Koh Samui · Edition 9 September 2026
Koh Samui: holiday rent vs long-stay rent
Ask which monthly price you are being quoted. Holiday monthly is the nightly rate times 25, the industry's own printed rule (horizonhomes-samui.com, read 10 September 2026). A 3-bedroom pool villa asks THB 250,000 a month in high season and lets for THB 60,000 on a 12-month lease. The gap is THB 190,000 a month, $5,775.
Current at 9 September 2026. Dollars at THB 32.9 to US$1, the rate of 8 September 2026.
Getting the wrong price costs more than the rest of the budget
A year at the high-season holiday rate is THB 3,000,000 ($91,185), against THB 720,000 ($21,885) on a 12-month lease. That is THB 2,280,000 ($69,301) extra for the same address (horizonhomes-samui.com, 2026 guides, read 10 September 2026).
Villas are 88.6% of listings (samuipropertygroup.com, 5 May 2026), so on moving to Koh Samui the holiday price is still the default quote.
One villa, four seasons, two prices
Asking nightly rates by category and season, times 25, against one flat long-stay rent. Bands and rule from horizonhomes-samui.com's two 2026 guides, with three-seasons-properties.com listings, read 10 September 2026.
| Villa | Season | Nightly THB | Holiday month THB | Holiday USD | Long-stay THB | Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budget 2BR | Low | 3,000–5,000 | 75,000–125,000 | $2,280–3,800 | 12,000–25,000 | 3.0–10.4× |
| Budget 2BR | High | 5,000–8,000 | 125,000–200,000 | $3,800–6,079 | 12,000–25,000 | 5.0–16.7× |
| Budget 2BR | Peak | 8,000–12,000 | 200,000–300,000 | $6,079–9,119 | 12,000–25,000 | 8.0–25.0× |
| Mid 3BR pool | Low | 6,000–10,000 | 150,000–250,000 | $4,559–7,599 | 40,000–90,000 | 1.7–6.3× |
| Mid 3BR pool | High | 10,000–18,000 | 250,000–450,000 | $7,599–13,678 | 40,000–90,000 | 2.8–11.3× |
| Mid 3BR pool | Peak | 18,000–30,000 | 450,000–750,000 | $13,678–22,796 | 40,000–90,000 | 5.0–18.8× |
| Luxury 4BR | Low | 12,000–20,000 | 300,000–500,000 | $9,119–15,198 | 80,000–200,000 | 1.5–6.3× |
| Luxury 4BR | High | 20,000–40,000 | 500,000–1,000,000 | $15,198–30,395 | 80,000–200,000 | 2.5–12.5× |
| Luxury 4BR | Peak | 40,000–80,000 | 1,000,000–2,000,000 | $30,395–60,790 | 80,000–200,000 | 5.0–25.0× |
| Ultra 5BR+ | Low | 25,000–50,000 | 625,000–1,250,000 | $18,997–37,994 | 550,000–770,000 | 0.8–2.3× |
| Ultra 5BR+ | High | 50,000–100,000 | 1,250,000–2,500,000 | $37,994–75,988 | 550,000–770,000 | 1.6–4.5× |
| Ultra 5BR+ | Peak | 100,000–150,000 | 2,500,000–3,750,000 | $75,988–113,982 | 550,000–770,000 | 3.2–6.8× |
The gap is widest where most people rent. At midpoints the mid-range 3-bedroom is 5.4 times its lease rent in high season, and 18.8 times at the peak top. That lease is THB 2,167 a night ($65.87) on a villa asking 10,000 to 18,000.
CHECK Three 2026 calendars disagree on which month is which. Peak runs 15 December to 15 January, or 20 December to 10 January, with February in two bands at once (mykeythai.com, 12 June 2026). Measured occupancy peaks at 76.2% in February and falls to 38.7% in September (samuipropertygroup.com, 5 May 2026).
That firm's guide still prints both figures: 30 to 60% off nightly in one place, 30 to 50% in another (horizonhomes-samui.com, 11 September 2026). Also on renting on Koh Samui.
CHECK The rule multiplies the asking nightly rate, not the realised one. Market-wide daily rate was THB 13,012 in Q1 2025, against an Airbnb-channel median of THB 5,188 (samuipropertygroup.com, 5 May 2026).
The rule is meaner than the same firm's own discount schedule
Thirty nights at the nightly rate is thirty times, so 25 times is a 16.7% discount. The same domain's extended-stay schedule gives 20 to 30% off for 30 nights, which is 24 to 21 times.
The rule runs 4.2 to 19.0% dearer in price, a 3.3 to 13.3-point gap in discount terms (horizonhomes-samui.com, 11 September 2026). One guide sets headline rates, the other tenant discounts.
On a villa asking THB 12,000 a night, the rule gives THB 300,000 and that 30% gives THB 252,000. Naming the schedule saves THB 48,000 ($1,459).
The number to negotiate against. A median listing grosses THB 1,262,000 a year, less operating costs of 30 to 40% and ownership costs of THB 110,000–160,000 (samuipropertygroup.com, 5 May 2026). Eleven months of rent matches that at THB 62,600–86,800 a month ($1,903–2,640). Their figures, our sums.
