10 cities · one comparable family model · local prices retained
Southeast Asia Family Cost Index
This index compares realistic monthly plans for a family of four with one international-school place. It shows how city, school and family logistics change the budget without pretending that one crowd-sourced average fits every household.
What this edition shows
School and location choices matter more than cheap daily spending
Bangkok and Phuket sit highest in this family model, while Metro Cebu, Da Nang and Penang sit lowest. The gap is driven mainly by the particular school, family home and transport plan—not restaurant or coffee prices.
Metro Cebu baseline
The comfortable plan is about about £2,150 a month.
Bangkok in this edition
The comfortable plan is about about £4,000 a month.
Comparable city models
Every model includes one international-school place and the same broad family needs.
The index at a glance
Compare the comfortable monthly plan
The local amount is the source figure. Your chosen website currency is a rounded planning conversion.
A higher index means the same SettleHappy family model costs more. It does not mean the city is worse or that every household will spend this amount.
Read the score as a ratio, not a ranking. An index of 150 means the modelled comfortable budget is about 50% higher than this edition's Metro Cebu base. It does not measure quality of life, value or suitability.
Downloadable data, shown in full
All three family scenarios by city
Careful and flexible plans give the comparison context. They are coherent household models, not promises that every family can secure the same rent, school place or insurance quote.
| City | Careful monthly | Comfortable monthly | More flexible monthly | Selected-currency view | Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇵🇭 Metro CebuThe Philippines | 120,000 PHP | 180,000 PHP | 300,000 PHP | about £2,150/month | 100 |
| 🇻🇳 Da NangVietnam | 60,000,000 VND | 90,000,000 VND | 145,000,000 VND | about £2,550/month | 120 |
| 🇲🇾 PenangMalaysia | 9,000 MYR | 14,000 MYR | 23,000 MYR | about £2,550/month | 121 |
| 🇵🇭 Metro ManilaThe Philippines | 160,000 PHP | 240,000 PHP | 400,000 PHP | about £2,850/month | 133 |
| 🇹🇭 Chiang MaiThailand | 90,000 THB | 130,000 THB | 220,000 THB | about £2,900/month | 136 |
| 🇻🇳 HanoiVietnam | 75,000,000 VND | 110,000,000 VND | 175,000,000 VND | about £3,100/month | 146 |
| 🇲🇾 Kuala LumpurMalaysia | 12,000 MYR | 17,000 MYR | 28,000 MYR | about £3,100/month | 147 |
| 🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh CityVietnam | 80,000,000 VND | 120,000,000 VND | 190,000,000 VND | about £3,400/month | 160 |
| 🇹🇭 PhuketThailand | 115,000 THB | 170,000 THB | 280,000 THB | about £3,800/month | 178 |
| 🇹🇭 BangkokThailand | 125,000 THB | 180,000 THB | 285,000 THB | about £4,000/month | 189 |
Transparent methodology
How the Family Cost Index is calculated
The index is a SettleHappy planning model built from the detailed city budgets already published on the site. It is not an official consumer-price index or a survey of household spending.
Use one family model
Two adults and two children, a three-bedroom long-term rental, one international-school place, private-health planning and family-safe transport.
Build three city scenarios
Careful, comfortable and more flexible plans use internally consistent housing, school and travel choices rather than the cheapest figure from every category.
Keep the local price
The original THB, MYR, VND or PHP figure remains the auditable input. Currency conversion never replaces the local amount.
Normalise one scenario
The index compares the comfortable monthly plan. Local totals are converted to GBP using the same fixed 31 August 2026 reference point.
Set the base at 100
Metro Cebu is the lowest comfortable total in this edition, so it becomes 100. Every other score shows the proportional cost against that base.
Review the underlying evidence
Each city guide records rent, school, utilities, food, transport, health, help, setup and contingency sources. Material changes flow into the next edition.
What the index cannot tell you
Use it to shortlist, then replace the model with your family's figures
- It includes one international-school place, not two; a second fee-paying child can materially reorder the cities.
- It excludes personal tax, debt, long-haul holidays and one-off relocation setup from the monthly score.
- It does not adjust for salary, tax, quality, school availability or whether a family can lawfully obtain the required visa.
- Housing is a practical three-bedroom model, not the cheapest or most luxurious listing in each city.
- Currency conversions are fixed for comparability and are not live transaction quotes.
Dated source register
Where every city model can be checked
Each linked city page contains its own line-by-line evidence register. The common conversion reference is the European Central Bank's published rate table.
Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam · evidence checked 10 September 2026
Open the city budget and full source listMetro Manila
The Philippines · evidence checked 10 September 2026
Open the city budget and full source listMetro Cebu
The Philippines · evidence checked 10 September 2026
Open the city budget and full source listEuropean Central Bank exchange-rate reference · fixed 31 August 2026 cross-rate used for this edition
A maintained resource
When this dataset will be checked again
We review the complete city model quarterly in January, April, July and October. A material school-fee, visa, tax or housing-market change can trigger an earlier note or edition.
- Current edition
- 2026 Q3
- Next scheduled review
- 15 January 2027
- Corrections
- Send us a source or correction