Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Koh Samui and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Koh Samui: $1,221 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Koh Samui
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Koh Samui Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Koh Samui

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,221

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,221 in Koh Samui versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Koh Samui $1,221
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,093 in Koh Samui versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Koh Samui $2,093
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,965 in Koh Samui versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Koh Samui $2,965
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Koh Samui costs roughly 50% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Koh Samui is 10% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.31 ฿146

$17.59 €15.80

-75.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.28 ฿1,090

$67.5 €60.6

-52.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿289

$13.53 €12.15

-36.81%

Cappuccino

$2.75 ฿92.7

$3.19 €2.87

-13.79%

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

$0.89 ฿30.03

$2.91 €2.62

-69.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.57

$1.89 €1.70

-74.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$4.01 €3.60

-36.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.61 ฿122

$4.53 €4.07

-20.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.31 €1.17

26.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.34

$2.02 €1.81

-27.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 ฿53.4

$1.85 €1.66

-14.59%

Eggs

$2.16 ฿73.0

$4.83 €4.34

-55.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.29 ฿651

$16.74 €15.04

15.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿113

$9.12 €8.19

-63.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.86 ฿367

$19.64 €17.64

-44.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿99.3

$2.98 €2.68

-1.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 ฿54.2

$2.02 €1.81

-20.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.29 ฿77.2

$2.70 €2.43

-15.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿69.2

$2.80 €2.52

-26.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.83

$2.09 €1.87

-30.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿46.17

$2.07 €1.86

-33.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.70

$1.46 €1.31

-23.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.64

$0.94 €0.84

-41.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿144

$6.87 €6.17

-37.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.41 ฿622

$7.89 €7.09

133.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.4

$1.41 €1.26

29.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿96.3

$2.54 €2.28

12.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 ฿51.7

$3.14 €2.82

-51.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$58.1 ฿1,961

$25.45 €22.86

128.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.15 ฿106

$2.99 €2.69

5.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 ฿36.16

$1.49 €1.34

-28.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.08 ฿138

$33.37 €29.99

-87.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 ฿51.7

$1.80 €1.62

-15.00%

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

$27.5K ฿929.7K

$33.2K €29.8K

-17.06%

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

$27.7K ฿936.9K

$31.7K €28.5K

-12.48%

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

$104 ฿3,496

$180 €162

-42.63%

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

$11.49 ฿388

$13.84 €12.43

-16.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.05 ฿610

$33.70 €30.28

-46.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.9 ฿2,360

$51.5 €46.28

35.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.34 ฿383

$15.96 €14.34

-28.95%

Cinema Ticket

$8.14 ฿275

$10.99 €9.88

-25.93%

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

$509 ฿17.2K

$917 €824

-44.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.4K ฿417.2K

$16.5K €14.8K

-25.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,122

$87.0 €78.2

-27.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.10 ฿983

$38.51 €34.60

-24.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.8 ฿3,234

$106 €95.1

-9.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.2 ฿2,945

$120 €108

-27.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$607 ฿20.5K

$1,699 €1,527

-64.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$420 ฿14.2K

$1,355 €1,218

-69.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 ฿55.8K

$2,603 €2,339

-36.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,221 ฿41.2K

$2,062 €1,853

-40.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,583 ฿121.0K

$6,915 €6,213

-48.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,588 ฿87.4K

$5,128 €4,607

-49.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$405 ฿13.7K

$2,211 €1,986

-81.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.28

69.82%

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

Last update for Koh Samui: October 24, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Koh Samui

$420 34.4%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 223% $935

Groceries & Markets

Koh Samui

$267 21.9%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 20.6% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Koh Samui

$133 10.9%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 71.3% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Koh Samui

$124 10.1%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 27.7% $34

Eating Out

Koh Samui

$119 9.7%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 126% $149

Sport & Entertainment

Koh Samui

$86 7.1%

Barcelona

$74 3% 14.7% $13

Getting Around

Koh Samui

$73 6%

Barcelona

$48 2% 33.3% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $607 in Koh Samui and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 5.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Koh Samui vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $322 per month, with Koh Samui cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Koh Samui

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

01:47 1:47 AM

19:47 7:47 PM

6 h behind Koh Samui

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

62,110

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Koh Samui Barcelona 9,950 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Koh Samui
Barcelona

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

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

Koh Samui and Barcelona differ by about 101% in total monthly costs ($1,221 vs $2,453 including rent). Koh Samui is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 82% lower in Koh Samui. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $607 in Koh Samui versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $509 in Koh Samui versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 21% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,221 in Koh Samui versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Koh Samui but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Koh Samui the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Koh Samui is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Barcelona, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

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

It comes down to priorities – Koh Samui wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.