How much does a pool cost?     

A professionally designed and constructed typical 10 × 4 metre reinforced concrete tiled family swimming pool in Isan, Thailand's largest region, typically costs between ฿700,000 and ฿1,100,000, depending on the design (skimmer or overflow), ground conditions, equipment, and finishes and distance to the work site.
Pools in large urban areas such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin/Cha-Am  region, Pattaya, Phuket, and on islands may cost significantly more.
Smaller pools cost less, while infinity-edge pools, luxury finishes, piling, or difficult access can increase the price considerably.

Maintenance: Pools incur ongoing costs of maintenance (cleaning, servicing, chemicals), running costs for the pump, and any future repairs and what services are available in your area. You may also wish to budget for the landscaping immediately around the pool.
The rest of this guide explains why prices vary and what should be included in a professional quotation.

Getting a quotation: Most  companies here in Thailand will offer a ball-park figure but unless it is for a straightforward rectangular pool they will require some kind of rough sketch to work from.  A genuine pool company will visit you to discuss your project and inspect the intended location and the substrate. If your location is very far from the company's head office (in Isan 450 km would not be unusual for your nearest professional pool builder), a small contribution to the travelling and overnight costs may be requested. This is perfectly normal. The costs are refunded in the case of a firm contract.

Pricing structure
The price of a swimming pool depends on many factors including size, type of foundations (footings or piles), pool construction type, design features, location, access for heavy vehicles to the construction site, and many more, and whether or not the pool  company and their architect  are expected to  come up with a conceptual design for something out of the ordinary.
If you first spend money on architects and drawings -  and architects' fees are not cheap - the actual cost of the pool may be beyond your budget.

Getting a quotation
Most  companies here in Thailand will offer a ball-park figure but unless it is for a straightforward rectangular pool they will require some kind of rough sketch to work from. 

A genuine pool company will visit you to discuss your project and inspect the intended location and the substrate. If the address is far from the company's head office, a small contribution to the travelling and overnight costs may be requested. This is perfectly normal. The costs are refunded in the case of a firm contract.

In their quotation professional pool builders will include basic design drawing with dimensions. After a deposit is paid they will prepare the actual blueprints (construction plans) for your approval.

When you obtain a quotation, be sure that the equipment and quality is detailed and that you know exactly what is being quoted for. With almost every pool construction company this is for the pool construction and major related components alone (ie. shell, tiles, filtration equiment, underwater lighting,  and electrical work). It includes civil works such as excavation and connection to electrical and water supplies. Construction of a pump room will often be listed as an option. Some pool owners want features such as changing rooms, showers, WC, or even a bar or barbecue, or prefer to build their own

What determines the price of a pool?   An honest professional will include the correctly rated technical equipment and lighting measured against your planned budget, but these are the elements which you will be asked to choose:

1. Length, Width, & depth
2. Shape
3. Lighting features
4. Tiled concrete, vinyl liner, fibreglass pool shells
5. Skimmer or overflow/infinity edge type
6. In-ground or above-ground

Above ground pools sit above the ground ie. not built in an excavated hole. You climb up and into them.
In-ground pools are level with the ground. You usually go down into them.  With skimmer pools it is common to have the pool surround 10 to 40cm above the level of the surrounding ground.

Here in Thailand kits for DIY above ground pools are popular but according to the questions we are asked, many buyers prefer proper pumping and filtration systems. Such kits are sold on e-commerce marketplaces or by small garden furniture retailers rather than from a swimming pool installation company who can also provide sound advice and have a real person you can call and talk to.

Fibreglass and vinyl liner pools
For somewhat less than the price of a concrete pool you might get a fibreglass or vinyl liner pool with no external structure. These may not have efficient filters or pumps and are often equipped with compact monobloc filtration systems and socks in the skimmers that do not provide the same level of filtration and dispersion of water as convention and less expensive systems, the filter socks need regularly replacing. Such pools are often simply laid on a levelled sand bed without any structural support and rely on backfilled dirt to maintain their strength and integrity and are often not equipped with the essential main drain in the pool floor or hydrostatic valves that prevent the pool shell rising out of the ground under pressure from the ground water.

Traditional tiled concrete pools 

Overflow and Infinity edge vs Skimmer: One of the decisions you need to make quite early on in your pool planning is whether you want an overflow (deck level) or skimmer (freeboard) swimming pool.

