Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Samut Prakan and Bishkek

For one person, living is cheaper in Samut Prakan: $886 a month against $989 in Bishkek, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

Samut Prakan
🇹🇭 Thailand
$886
/mo nomad
Bishkek
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan
$989
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Samut Prakan and in Bishkek

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $886 in Samut Prakan versus $989 in Bishkek.

  • Samut Prakan $886
  • Bishkek $989

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,378 in Samut Prakan versus $1,516 in Bishkek.

  • Samut Prakan $1,378
  • Bishkek $1,516

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,869 in Samut Prakan versus $2,042 in Bishkek.

  • Samut Prakan $1,869
  • Bishkek $2,042

Living in Samut Prakan costs roughly 10% less than in Bishkek, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Samut Prakan 35% lower, Bishkek 27% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Samut Prakan
Bishkek
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$3.30 ฿110
$7.01 KGS 613
-52.92%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$15.12 ฿505
$28.94 KGS 2,531
-47.75%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.48 ฿250
$6.00 KGS 525
24.67%
Cappuccino
$1.38 ฿46.13
$2.49 KGS 218
-44.58%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.52 ฿17.54
$0.71 KGS 62.5
-26.76%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.26 ฿8.77
$0.37 KGS 32.76
-29.73%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.02 ฿67.6
$1.33 KGS 116
51.88%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.92 ฿97.4
$1.96 KGS 172
48.98%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Samut Prakan
Bishkek
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.46 ฿48.92
$0.99 KGS 86.2
47.47%
White Bread (500g)
$0.98 ฿32.62
$0.39 KGS 33.95
151.28%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$0.88 ฿29.34
$1.71 KGS 149
-48.54%
Eggs
$1.84 ฿61.5
$1.75 KGS 153
5.14%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$12.31 ฿411
$7.82 KGS 684
57.42%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$2.49 ฿83.1
$4.68 KGS 410
-46.79%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.20 ฿341
$8.86 KGS 775
15.12%
Apples (1kg)
$1.84 ฿61.5
$1.37 KGS 120
34.31%
Banana (1kg)
$0.77 ฿25.67
$1.83 KGS 160
-57.92%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.31 ฿43.68
$2.01 KGS 176
-34.83%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.21 ฿40.59
$1.57 KGS 137
-22.93%
Potato (1kg)
$1.52 ฿50.7
$0.62 KGS 54.0
145.16%
Onion (1kg)
$0.77 ฿25.78
$0.51 KGS 44.85
50.98%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.78 ฿25.99
$0.70 KGS 61.5
11.43%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.45 ฿15.01
$0.62 KGS 53.9
-27.42%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.50 ฿151
$2.03 KGS 177
121.67%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.10 ฿304
$9.13 KGS 799
-0.33%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.03 ฿34.32
$1.38 KGS 120
-25.36%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.89 ฿63.2
$1.95 KGS 171
-3.08%
🚌 Getting Around
Samut Prakan
Bishkek
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.51 ฿16.95
$0.24 KGS 21.02
112.50%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$11.77 KGS 1,030
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.74 ฿58.1
$0.89 KGS 77.9
95.51%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.61 ฿53.7
$0.47 KGS 41.16
242.55%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.85 ฿196
$5.58 KGS 488
4.84%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.07 ฿35.84
$0.96 KGS 83.8
11.46%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$12.1K ฿405.1K
$29.7K KGS 2.6M
-59.20%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.3K ฿811.4K
$33.4K KGS 2.9M
-27.30%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Samut Prakan
Bishkek
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$83.1 ฿2,776
$50.5 KGS 4,417
64.53%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$9.40 ฿314
$5.77 KGS 505
62.91%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$16.35 ฿547
$11.99 KGS 1,049
36.36%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Samut Prakan
Bishkek
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$47.72 ฿1,595
$55.3 KGS 4,839
-13.74%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$15.06 ฿503
$14.53 KGS 1,271
3.65%
Cinema Ticket
$6.41 ฿214
$5.81 KGS 508
10.33%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Samut Prakan
Bishkek
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$148 ฿4,933
$218 KGS 19.1K
-32.24%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,950 ฿198.9K
$7,840 KGS 685.9K
-24.11%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Samut Prakan
Bishkek
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$15.09 ฿504
$56.2 KGS 4,917
-73.15%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$35.66 ฿1,192
$43.43 KGS 3,799
-17.89%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$70.9 ฿2,369
$90.5 KGS 7,916
-21.67%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$120 ฿4,004
$89.8 KGS 7,855
33.42%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Samut Prakan
Bishkek
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$478 ฿16.0K
$595 KGS 52.0K
-19.64%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$330 ฿11.0K
$416 KGS 36.4K
-20.75%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,147 ฿38.3K
$1,016 KGS 88.9K
12.87%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$691 ฿23.1K
$718 KGS 62.8K
-3.84%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,726 ฿57.7K
$1,748 KGS 152.9K
-1.24%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,607 ฿53.7K
$1,225 KGS 107.1K
31.21%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Samut Prakan
Bishkek
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$671 ฿22.4K
$497 KGS 43.5K
34.90%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3
20.1
-85.07%

