Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Austin, TX and Samut Prakan

For one person, living is cheaper in Samut Prakan: $886 a month against $2,663 in Austin, TX, rent and utilities included – about $21,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

130

Cost of Living Index in Austin, TX
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Austin, TX Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Samut Prakan
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Samut Prakan Living Index

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Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,663

/mo nomad

Samut Prakan

🇹🇭 Thailand

$886

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Austin, TX and in Samut Prakan

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Austin, TX and in Samut Prakan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,663 in Austin, TX versus $886 in Samut Prakan.

Austin, TX $2,663
Samut Prakan $886

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,133 in Austin, TX versus $1,389 in Samut Prakan.

Austin, TX $4,133
Samut Prakan $1,389

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,603 in Austin, TX versus $1,893 in Samut Prakan.

Austin, TX $5,603
Samut Prakan $1,893

Living in Austin, TX is roughly 201% more expensive than in Samut Prakan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Austin, TX is 97% above, Samut Prakan is 34% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.77 $20.77

$3.25 ฿109

539.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 $84.6

$15.10 ฿505

460.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.32 $12.32

$7.61 ฿254

61.89%

Cappuccino

$5.63 $5.63

$1.43 ฿47.70

293.71%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 $3.72

$0.51 ฿17.05

629.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 $2.50

$0.26 ฿8.75

861.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.05 $8.05

$2.03 ฿67.8

296.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.01 $9.01

$3.02 ฿101

198.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 $1.12

$1.48 ฿49.36

-24.32%

White Bread (500g)

$3.75 $3.75

$0.96 ฿32.07

290.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.26 $3.26

$0.87 ฿29.12

274.71%

Eggs

$4.17 $4.17

$1.74 ฿58.2

139.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.90 $12.90

$12.31 ฿412

4.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.16 $14.16

$2.47 ฿82.4

473.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.22 $16.22

$10.24 ฿342

58.40%

Apples (1kg)

$4.33 $4.33

$1.79 ฿59.9

141.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 $1.46

$0.71 ฿23.72

105.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.51 $4.51

$1.31 ฿43.92

244.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.34 $4.34

$1.17 ฿39.20

270.94%

Potato (1kg)

$2.58 $2.58

$1.46 ฿48.70

76.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.35 $2.35

$0.77 ฿25.72

205.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.78 $1.78

$0.82 ฿27.36

117.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.22 $2.22

$0.45 ฿14.90

393.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.88 $9.88

$4.56 ฿152

116.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.08 $15.08

$8.98 ฿300

67.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.92 $2.92

$1.03 ฿34.32

183.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.46 $3.46

$1.87 ฿62.6

85.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.49 $1.49

$0.53 ฿17.76

181.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.72 $41.72

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.73 $2.73

$1.69 ฿56.4

61.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.66 $1.66

$1.54 ฿51.5

7.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.30 $35.30

$4.76 ฿159

641.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 $0.95

$1.11 ฿37.00

-14.41%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$36.0K $36.0K

$11.9K ฿396.7K

203.70%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$27.1K $27.1K

$23.5K ฿785.8K

15.14%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$229 $229

$83.1 ฿2,778

175.49%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$59.4 $59.4

$9.05 ฿302

556.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.9 $69.9

$16.08 ฿537

334.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.2 $57.2

$47.11 ฿1,574

21.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.33 $16.33

$14.07 ฿470

16.06%

Cinema Ticket

$14.28 $14.28

$6.55 ฿219

118.02%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,506 $1,506

$146 ฿4,876

932.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.5K $21.5K

$6,031 ฿201.6K

255.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.8 $52.8

$14.97 ฿500

252.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.82 $43.82

$36.13 ฿1,208

21.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.8 $84.8

$72.1 ฿2,411

17.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 $103

$118 ฿3,927

-12.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,907 $1,907

$469 ฿15.7K

306.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,274 $1,274

$331 ฿11.1K

284.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,664 $3,664

$1,375 ฿46.0K

166.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,538 $2,538

$720 ฿24.1K

252.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,614 $7,614

$1,909 ฿63.8K

298.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,157 $3,157

$1,597 ฿53.4K

97.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,121 $5,121

$674 ฿22.5K

659.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.79

126.33%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Austin, TX: October 12, 2026

Last update for Samut Prakan: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Austin, TX

$1.3K 47.8%

Samut Prakan

$331 37.4% 74% $943

Groceries & Markets

Austin, TX

$405 15.2%

Samut Prakan

$181 20.4% 55.4% $224

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Austin, TX

$358 13.5%

Samut Prakan

$108 12.2% 69.8% $250

Eating Out

Austin, TX

$354 13.3%

Samut Prakan

$85 9.6% 75.9% $269

Clothing & Footwear

Austin, TX

$128 4.8%

Samut Prakan

$108 12.2% 15.3% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Austin, TX

$86 3.2%

Samut Prakan

$60 6.8% 29.8% $26

Getting Around

Austin, TX

$59 2.2%

Samut Prakan

$12 * 1.3% 80.4% $47

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,907 in Austin, TX and $469 in Samut Prakan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Austin, TX pays 660% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $85.0 in Austin, TX vs $15.00 in Samut Prakan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $405 vs $181 per month, with Samut Prakan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🇹🇭 Samut Prakan

🕒 Local time

18:24 6:24 PM

06:24 6:24 AM

12 h ahead of Austin, TX

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

974,447

50,843

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Austin, TX Samut Prakan 14,760 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Austin, TX
Samut Prakan

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Austin, TX vs Samut Prakan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Samut Prakan wins on cost – living expenses run 201% lower than in Austin, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Samut Prakan the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 660% higher in Austin, TX, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,907 in Austin, TX versus $469 in Samut Prakan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,506 in Austin, TX versus $146 in Samut Prakan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Samut Prakan – a meal for two runs $15.00 versus $85.0 in Austin, TX. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $886 in Samut Prakan versus $2,663 in Austin, TX, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Samut Prakan but tight or insufficient in Austin, TX. The gap between the two cities makes Samut Prakan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Austin, TX and Samut Prakan are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Samut Prakan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 201% less than in Austin, TX. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.