Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hong Kong and Koh Tao

For one person, living is cheaper in Koh Tao: $1,038 a month against $2,984 in Hong Kong, rent and utilities included – about $23,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

144

Cost of Living Index in Hong Kong
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Hong Kong Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Koh Tao
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Koh Tao Living Index

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Hong Kong

🇭🇰 Hong Kong (China)

$2,984

/mo nomad

Koh Tao

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,038

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Hong Kong and in Koh Tao

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

A single person spends $2,984 per month in Hong Kong vs $1,038 in Koh Tao, rent included.

Hong Kong $2,984
Koh Tao $1,038

A couple spends around $4,558 per month in Hong Kong vs $1,702 in Koh Tao, rent included.

Hong Kong $4,558
Koh Tao $1,702

A family of three spends $6,132 per month in Hong Kong vs $2,367 in Koh Tao, rent included.

Hong Kong $6,132
Koh Tao $2,367

Hong Kong costs about 188% more than Koh Tao, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Hong Kong sits 123% above the global median, while Koh Tao is 23% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.46 HK$66.4

$3.75 ฿126

125.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.2 HK$496

$27.47 ฿920

129.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.20 HK$48.66

$7.44 ฿249

-16.67%

Cappuccino

$4.90 HK$38.41

$2.29 ฿76.7

113.97%

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

$1.27 HK$10.01

$0.74 ฿24.85

71.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.06 HK$8.31

$0.42 ฿14.14

152.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.68 HK$60.3

$2.11 ฿70.5

263.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.28 HK$49.24

$3.16 ฿106

98.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.86 HK$22.45

$1.56 ฿52.3

83.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.43 HK$19.10

$1.31 ฿43.93

85.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.18 HK$17.09

$1.43 ฿47.89

52.45%

Eggs

$3.54 HK$27.80

$2.08 ฿69.6

70.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$25.12 HK$197

$18.59 ฿623

35.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.89 HK$69.8

$3.11 ฿104

185.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.63 HK$138

$10.34 ฿346

70.50%

Apples (1kg)

$4.11 HK$32.22

$2.70 ฿90.5

52.22%

Banana (1kg)

$2.72 HK$21.32

$1.54 ฿51.7

76.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.59 HK$36.05

$2.16 ฿72.5

112.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.02 HK$31.52

$1.95 ฿65.2

106.15%

Potato (1kg)

$3.25 HK$25.50

$1.43 ฿48.03

127.27%

Onion (1kg)

$3.27 HK$25.70

$1.26 ฿42.12

159.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.60 HK$12.54

$1.06 ฿35.35

50.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 HK$13.56

$0.51 ฿17.19

239.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.14 HK$103

$4.06 ฿136

223.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.59 HK$130

$17.40 ฿583

-4.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.01 HK$15.80

$1.67 ฿56.0

20.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 HK$17.13

$2.63 ฿88.0

-17.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.44 HK$11.31

$1.97 ฿65.9

-26.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$89.1 HK$699

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.64 HK$28.53

$2.62 ฿87.6

38.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.31 HK$10.29

$0.91 ฿30.50

43.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.82 HK$124

$3.48 ฿117

354.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$4.06 HK$31.89

$1.29 ฿43.27

214.73%

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

$44.4K HK$348.2K

$23.8K ฿796.9K

86.39%

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

$37.4K HK$293.2K

$24.3K ฿813.9K

53.71%

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

$247 HK$1,942

$96.6 ฿3,235

156.09%

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

$15.89 HK$125

$11.14 ฿373

42.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.46 HK$168

$16.85 ฿564

27.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$91.4 HK$717

$54.6 ฿1,827

67.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.08 HK$71.3

$11.61 ฿389

-21.79%

Cinema Ticket

$13.96 HK$110

$7.88 ฿264

77.16%

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

$1,155 HK$9,067

$547 ฿18.3K

111.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K HK$174.6K

$11.4K ฿383.3K

94.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.9 HK$541

$62.7 ฿2,100

9.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.44 HK$317

$28.43 ฿952

42.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 HK$627

$96.2 ฿3,220

-16.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 HK$923

$88.2 ฿2,952

33.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,180 HK$17.1K

$535 ฿17.9K

307.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,718 HK$13.5K

$354 ฿11.9K

385.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,047 HK$39.6K

$1,533 ฿51.3K

229.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,543 HK$27.8K

$897 ฿30.0K

295.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$29.1K HK$228.7K

$2,660 ฿89.0K

995.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$17.6K HK$137.9K

$1,917 ฿64.2K

816.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,228 HK$25.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.91

5.57

-29.80%

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

Last update for Hong Kong: October 4, 2026

Last update for Koh Tao: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hong Kong

$1.7K 57.5%

Koh Tao

$354 34% 79.4% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Hong Kong

$415 13.9%

Koh Tao

$252 24.2% 39.3% $163

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hong Kong

$285 9.5%

Koh Tao

$125 12% 56.2% $160

Eating Out

Hong Kong

$205 6.9%

Koh Tao

$101 9.7% 50.6% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Hong Kong

$138 4.6%

Koh Tao

$124 11.9% 10.2% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Hong Kong

$119 4%

Koh Tao

$70 6.8% 41.1% $49

Getting Around

Hong Kong

$105 3.5%

Koh Tao

$15 * 1.5% 85.7% $90

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,180 in Hong Kong versus $535 in Koh Tao. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $63.0 in Hong Kong versus $27.00 in Koh Tao. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $415 vs $252 – making Koh Tao the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇰 Hong Kong

🇹🇭 Koh Tao

🕒 Local time

20:01 8:01 PM

19:01 7:01 PM

1 h behind Hong Kong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,367,900 Capital

1,382

💱 Currency

Hong Kong Dollar HKD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 HKD = 0.127 USD

1 HKD = 0.114 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to HKD – Hong Kong Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇰 Hong Kong Dollar ($)

Hong Kong Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 7.85 HKD (1 HKD = 0.127 USD). 1 EUR = 8.79 HKD (1 HKD = 0.114 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 HKD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Hong Kong Koh Tao 2,040 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Hong Kong
Koh Tao

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

Hong Kong vs Koh Tao: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,984 in Hong Kong, $1,038 in Koh Tao – roughly 188% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,476 per month in Hong Kong and $1,557 in Koh Tao. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Koh Tao, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $63.0 in Hong Kong and $27.00 in Koh Tao. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 65% more in Hong Kong, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Koh Tao, where all-in costs run around $1,038, than in Hong Kong at $2,984. In Koh Tao it covers expenses comfortably, while in Hong Kong it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Hong Kong has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,038 in Koh Tao to $2,984 in Hong Kong. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Koh Tao. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Hong Kong makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.