Cost of living on Koh Samui: a monthly budget, line by line

The cost of living on Koh Samui depends on choices such as where you live, whether you drive and how much you use air-conditioning. No official source publishes a typical monthly budget for the island, and the guides that do use different methods. If you are moving to Koh Samui, this article prices what can be priced from published tariffs, marks what cannot and leaves the guesses out. Everything below is as of 23 October 2026.

At a glance

• Electricity: the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) charges households on a progressive tariff for bills from September 2026. A month of 300 units comes to about THB 1,140 by our arithmetic, before the fixed monthly service charge.
• Water: the Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) tariff for the Samui area rises in four steps up to 50 m³ a month. A month of 20 m³ costs THB 262 on that table.
• Internet: the AIS-3BB page lists home fibre packages from THB 699 to THB 999 a month, before VAT, on 24-month contracts.
• Not priced: rent, mobile plans, health insurance, local fares and food. We found no stable official source for them on the island, so we quote no figures.
• At The Astra Samui: Parking is free of charge. Owner fees are in our guide to condo running costs.

A monthly budget, line by line

A budget for Koh Samui has the same lines as a budget anywhere. What differs is how much of each line you can price from a public source. The table shows that for each one.

Line	How it is charged	What we can source
Electricity	Per unit (kWh) on PEA’s household tariff, plus Ft, a service charge and VAT	The tariff, the Ft and VAT. Worked examples below.
Water	Per m³ in steps on the PWA tariff	The tariff table for the Samui area.
Internet	Monthly package on a contract	The operator’s package page, which shows no date and lists prices before VAT.
Mobile phone	Prepaid or postpaid plan	No stable price list, so no figure.
Health insurance	Yearly premium that depends on age and cover	No official price list, so no figure.
Transport	Fuel, scooter or car costs, taxis	Fuel prices move often. No official fare table for the island.
Food	Markets, supermarkets and restaurants	No official price basket for the island.
Housing	Rent, or the running costs of an owned apartment	No official rent data for the island. Owner fees depend on the building: ask for them.

We do not add the lines into one total. A total needs rent, insurance, transport and food, and for those we have no source to show you. A made-up total would look exact and mislead you. Comparison sites and guides that publish a single total use different methods, and some rely on user submissions.

The sections below take the lines in turn. Keep your own numbers in a spreadsheet and replace our examples with real quotes.

Electricity and water

Electricity

The Provincial Electricity Authority supplies electricity on Koh Samui. For bills from September 2026 it charges households a progressive rate: the more units (kWh) you use in a month, the more each further unit costs. According to PEA, the change follows a decision of the national electricity regulator on 5 August 2026, which also took public lighting costs out of the household tariff.

PEA sorts homes into two types by monthly use. Type 1.1.1 is for homes using up to 150 units a month, and type 1.1.2 is for homes using more.

Units in a month	Type 1.1.1 (up to 150 units), THB per kWh	Type 1.1.2 (more than 150 units), THB per kWh
1–15	2.3488	3.0000, one band for units 1–200
16–25	2.9882	same band
26–200	3.0000	same band
201–400	4.1584	4.1584
401 and above	4.3583	4.3583

Both columns leave out the Ft charge, a fixed monthly service charge and VAT. The Ft is a variable adjustment that PEA sets for each four-month period. PEA lists 9.72 satang per unit for January to April 2026 and 16.23 satang for May to December. A satang is one hundredth of a baht. VAT is charged at the reduced rate of 7%. The Revenue Department lists Royal Decree No. 807 as extending the VAT reduction to 30 September 2027, and KPMG gives the extended rate as 7%.

Here is what the tariff means in practice. The examples add the energy charge by step, the Ft of 16.23 satang per unit and 7% VAT, and round to the nearest ten baht. The 150-unit example uses the type 1.1.1 rates and the other two use type 1.1.2. They leave out the fixed monthly service charge, because the PEA page we used does not give its amount, so check it on your bill. This is our arithmetic, not a quote.

Units used in a month	Estimated bill
150	about THB 500
300	about THB 1,140
500	about THB 2,090

We found no official figure for how many units an apartment on Samui uses. Air-conditioning is likely to make the biggest difference, so ask the seller or the building for a year of bills from a comparable apartment. The rate rises above 200 and 400 units, so a month of heavy cooling costs more per unit than a mild one.

Also ask how the building bills electricity: through a PEA meter in your own name, which is billed on the tariff above, or through the building, whose rate you should get in writing. Our guide to condo running costs lists the questions to ask.

Water

Where PWA supplies the area, households pay by steps. Its Table No. 2, for the Phuket, Samui and Phangan area, sets these residential rates.

Water used in a month	Rate in this step (THB)	Bill at the top of the step
0–10 m³	10.20 per m³	THB 102
11–20 m³	16.00 per m³	THB 262
21–30 m³	19.00 per m³	THB 452
31–50 m³	21.20 per m³	THB 876

The table also sets a minimum charge of THB 50 a month, which covers 4 m³. Above 50 m³ it sends households to the rate for user type 2 from the 51st m³, and we do not reproduce that rate here. The table does not say whether other charges are added to the bill and shows no effective date, so check the rate on your own bill.

