Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bangalore and Koh Samui

For one person, living is cheaper in Bangalore: $535 a month against $1,183 in Koh Samui, rent and utilities included – about $7,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

26

Cost of Living Index in Bangalore
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Bangalore Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Koh Samui
Learn more

Koh Samui Living Index

Jump to prices

Bangalore

🇮🇳 India

$535

/mo nomad

Koh Samui

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,183

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bangalore and in Koh Samui

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $535 in Bangalore versus $1,183 in Koh Samui.

Bangalore $535
Koh Samui $1,183

Estimated couple costs with rent: $927 in Bangalore versus $1,939 in Koh Samui.

Bangalore $927
Koh Samui $1,939

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,318 in Bangalore versus $2,694 in Koh Samui.

Bangalore $1,318
Koh Samui $2,694

Living in Bangalore costs roughly 55% less than in Koh Samui, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bangalore 60% lower, Koh Samui 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.04 ₹294

$4.36 ฿146

-30.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$17.83 ₹1,725

$32.80 ฿1,098

-45.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.78 ₹463

$8.50 ฿285

-43.76%

Cappuccino

$2.24 ₹217

$2.73 ฿91.3

-17.95%

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

$0.39 ₹37.49

$0.94 ฿31.60

-58.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.14 ₹13.64

$0.50 ฿16.59

-72.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.34 ₹226

$2.54 ฿84.9

-7.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 ₹379

$3.73 ฿125

4.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.61 ₹58.6

$1.74 ฿58.2

-64.94%

White Bread (500g)

$0.57 ₹55.2

$1.46 ฿48.79

-60.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 ₹77.9

$1.56 ฿52.2

-48.08%

Eggs

$1.12 ₹109

$2.10 ฿70.3

-46.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.93 ₹574

$19.60 ฿656

-69.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.85 ₹373

$3.27 ฿110

17.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.94 ฿366

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 ₹269

$2.96 ฿99.0

-6.08%

Banana (1kg)

$0.75 ₹72.2

$1.69 ฿56.5

-55.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.22 ₹118

$2.22 ฿74.2

-45.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.40 ₹39.19

$2.10 ฿70.3

-80.95%

Potato (1kg)

$0.38 ₹36.40

$1.46 ฿48.79

-73.97%

Onion (1kg)

$0.36 ₹34.72

$1.33 ฿44.53

-72.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.42 ₹40.31

$1.11 ฿37.27

-62.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.32 ₹31.21

$0.51 ฿16.97

-37.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.61 ₹446

$4.23 ฿142

8.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.01 ₹872

$18.25 ฿611

-50.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 ₹180

$1.74 ฿58.3

6.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.92 ₹283

$2.87 ฿95.9

1.74%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$6.35 ₹614

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 ₹48.89

$2.46 ฿82.5

-79.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.71 ₹1,520

$45.15 ฿1,512

-65.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.01 ₹97.8

$3.08 ฿103

-67.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.30 ₹29.43

$1.06 ฿35.62

-71.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.10 ₹203

$3.89 ฿130

-46.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.08 ₹104

$1.50 ฿50.3

-28.00%

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

$12.6K ₹1.2M

$28.2K ฿944.4K

-55.43%

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

$19.1K ₹1.8M

$27.7K ฿925.9K

-31.09%

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

$30.32 ₹2,934

$102 ฿3,405

-70.19%

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

$4.11 ₹398

$11.78 ฿394

-65.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.23 ₹990

$17.76 ฿595

-42.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.61 ₹1,801

$54.1 ฿1,812

-65.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.95 ₹576

$11.53 ฿386

-48.40%

Cinema Ticket

$4.60 ₹446

$7.73 ฿259

-40.49%

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

$104 ₹10.1K

$615 ฿20.6K

-83.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,176 ₹307.3K

$12.4K ฿415.9K

-74.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.29 ₹3,125

$61.9 ฿2,073

-47.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.85 ₹2,889

$28.96 ฿969

3.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$53.3 ₹5,160

$94.6 ฿3,167

-43.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$39.66 ₹3,838

$88.2 ฿2,951

-55.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₹29.9K

$619 ฿20.7K

-50.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$175 ₹16.9K

$389 ฿13.0K

-55.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₹76.3K

$1,761 ฿59.0K

-55.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$481 ₹46.6K

$1,025 ฿34.3K

-53.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,889 ₹182.8K

$2,971 ฿99.5K

-36.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,067 ₹103.3K

$2,176 ฿72.8K

-50.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$919 ₹89.0K

$397 ฿13.3K

131.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.5

5.57

52.60%

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

Last update for Bangalore: October 4, 2026

Last update for Koh Samui: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bangalore

$175 32%

Koh Samui

$389 33.5% 122% $214

Groceries & Markets

Bangalore

$122 22.4%

Koh Samui

$267 23% 118% $145

Eating Out

Bangalore

$87 15.9%

Koh Samui

$119 10.2% 36.5% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Bangalore

$70 12.8%

Koh Samui

$123 10.6% 76.4% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bangalore

$45 8.2%

Koh Samui

$131 11.3% 194% $87

Sport & Entertainment

Bangalore

$28 5.1%

Koh Samui

$70 6% 150% $42

Getting Around

Bangalore

$20 3.7%

Koh Samui

$63 5.5% 213% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $309 in Bangalore and $619 in Koh Samui. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bangalore pays 132% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $18.00 in Bangalore vs $33.00 in Koh Samui for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $122 vs $267 per month, with Bangalore cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇳 Bangalore

🇹🇭 Koh Samui

🕒 Local time

15:47 3:47 PM

17:17 5:17 PM

1 h 30 min ahead of Bangalore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,495,492

62,110

💱 Currency

Indian Rupee INR ₹

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 INR = 10.33 USD

1,000 INR = 9.22 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to INR – Indian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇳 Indian Rupee (₹)

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 96.78 INR (100 INR = 1.03 USD). 1 EUR = 108 INR (1,000 INR = 9.22 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

USD to INR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bangalore Koh Samui 2,470 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bangalore
Koh Samui

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

Bangalore vs Koh Samui: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bangalore wins on cost – living expenses run 121% lower than in Koh Samui. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Bangalore the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 132% higher in Bangalore, 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: $309 in Bangalore versus $619 in Koh Samui. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Bangalore runs roughly 187% less than in Koh Samui. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $104 in Bangalore versus $615 in Koh Samui. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $535 in Bangalore versus $1,183 in Koh Samui, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Bangalore but tight or insufficient in Koh Samui. The gap between the two cities makes Bangalore the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Bangalore delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $535 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bangalore hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Bangalore and Koh Samui 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 Bangalore gentler on the wallet – expenses run 121% less than in Koh Samui. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.