Compare destinations on cost
Each comparison normalises both destinations to the same trip length and travel style, then shows how airfare changes the answer depending on where you depart from.
Why "which is cheaper" has two answers
Almost every comparison of two destinations answers the question once, as though the reader were standing in a neutral place. In practice there are two separate costs and they move independently.
On the ground, the gap between neighbouring Southeast Asian countries is usually modest — accommodation and food differ by a few dollars a day, which compounds over a week into a difference worth knowing but rarely decisive.
Airfare is the opposite. A destination with direct service from your city can cost hundreds less to reach than one needing a connection, and that single line is often larger than every on-the-ground difference combined. Which is why the cheaper destination frequently reverses once you say where you are starting from.
Each comparison below shows both: the daily breakdown line by line, then the total from each departure city we hold fares for, with the rows where the ranking flips marked.
