Thai Massage Therapist Salary | Yearly, Monthly, and Hourly Earnings

Those who want to become a professional Thai Massage therapist may ask themselves what they can earn on a yearly or monthly basis. Well, let’s start by saying that — generally — you won’t get rich by doing Thai Massage (or any other massage treatment modality, for that matter).

Salaries Depend on many Factors

Nevertheless, you can make a more or less decent living out of it, but it really depends on several factors, that is, there are various way of carrying out the profession.

For instance, you may work as an employee of a spa or massage establishment earning a fixed monthly salary, or you may work independently and having a flexible income. You may work in the relaxation and wellness sphere, or maybe rather in therapeutic rehabilitation, in a hospital, or perhaps in the sports world. In each sector, salaries and earnings are usually dissimilar.

It also depends on the type of clients you work for: is your clientele “loaded” or are we talking about clients with a middle class income? Do clients pay from out an insurance or with private means?

And are you working on a cruise ship, in a tourist place, in the country side, or in the big city? In what country? And how many years massage experience do you have? What types of Thai massages do you master? Do you have a sought-after specialization?

Salary – Country Averages

As you see, the answer to what kind of salary you can earn as a Thai Massage practitioner is not sharply defined. But let’s take a look at some country averages.

In the United States, the average yearly salary for a Thai Massage practitioner is around US$ 60,000 (US$ 5,000 p/month, about US$ 31 p/hour). Do mind that this can imply vast differences in salaries between individual masseurs: for instance, somebody may earn US$ 30,000 p/year and someone else US$ 90,000 p/year, which would make an average salary of US$ 60,000 p/ year (30,000 + 90,000 divided by 2).

Now, in the United Kingdom, the average yearly salary is around £ 28,000 (£ 2,333 p/month, about £ 14.5 p/hour). When we convert UK Pounds to US dollars it would mean that you would earn about half the salary compared to the United States. Nevertheless, in London (with much higher costs of living and salaries than anywhere else in the UK), a therapist may earn up to £45,000 p/year (US$ 52,500).

In Australia, the average yearly salary is around AU$ 65,000 (AU$ 5,416 p/month, about AU$ 34 p/hour). Converted to US dollars it would mean earning about US $44,000 on a yearly basis.

In the Netherlands (Holland), the average year salary is about € 25,000 (EURO). Subsequently, monthly earnings are € 2,083, and hourly € 13. The year salary seen in US dollars converts as US $ 25,328, which makes the Netherlands stand very low on the massage salary list of Western countries. Nevertheless, in the Netherlands, masseurs rarely work full time (40 hours), but usually a maximum of 24 hours a week.

In Thailand, the country where it all begun for Thai Massage, a masseur may earn an average salary of ฿ 360,000 (BAHT) p/year and ฿ 30,000 (BAHT) p/month (US$ 825 p/month).

Other Factors influencing Salary Build-up

Salary build-up also depends on the number of tips you may receive. Clients often give something extra, and the height of the tip also depends much on what kind of establishment you work in (and on your skills, of course).

Mind also that many Thai Massage therapists (especially those who work on the floor on a mat) cannot work continuously for 8 hours a day. It’s too tiring for the body (depending also on the style of Thai Massage given) and you need to take some rest to recover physically and mentally.

The physical and emotional requirements of the job also mean that you would sometimes skip days. Subsequently, your income will be less, notably when you are an independent worker (or freelancer) and don’t receive a fixed monthly salary.

Another thing is that massage establishments may pay you a base salary and on top of that a commission per massage given. So, your income may be flexible, depending on the number of clients you receive. If you are “wanted” by customers, sure, this will not be a big issue; on the contrary, you may even get plenty of tips.

In any case, very much depending on the specific situation Thai Massage therapist finds themselves in salaries can vary widely. What stands out, however, is what I already said in the first paragraph: you won’t get rich out of doing Thai Massage professionally. Nevertheless, money is not the only thing that counts when giving Thai Massage. Most of us are in it simply because we love doing it.

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