At 20 m³ a month, the water bill on this table is lower than any of the three electricity examples above.

Internet and phone

Home internet is sold as a monthly package on a contract. The AIS-3BB page for its home internet packages with a home insurance cover lists three fibre packages, all on 24-month contracts. The page says the monthly fees do not include VAT:

• 500 Mbps in both directions for THB 699 a month;
• 1 Gbps down and 500 Mbps up for THB 799 a month;
• 1 Gbps down and 500 Mbps up, with a set-top box and mobile data, for THB 999 a month.

The page also lists an installation and outdoor wiring fee of THB 4,800, payable in the first bill and discounted if you keep the service for 24 months without a break. The page shows no date and offers change often, so read these as list prices on 23 October 2026. Other AIS-3BB packages may cost something different. Before you rely on fibre, ask the building which providers are connected.

Mobile plans from AIS, True and other operators change with promotions, and we found no stable price list to cite, so we give no figure. Compare a prepaid and a postpaid plan on the operator’s own site and check coverage at the address you are considering.

Health insurance and healthcare

Health insurance is the line with the least public data. Premiums usually depend on your age, your medical history and the cover you choose, and insurers quote them individually. No official price list exists, so we quote no premium. Some visa routes set a minimum health cover, which our guide to visa options for property buyers covers.

When you compare quotes, compare the same things:

• the yearly limit and whether it covers hospital stays only or outpatient visits too;
• the excess you pay on each claim;
• whether the insurer pays the hospitals near you directly or you pay first and claim back;
• exclusions for illnesses you already have;
• whether cover can be renewed as you get older.

Distance to care matters too. According to the developer, Wattanapat Hospital is 1.8 km from The Astra Samui, Thai Inter Hospital is 3.6 km and Bangkok Hospital Samui is 6.1 km. For specialist treatment, ask the hospital what it does on site and what it refers elsewhere. Ask for its price list for a consultation, a scan and a night in a ward, so you can judge how much cover you want.

Transport

Fuel prices move often. OR and Bangchak raised petrol, gasohol and diesel prices on 2 October 2026, and PTT Station and Bangchak raised several grades again on 21 October, according to The Nation. Both reports quote Bangkok prices, so check the pump you actually use, and keep a margin in a fuel budget.

We found no official fare table for songthaews, taxis or scooter rental on the island. Ask for prices in person and compare a few. If you buy a car, ask a local insurer for a written quote before you decide.

How much you need a car depends on your errands. According to the developer, Samui International Airport is 7.3 km from The Astra Samui, and Bophut Beach is about 300 m away. Parking is free of charge. Our guide to living in Bophut describes everyday life there.

Food and groceries

We found no official price basket for Koh Samui, and many comparison sites that publish one are built on user submissions. Build your own. List what you buy in a typical week, price it at a market and at a supermarket, add the meals you would eat out, and multiply by about four for a month.

According to the developer, Big C is 2.4 km from The Astra Samui, Lotus’s is 3.7 km and Central Samui is 6 km. It lists Fisherman’s Village, 850 m away, as a dining area. If you want to compare areas before you choose where to live, see where to live on Koh Samui.

Owning or renting on Samui

Living in Koh Samui means renting or owning, and each has its own lines. Renting means a monthly rent and often a deposit. Owning means a purchase price and running costs. We found no official source for rents on the island, so we quote none. Asking prices on listing sites are not agreed rents, so compare several and ask what each includes.

Electricity, water, internet, insurance and food come on top whether you rent or own. Owners also pay the building’s fees and may owe a yearly tax to the local authority. Ask the seller for the fee schedule in writing and for what each fee covers. Fees often depend on the size of the apartment, and at The Astra Samui the apartments are about 26–73 m², so ask for the schedule for the one you are considering. Our running costs guide explains the usual fees and taxes for a Thai condo.

Whether owning costs less than renting depends on the price you pay, how long you stay and the rent you would otherwise pay. We do not claim it does. If you are weighing a purchase, our how to buy guide covers the steps.

How costs change with the seasons

Some changes follow the calendar and some do not.

• Weather: according to the official classification of Thai seasons, abundant rain on the southern east coast lasts until the end of the year, and November is the wettest month. Mid February to mid May is the summer, or pre-monsoon, season. How much you cool the apartment changes your electricity bill from month to month.
• Tariffs: PEA sets the Ft for each four-month period. In 2025 it listed 36.72 satang per unit for January to April, 19.72 for May to August and 15.72 for September to December. The household tariff itself changed with the bills of September 2026.
• Prices in general: Thailand’s headline inflation was 2.82% in September 2026 compared with a year earlier, according to the Bank of Thailand’s key statistics. Fuel moved twice in October alone.

We found no official data on seasonal swings in rents, restaurant prices or ferry fares, so we do not describe them. If you can, visit in both a dry and a wet month and compare prices on the spot.

We at Varsovia Estate, the sales agent for The Astra Samui, have an office on Koh Samui. We can go through the running costs of a specific apartment with you and talk through daily life on the island. See the 2-bedroom apartments or book a call with our team. Prices start from THB 3,700,000 (about €98,000, NBP average rate of 23 October 2026).