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

Last update for Samut Prakan: October 19, 2026

Last update for Bishkek: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Samut Prakan
$330
Bishkek
$416 26.2% $86
Groceries & Markets
Samut Prakan
$182
Bishkek
$177 2.8% $5.2
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Samut Prakan
$109
Bishkek
$68 37.3% $41
Clothing & Footwear
Samut Prakan
$109
Bishkek
$126 15.9% $17
Eating Out
Samut Prakan
$84
Bishkek
$119 40.7% $34
Sport & Entertainment
Samut Prakan
$61
Bishkek
$67 10.6% $6.4
Getting Around
Samut Prakan
$12 *
Bishkek
$16 35.3% $4.2

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 $478 in Samut Prakan and $595 in Bishkek. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Samut Prakan pays 35% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $15.00 in Samut Prakan vs $29.00 in Bishkek. Groceries flip the comparison at $182 vs $177, with Bishkek cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇹🇭 Samut Prakan
🇰🇬 Bishkek
🕒 Local time
18:41 6:41 PM
17:41 5:41 PM
1 h behind Samut Prakan
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
50,843
1,012,500 Capital
💱 Currency
Thai Baht THB ฿
Exchange rates and currency converter

KGS, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Kyrgyzstani Som exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 87.48 KGS (100 KGS = 1.14 USD). 1 EUR = 98.35 KGS (100 KGS = 1.02 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Samut Prakan Bishkek 4,100 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Samut Prakan
  • Bishkek

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
Samut Prakan vs Bishkek: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bishkek cheaper than Samut Prakan?
Samut Prakan is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and leisure. The 12% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
Where can you earn more: Samut Prakan or Bishkek?
Average pay runs 35% higher in Samut Prakan, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
What is the rent difference between Samut Prakan and Bishkek?
Rent for a central apartment: $478 in Samut Prakan versus $595 in Bishkek. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Childcare runs $148 in Samut Prakan versus $218 in Bishkek. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Is eating out cheaper in Samut Prakan or in Bishkek?
Dining out is cheaper in Samut Prakan – a meal for two runs $15.00 versus $29.00 in Bishkek. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Is $2,000 a realistic budget for living in Samut Prakan or in Bishkek?
At $886 in Samut Prakan versus $989 in Bishkek, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Samut Prakan but tight or insufficient in Bishkek. The gap between the two cities makes Samut Prakan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is Samut Prakan or Bishkek more family-friendly?
For families, Samut Prakan is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Bishkek, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.
Which city is safer, Samut Prakan or Bishkek?
Safety-wise, Samut Prakan and Bishkek are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Samut Prakan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 12% less than in Bishkek. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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