Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Yiwu and Samut Prakan

For one person, living is cheaper in Yiwu: $548 a month against $886 in Samut Prakan, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Samut Prakan outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

27

Cost of Living Index in Yiwu
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Yiwu Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Samut Prakan
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Samut Prakan Living Index

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Yiwu

🇨🇳 China

$548

/mo nomad

Samut Prakan

🇹🇭 Thailand

$886

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $548 per month in Yiwu vs $886 in Samut Prakan, rent included.

Yiwu $548
Samut Prakan $886

A couple spends around $1,288 per month in Yiwu vs $1,378 in Samut Prakan, rent included.

Yiwu $1,288
Samut Prakan $1,378

A family of three spends $2,028 per month in Yiwu vs $1,869 in Samut Prakan, rent included.

Yiwu $2,028
Samut Prakan $1,869

Yiwu is about 38% cheaper than Samut Prakan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Yiwu and Samut Prakan are more affordable than the global median – Yiwu 60% lower, Samut Prakan 35% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.82 ¥18.84

$3.30 ฿110

-14.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.19 ¥202

$15.12 ฿505

99.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.15 ¥34.42

$7.48 ฿250

-31.15%

Cappuccino

$3.29 ¥22.00

$1.38 ฿46.13

138.41%

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

$0.57 ¥3.83

$0.52 ฿17.54

9.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.35 ¥2.37

$0.26 ฿8.77

34.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.21 ¥8.09

$2.02 ฿67.6

-40.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 ¥14.71

$2.92 ฿97.4

-24.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 ¥11.85

$1.46 ฿48.92

21.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.01 ¥13.45

$0.98 ฿32.62

105.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ¥6.83

$0.88 ฿29.34

15.91%

Eggs

$1.74 ¥11.67

$1.84 ฿61.5

-5.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.98 ¥114

$12.31 ฿411

37.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.17 ¥21.18

$2.49 ฿83.1

27.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.88 ¥86.1

$10.20 ฿341

26.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.22 ¥14.82

$1.84 ฿61.5

20.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 ¥11.64

$0.77 ฿25.67

125.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 ¥13.54

$1.31 ฿43.68

54.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.72 ¥11.50

$1.21 ฿40.59

42.15%

Potato (1kg)

$0.77 ¥5.12

$1.52 ฿50.7

-49.34%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 ¥6.59

$0.77 ฿25.78

28.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.61 ¥4.09

$0.78 ฿25.99

-21.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.64 ¥4.27

$0.45 ฿15.01

42.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.69 ¥24.64

$4.50 ฿151

-18.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.70 ¥71.6

$9.10 ฿304

17.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 ¥5.96

$1.03 ฿34.32

-13.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 ¥10.74

$1.89 ฿63.2

-14.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.47 ¥3.11

$0.51 ฿16.95

-7.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.39 ¥9.29

$1.74 ฿58.1

-20.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 ¥3.14

$1.61 ฿53.7

-70.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.05 ¥60.5

$5.85 ฿196

54.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 ¥8.47

$1.07 ฿35.84

18.69%

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

$19.7K ¥131.8K

$12.1K ฿405.1K

62.58%

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

$17.8K ¥119.1K

$24.3K ฿811.4K

-26.61%

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

$57.1 ¥382

$83.1 ฿2,776

-31.23%

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

$7.97 ¥53.3

$9.40 ฿314

-15.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.37 ¥69.4

$16.35 ฿547

-36.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.23 ¥102

$47.72 ฿1,595

-68.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.14 ¥74.5

$15.06 ฿503

-26.03%

Cinema Ticket

$7.02 ¥46.92

$6.41 ฿214

9.52%

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

$1,398 ¥9,350

$148 ฿4,933

847.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.3K ¥182.6K

$5,950 ฿198.9K

358.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 ¥360

$15.09 ฿504

256.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.70 ¥252

$35.66 ฿1,192

5.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.1 ¥515

$70.9 ฿2,369

8.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$74.9 ¥500

$120 ฿4,004

-37.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$448 ¥2,998

$478 ฿16.0K

-6.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$330 ฿11.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,062 ¥7,100

$1,147 ฿38.3K

-7.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$740 ¥4,949

$691 ฿23.1K

7.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$11.4K ¥76.5K

$1,726 ฿57.7K

562.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,980 ¥19.9K

$1,607 ฿53.7K

85.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$758 ¥5,070

$671 ฿22.4K

13.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

12.00%

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

Last update for Yiwu: October 20, 2026

Last update for Samut Prakan: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Yiwu

$236 43.1%

Samut Prakan

$182 20.5% 22.9% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Yiwu

$110 20%

Samut Prakan

$109 12.3% 0.8% $0.9

Eating Out

Yiwu

$92 16.7%

Samut Prakan

$84 9.5% 7.8% $7.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Yiwu

$75 13.8%

Samut Prakan

$109 12.3% 44.2% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Yiwu

$29 5.4%

Samut Prakan

$61 6.8% 107% $31

Getting Around

Yiwu

$5.6 * 1%

Samut Prakan

$12 * 1.3% 111% $6.2

Accommodation & Living

Yiwu

- * 0%

Samut Prakan

$330 37.2%

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $448 in Yiwu versus $478 in Samut Prakan. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 13% higher in Yiwu, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $30.00 in Yiwu versus $15.00 in Samut Prakan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $236 vs $182 – making Samut Prakan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Yiwu

🇹🇭 Samut Prakan

🕒 Local time

19:38 7:38 PM

18:38 6:38 PM

1 h behind Yiwu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,234,015

50,843

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

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).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Yiwu Samut Prakan 2,660 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Yiwu
Samut Prakan

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

Yiwu vs Samut Prakan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $548 in Yiwu, $886 in Samut Prakan – roughly 62% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $821 per month in Yiwu and $1,329 in Samut Prakan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Monthly expenses with rent come to $548 in Yiwu and $886 in Samut Prakan. That's a gap of about 62%.

Kindergarten costs $1,398 per month in Yiwu and $148 in Samut Prakan. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$800 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $548 in Yiwu and $886 in Samut Prakan, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Yiwu – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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 Yiwu. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Samut Prakan makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.