Bangkok vs South Tarawa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Bangkok	South Tarawa
🚶 Cost of living one person	$996	$526
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2570	$1270
🏠 One person rent	$434	$226
🏘️ Family rent	$753	$370
🍽️ Food expenses	$308	$222
🚐 Transport expenses	$148	$22.1
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$635	$181
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	21 km	20 km
🎓 Higher education	89	1
😀 Quality of life	74	30
🏙️ Population	5.68M	63.4K

The cost of living in Bangkok is 89% more expensive than in South Tarawa. Cities ranked 5606th and 8528th ($996 vs $526) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 2nd in Thailand and Kiribati, respectively. Check Thailand vs Kiribati comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.6 months in Bangkok compared to 0.3 months in South Tarawa. Bangkok ranked 1st best city to live in Thailand vs South Tarawa ranked 1st in Kiribati, while ranked 2044th and 8796th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Bangkok vs South Tarawa

Prices for goods and services in Bangkok and South Tarawa are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Bangkok	South Tarawa
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$3.36	$3.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$36.3	$21.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$7.01	$5.11
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.03	$1.82
☕ Cappuccino	$2.94	$1.95
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.64	$0.63
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$606	$214
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$294	$146
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1118	$385
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$525	$256
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$60.2	$41.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$91.9	$63.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$18.1	$25.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	5.4%	12.34%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$6402	$1342
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3365	$823
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.22	$0.38
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$35	$15.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$10.9	$7.19
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.35	$1.03
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.96	$1.22
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.6	$0.74
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.56	$1.19
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.69	$1.7
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$17.6	$7.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.7	$4.45
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.1	$7.14
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.91	$2.34
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.82	$1.25
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.44	$1.62
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.28	$1.14
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.77	$1.03
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.59	$1.03
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.39	$0.38
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.25	$1.2
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15.2	$7.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.82	$1.42
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4.61	$3.16
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$2.26	$3.85
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.14	$3.01
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.93	$1.51
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.96	$1.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$61	$23.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$7.68	$4.41
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$37.9	$18.5
💇 Haircut, simple	$8.8	$4.15
👖 Brand Jeans	$69.9	$31
👟 Brand Sneakers	$99.9	$65.3
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$533	$139
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$16017	$4506

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Bangkok

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 8.1 mi	Nonthaburi	$761
13 km or 8.4 mi	Lat Luang	$794
14 km or 8.4 mi	Pu Chao Saming Phrai	$789
18 km or 11 mi	Pak Kret	$762
28 km or 18 mi	Rangsit	$616
39 km or 25 mi	Tha Khlong	$671
50 km or 31 mi	Nakhon Pathom	$603
86 km or 53 mi	Laem Chabang	$799
87 km or 54 mi	Chaophraya Surasak	$784
98 km or 61 mi	Pattaya	$839
103 km or 64 mi	Nong Prue	$809
145 km or 90 mi	Hua Hin	$787
164 km or 102 mi	Klaeng	$724
217 km or 135 mi	Nakhon Ratchasima	$586
222 km or 138 mi	Nakhon Sawan	$707
254 km or 158 mi	Myeik	$567
267 km or 166 mi	Serei Saophoan	$644
270 km or 168 mi	Ko Chang	$718
299 km or 186 mi	Battambang	$601
342 km or 212 mi	Phitsanulok	$554
364 km or 226 mi	Siem Reap	$679
388 km or 241 mi	Khon Kaen	$590
416 km or 258 mi	Ko Tao	$812
434 km or 270 mi	Mawlamyine	$575
452 km or 281 mi	Ko Pha-ngan	$766
466 km or 290 mi	Hpa-an	$601
473 km or 294 mi	Udon Thani	$564
475 km or 295 mi	Sihanoukville	$766
475 km or 295 mi	Ko Samui	$735
496 km or 308 mi	Ubon Ratchathani	$543
519 km or 323 mi	Vientiane	$968
529 km or 329 mi	Surat Thani	$582
529 km or 329 mi	Kampot	$582
536 km or 333 mi	Phnom Penh	$893
542 km or 337 mi	Phu Quoc	$518
569 km or 354 mi	Kampong Cham	$518
578 km or 359 mi	Yangon	$656
579 km or 360 mi	Prey Veng	$776
584 km or 363 mi	Chiang Mai	$750
587 km or 365 mi	Bago	$610

Cities near South Tarawa

Distance	City	Cost of living
658 km or 409 mi	Majuro	$1499
661 km or 411 mi	Djarrit	$1497
706 km or 439 mi	Yaren	$788
1302 km or 809 mi	Vaiaku	$714
1302 km or 809 mi	Funafuti	$714
1768 km or 1099 mi	Auki	$1491
1879 km or 1167 mi	Honiara	$1502
1988 km or 1235 mi	Luganville	$2020
2172 km or 1349 mi	Lautoka	$680
2190 km or 1361 mi	Nadi	$1095
2190 km or 1361 mi	Port Vila	$2036
2248 km or 1397 mi	Nasinu	$910
2253 km or 1400 mi	Suva	$891
2310 km or 1435 mi	Manase	$790
2382 km or 1480 mi	Apia	$789
2712 km or 1685 mi	Dumbea	$1844
2713 km or 1686 mi	Paita	$1851
2725 km or 1693 mi	Noumea	$1911
2817 km or 1750 mi	Nukualofa	$1032
2825 km or 1756 mi	Mua	$1033
3022 km or 1878 mi	Lae	$546
3104 km or 1929 mi	Port Moresby	$562
3286 km or 2042 mi	London	$526
3357 km or 2086 mi	Saipan	$1435
3375 km or 2097 mi	Dededo	$2409
3383 km or 2102 mi	Hagatna	$3243
3611 km or 2244 mi	Cairns	$1851
3612 km or 2244 mi	Jayapura	$492
3658 km or 2273 mi	Gladstone	$1643
3665 km or 2277 mi	Townsville	$2015
3668 km or 2279 mi	Bundaberg	$1720
3672 km or 2282 mi	Hervey Bay	$1883
3673 km or 2282 mi	Rockhampton	$1642
3762 km or 2338 mi	Kauai	$2888
3779 km or 2348 mi	Sunshine Coast	$1838
3788 km or 2354 mi	Caloundra	$1863
3822 km or 2375 mi	Caboolture	$1992
3851 km or 2393 mi	Waipahu	$2760
3854 km or 2395 mi	Brisbane	$2323
3855 km or 2396 mi	Pearl	$2649