Cost of living comparison
compared to
Maldives vs. Thailand Cost of Living Summary
Maldives is 47.0% more expensive than Thailand overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 57.5% more in Maldives
- Groceries
-
pay 43.7% more in Maldives
- Transportation
-
pay 12.7% more in Maldives
- Housing
-
pay 2.6 times more in Maldives
- Childcare
-
pay 61.0% less in Maldives
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 96.5% more in Maldives
- Clothing
-
pay 20.7% more in Maldives
The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, clothing, and transportation in Maldives are more expensive than in Thailand. Notably, housing and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Maldives.
Maldives vs. Thailand Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Maldives instead of Thailand, you would:
pay 57.5% more for restaurants
|
Thailand
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$2.67
THB85.43
|
$5.56
MVR85.56
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.99
THB223.63
|
$9.80
MVR150.98
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.73
THB23.49
|
$1.45
MVR22.29
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.36
THB11.51
|
$0.31
MVR4.70
|
|
Thailand vs. Maldives - Cost of restaurants
pay 43.7% more for groceries
|
Thailand
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.41
THB45.03
|
$1.59
MVR24.49
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.88
THB252.05
|
$4.58
MVR70.46
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.17
THB229.11
|
$6.95
MVR107.00
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.07
THB66.18
|
$1.67
MVR25.67
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.41
THB45.15
|
$2.82
MVR43.37
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.33
THB42.47
|
$1.84
MVR28.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.59
THB18.95
|
$1.73
MVR26.63
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.90
THB28.72
|
$1.96
MVR30.25
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.75
THB24.08
|
$1.48
MVR22.83
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.71
THB22.77
|
$0.70
MVR10.77
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.62
THB19.72
|
$0.55
MVR8.45
|
|
Thailand vs. Maldives - Cost of groceries
pay 12.7% more for transportation
|
Thailand
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.83
THB154.50
|
$3.54
MVR54.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$28.12
THB899.09
|
$28.91
MVR445.28
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,471.21
THB974,258.89
|
$32,679.74
MVR503,267.97
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.53
THB336.66
|
$17.65
MVR271.76
|
|
Thailand vs. Maldives - Cost of transportation
pay 2.6 times more for housing
|
Thailand
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$18.52
THB592.20
|
$61.82
MVR952.02
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$414.60
THB13,256.12
|
$1,136.53
MVR17,502.54
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$266.86
THB8,532.32
|
$731.21
MVR11,260.62
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$60.46
THB1,933.10
|
$93.30
MVR1,436.78
|
|
Thailand vs. Maldives - Cost of housing
pay 61.0% less for childcare
|
Thailand
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$359.13
THB11,482.48
|
$164.38
MVR2,531.44
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,104.31
THB355,039.19
|
$3,587.42
MVR55,246.24
|
|
Thailand vs. Maldives - Cost of childcare
pay 96.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Thailand
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.15
THB68.88
|
$4.74
MVR72.97
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.97
THB63.01
|
$3.31
MVR50.96
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.31
THB137.94
|
$13.07
MVR201.31
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$53.45
THB1,709.08
|
$72.98
MVR1,123.97
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.32
THB201.98
|
$9.80
MVR150.98
|
|
Thailand vs. Maldives - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 20.7% more for clothing
|
Thailand
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$37.08
THB1,185.58
|
$43.03
MVR662.64
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$29.48
THB942.56
|
$56.86
MVR875.69
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.15
THB2,914.34
|
$90.20
MVR1,389.02
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$69.13
THB2,210.16
|
$51.74
MVR796.84
|
|
Thailand vs. Maldives - Cost of clothing
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: November 2025
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