Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pai and Koh Phangan

For one person, living is cheaper in Pai: $887 a month against $1,103 in Koh Phangan, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Pai
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Pai Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Koh Phangan
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Koh Phangan Living Index

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Pai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$887

/mo nomad

Koh Phangan

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,103

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Pai and in Koh Phangan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $887 in Pai versus $1,103 in Koh Phangan.

Pai $887
Koh Phangan $1,103

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,447 in Pai versus $1,874 in Koh Phangan.

Pai $1,447
Koh Phangan $1,874

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,006 in Pai versus $2,646 in Koh Phangan.

Pai $2,006
Koh Phangan $2,646

Living in Pai costs roughly 20% less than in Koh Phangan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Pai 35% lower, Koh Phangan 19% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.99 ฿101

$3.88 ฿131

-22.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.41 ฿824

$28.98 ฿979

-15.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 ฿233

$7.88 ฿266

-12.56%

Cappuccino

$2.04 ฿68.8

$2.46 ฿83.2

-17.07%

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

$0.71 ฿23.94

$0.80 ฿27.06

-11.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.37 ฿12.50

$0.44 ฿14.90

-15.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.12 ฿71.6

$2.25 ฿76.0

-5.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.60 ฿122

$3.26 ฿110

10.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 ฿59.7

$1.59 ฿53.6

11.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 ฿47.23

$1.38 ฿46.60

1.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.26 ฿42.56

$1.44 ฿48.50

-12.50%

Eggs

$2.12 ฿71.5

$2.00 ฿67.4

6.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.96 ฿573

$18.46 ฿623

-8.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.09 ฿104

$3.29 ฿111

-6.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.89 ฿368

$10.67 ฿360

2.06%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 ฿98.3

$2.72 ฿91.7

6.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 ฿39.89

$1.54 ฿52.0

-23.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 ฿63.0

$2.07 ฿69.9

-10.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.52 ฿51.5

$1.93 ฿65.3

-21.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 ฿52.5

$1.44 ฿48.63

7.64%

Onion (1kg)

$1.25 ฿42.08

$1.23 ฿41.67

1.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.98 ฿33.08

$1.07 ฿35.99

-8.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.37

$0.48 ฿16.06

6.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.25 ฿143

$4.04 ฿136

5.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.32 ฿619

$17.83 ฿602

2.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 ฿60.9

$1.70 ฿57.5

5.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ฿93.3

$2.65 ฿89.6

4.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.95 ฿32.06

$1.32 ฿44.64

-28.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$49.08 ฿1,657

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.10 ฿37.00

$2.61 ฿88.3

-57.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.19 ฿40.15

$0.96 ฿32.44

23.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.31 ฿213

$3.32 ฿112

90.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ฿44.12

$1.33 ฿44.99

-1.50%

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

$27.4K ฿925.0K

$23.5K ฿795.2K

16.33%

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

$27.0K ฿911.5K

$23.7K ฿799.5K

14.01%

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

$72.5 ฿2,448

$98.0 ฿3,311

-26.04%

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

$13.31 ฿449

$11.12 ฿376

19.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.34 ฿619

$16.94 ฿572

8.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 ฿1,696

$67.7 ฿2,286

-25.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.12 ฿443

$10.81 ฿365

21.37%

Cinema Ticket

$6.78 ฿229

$7.68 ฿259

-11.72%

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

$293 ฿9,888

$478 ฿16.2K

-38.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,600 ฿324.2K

$11.6K ฿391.7K

-17.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.04 ฿1,082

$62.1 ฿2,098

-48.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.86 ฿1,177

$28.52 ฿963

22.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.1 ฿2,774

$96.0 ฿3,242

-14.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.5 ฿2,279

$86.5 ฿2,922

-22.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$446 ฿15.1K

$498 ฿16.8K

-10.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$270 ฿9,135

$348 ฿11.7K

-22.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$822 ฿27.7K

$1,349 ฿45.6K

-39.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$650 ฿22.0K

$1,007 ฿34.0K

-35.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,474 ฿83.5K

$2,927 ฿98.8K

-15.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,826 ฿61.7K

$2,098 ฿70.9K

-12.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$724 ฿24.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.45

5.57

-2.15%

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

Last update for Pai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Koh Phangan: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Pai

$270 30.5%

Koh Phangan

$348 31.6% 28.6% $77

Groceries & Markets

Pai

$249 28.1%

Koh Phangan

$254 23.1% 2% $4.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pai

$104 11.7%

Koh Phangan

$126 11.4% 21.1% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Pai

$97 11%

Koh Phangan

$123 11.1% 26.2% $25

Eating Out

Pai

$91 10.3%

Koh Phangan

$107 9.7% 17.4% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Pai

$64 7.2%

Koh Phangan

$83 7.5% 30.2% $19

Getting Around

Pai

$11 * 1.2%

Koh Phangan

$62 5.6% 470% $51

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 $446 in Pai and $498 in Koh Phangan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $24 in Pai vs $29 in Koh Phangan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $249 vs $254 per month, with Pai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Pai

🇹🇭 Koh Phangan

🕒 Local time

17:33 5:33 PM

Same time as Pai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,284

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Pai Koh Phangan 1,080 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Pai
Koh Phangan

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

Pai vs Koh Phangan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Pai and Koh Phangan differ by about 24% in total monthly costs ($887 vs $1,103 including rent). Pai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,331 in Pai and $1,654 in Koh Phangan to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $446 in Pai versus $498 in Koh Phangan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $293 in Pai versus $478 in Koh Phangan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $887 per month in Pai versus $1,103 in Koh Phangan – a 24% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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

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