.61	$7,921.52 THB264K	-72.1%
Average			-73.5%

Sydney vs. Koh Samui - Cost of childcare

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pay 63.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Sydney	Koh Samui
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.66 A$11.02	$2.38 THB79.06	-69.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.97 A$5.72	$2.14 THB71.03	-46.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$44.55 A$64.09	$4.33 THB143.89	-90.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$75.28 A$108.30	$40.11 THB1,334.14	-46.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.41 A$25.04	$5.94 THB197.65	-65.9%
Average			-63.9%

Sydney vs. Koh Samui - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 40.7% less for clothing

	Sydney	Koh Samui
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$78.68 A$113.19	$41.59 THB1,383.56	-47.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$69.62 A$100.16	$28.69 THB954.49	-58.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.40 A$160.26	$95.68 THB3,182.71	-14.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$133.24 A$191.68	$87.87 THB2,922.95	-34.1%
Average			-40.7%

Sydney 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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