Day thirty is a statutory line, not a marketing one
A let under 30 days is a hotel business under the Hotel Act B.E. 2547, carrying up to THB 20,000 ($608) plus THB 10,000 ($304) a day (sasipimonestate.com, 19 August 2026). Thirty days or more is a lease.
Above that line the Notification of the Contract Committee B.E. 2568 applies, effective 4 September 2025. It caps the deposit at one month and bars utilities above the government tariff (tilleke.com, read 10 September 2026).
Airbnb's monthly discount starts at 28 nights, two days below that line (airbnb.com, read 10 September 2026). Ask for 30.
CHECK It binds lessors of three units or more and returns the deposit within 7 to 14 days. Samui guides print the superseded five-unit threshold and a flat 30-day refund, citing Civil and Commercial Code s.1431, which governs engagement gifts, not leases (tilleke.com, 10 September 2026).
CHECK Whether it reaches holiday letting is unsettled, because hotels are excluded and holiday rentals are not (tilleke.com, 10 September 2026). An eight-villa estate letting monthly may be covered where the same one letting nightly is not.
Some arrivals cannot reach the long-stay price at all
Anyone entering visa-free on a Western passport. From 15 September 2026 the stay is 30 days, extendable once by 30 for THB 1,900 ($58) (Royal Gazette, 31 August 2026). Six months is the shortest term that buys a long-stay rate, so without a Thai DTV visa, a Non-O or an LTR, the price is unreachable. One firm's THB 20,000 DTV rent test appears on no embassy page (thaiembassy.fr, 11 September 2026).
The three-month trial visitor. Three months at high-season asking is THB 750,000–1,350,000 ($22,796–41,033), against THB 211,800–225,000 for three months of a 6-month lease. Three to six times the price of the thing it trials.
Anyone who cannot put down three months' rent. THB 180,000 ($5,471) on a 60,000 villa, before you hold a key. CHECK It is the statutory ceiling, though one firm's FAQ says one to two months plus the first (three-seasons-properties.com, 10 September 2026).
Anyone arriving 15 December to 15 January. Peak carries 7 to 14 night minimums and nothing lets long-stay, because the villa earns THB 450,000–750,000 a month letting nightly. Arrive in September at 38.7% occupancy.
A family of four needing three bedrooms. That band diverges most, 2.8 to 18.8 times, and both island schools sit in Bophut, where entry-level stock is thinning.
Anyone who will not drive. Long-stay stock at THB 40,000–80,000 sits in Maenam, Bophut, Lamai and inland, on a 51-kilometre ring road with no bus and no train.
Anyone who cannot commit to October, November and December. The lease runs six or twelve months, and 1,002.6 mm of the annual 1,994.3 mm of rain falls in those three. CHECK Water rationing began 3 August 2026 and nothing since confirms it ended.
Anyone trusting a single-villa landlord for protection. A one-villa owner sits outside the notification, so none of those protections binds them (silqlaw.com, 11 September 2026).
Anyone re-booking on a platform for ever. Rolling 28-night stays never become a lease, never put a TM30 in your name, and so never reach a Thai driving licence.
Five routes, and the cheapest one needs a visa before it needs money
- 12-month lease, THB 40,000–90,000 ($1,216–2,736). That's 15 to 20% under six months. Three months at signing, and a visa that covers a year.
- 6-month lease with an exit, THB 70,600–75,000 ($2,146–2,280). Derived from the documented 15 to 20% twelve-versus-six saving, not quoted by any agency (horizonhomes-samui.com, 11 September 2026). The statutory exit is half the term on 30 days' notice.
- One low-season holiday month, THB 105,000–200,000 ($3,192–6,079). The rule's rate less that firm's own 20 to 30% discount. Use it once, in May, September or October.
- Thirty nights on a platform, not 28, THB 72,632–116,211 ($2,208–3,532). The median villa's rate less a 20 to 50% monthly discount. No lease and no TM30.
- An apartment, a Thai house or a room, THB 4,000–25,000 ($122–760). Nathon, Lipa Noi and Bang Por run THB 7,000–12,000, and no holiday price exists for this stock. CHECK One firm headlines long-stay from THB 15,000 while its 30 listings started at THB 45,000 (three-seasons-properties.com, 11 September 2026).
Come in September, at 38.7% occupancy (samuipropertygroup.com, 5 May 2026). Rent two months at a long-stay rate, then decide in November — the sequence is in the best time to move to Koh Samui. Ask for the twelve-month price in writing: at THB 40,000–90,000 ($1,216–2,736) it is the island's lowest rent per month, in five housing bands across 25 named estates, Koh Samui, honestly.
What this page does not cover
- The five housing bands, with 25 named estates and a 1-bedroom and 3-bedroom long-stay rent in each
- What the seven areas cost on a lease, from THB 7,000 studios in Nathon to THB 200,000 villas in Choeng Mon
- The rent calendar month by month, and why November at 444.6 mm of rain is high season
- The visa routes that can carry a 6- or 12-month lease, with the money test for each
All of it is in Koh Samui, honestly — 25 pages, $29. See what's inside
Related
The lease price follows the address, and the seven areas foreigners actually rent in run from THB 7,000 to THB 200,000. What either price does to a budget sits with what living on Koh Samui costs. Compare all ten cities on rent and deposits first.
Written by Mihailo Pavlovic. We last changed this page on 21 September 2026.