The decision between an overflow and skimmer pool is fundamentally a filtration decision.  It will make a difference to how your swimming pool looks and it will affect your budget so it’s best to know before you ask for quotations.

What is a skimmer (freeboard) pool? A skimmer pool is also known as a freeboard pool. In this type of pool the water level sits approx. 4 inches or 11 cm below the edge of the pool leaving a gap between the top of the pool (the coping) and the water., most sport and public pools are built this way. In residential pools a device called a skimmer is placed into the pool shell, below the pool edge at one end of the pool, usually the deep end. The pump draws the surface water into the skimmer, along with any dirt and debris and into the filtration system, before it is pumped back into the swimming pool.
The pool water will be drawn into the filtration system at the skimmer and from the main drain in the floor at the deep end, rather than across the entire surface as they will be in overflow pools. 

What is an overflow (deck level) pool? The perimeter of the pool is surrounded by an overflow gutter. The waterline is level with the edge of the pool and overflows into this channel. The channel is typically covered with plastic grating.  A popular and far more economical method is to fill the channel with loose decorative granite pebbles about the size of an egg or a new potato.
The water is led by the gutter into a balance tank, sometimes called a surge tank. This  holding tank sits underground, below the pool level. or is intergrated into the end wall of the pool.  The water is drawn up by the pump into the filtration system, before being pumped back into the swimming pool. The balance tank  usually holds the equivalent of 1O% of the total pool water volume.
Pools using an overflow system require more space for construction. 

Infinity Edge: These pools have an overflow edge along one end or one side. It  is an attractive feature for a pool built on a slope or facing the sea. or the countryside.

Advantages of an overflow swimming pool: There are three main advantages to an overflow pool vs skimmer pool:
1. Filtration efficiency

2. Automatic topping up
3. Aesthetics

The primary advantage of overflow is in terms of filtration efficiency. It is generally accepted that the overflow/deck level offer superior filtration. This is because water is taken from the entire perimeter of the pool, not just in selected sections where the skimmers are situated.

While skimmer pools are still designed to turnover the water at the adequate rate for health and safety purposes. Overflow pools will generally have:
• Clearer water
• No scum line within the pool shell
In addition, many people prefer the aesthetic of the overflow pool in comparison to the skimmer pool as it is a clean line from the water to the edge of the pool, with no gap. However, this is an entirely personal choice, and an overflow pool/deck level is the more expensive of the two options.
This is due to the inclusion of the drain channel, the channel cover and the construction and installation of the balance tank. 
Overflow pools tend to be anywhere between 15-20% more expensive than skimmer pools.

PRICE

Clickbait advertising may mention prices from as little as ฿250,000. That's fine for short term solutions such as small modular-built above-ground pools or fibreglass pools which are only available in certain sizes and limited designs, but these products do not last as long as traditional concrete pools.
A correctly designed and professionally built family sized, fully tiled, skimmer type pool (typically 4 x 10m) with genuine branded equipment will typically start from around ฿900,000.00 at 2026 materials and labour costs, from apool builder who maintains a professional infrastructure (offices, showroom, demo pool, vehicles, etc).  The final price, can vary significantly with size, construction type, filtration type and design features. Even things like style of tiles can significantly vary the cost of the project.  Smaller pools will cost much less, but for most genuine companies it is not feasible to travel long distances from their headquarters to build them; in Isan and other rural areas of low population density, about 150 to km would be the maximum for a contract value of much less than ฿500,000.00

EXAMPLE  FOR A FAMILY POOL IN ISAN

Cost Breakdown & Factors
Structural & Civil Work: 400,000 to 600,000 THB for excavation, reinforced concrete walls/floor, and structural waterproofing. Soil stabilization or micro-piles (if required due to local ground conditions in many parts of Isan) will add to this baseline. 

Finishes & Tiling: 100,000 to 200,000 THB depending on whether you choose standard blue ceramic pool tiles, premium pool tiles, glass mosaic tiles, or special stone finishes.

Filtration & Equipment: 90,000 to 150,000 THB for reliable brand such as Emaux for pumps, sand or cartridge filters, skimmer boxes, and a standard chlorine or salt-water chlorination system.

Travel & Location Surcharge: There are very few truly professional pool companies in the entire Isan region. Building a pool often incurs extra logistical or travel fees. Teams from Bangkok, Chiang Mai , or Pattaya will charge significantly more. 

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