How much money do go-go dancers earn in Thailand?

September 15, 2021 - Reading time: 7 minutes

Go-go dancers in Thailand tend to be some of the highest earners in the nightlife scene. Go-go dancers often earn more money than ladies working in beer bars or massage parlours, for example.

Depending on the popularity of the lady, where she works, and whether or not she has any sponsors, Thai go-go dancers can earn anywhere from 40,000 – 100,000 THB per month. However, some ladies are able to earn far more than this, especially if they have multiple foreign ‘boyfriends’ sponsoring them.

Break down of go-go dancer earnings

Go-go dancers typically earn a nominal salary from the go-go bar, they also earn money each time a customer buys a drink for them, and for each client that pays a bar fine.

There are many variables and the amount each lady earns can vary greatly; the following list can give you a rough break down of go-go dancer’s monthly earnings:

Go-go dancer salary: 15,000 THB
80 lady drinks (at 100 THB): 8,000 THB
25 customers (at 2,000 THB): 50,000 THB
25 bar fines (at 300 THB): 7,500 THB
Grand total: 80,500 THB 

Usually, the salary which is paid to an a go-go dancer will only make up a small part of her total income. Salaries can vary greatly, and ladies are typically paid more money the less clothes they wear while dancing. 

The current state of the market also influences salaries for go-go dancers, at certain times the bars might struggle to find staff and will offer higher salaries in order to encourage ladies to work for them.

There are many different variables involved with go-go bars and this article is only intended as a rough guide.

Drinks for Thai go-go dancers

Go-go dancers earn money each time a drink is purchased for them. ‘Lady drinks’, as they are known, are usually more expensive than regular drinks. If the go-go bar charges 350 THB for a lady drink, then they might give the lady a 150 THB commission per drink, for example. 

The commission that a bar pays per drink can also vary, though it is usually 50 – 150 THB per drink. Some bars will pay ladies 300+ THB if their customer buys an expensive bottle of liquor to share with her.

Usually, the lady will receive a slip from her cashier each time that a drink is purchased for her. You might notice go-go dancers gathering these slips and tucking them into their clothes. At the end of the night, the lady will exchange each slip for a commission.

Lady drink commissions can really add up. It’s not uncommon for popular ladies to receive 40-50 drinks per night in some cases, which can form a sizeable chunk of their overall income.

Go-go dancers can also work together with their friends… If you purchase a drink for one lady, then she might ask you to buy a drink for her friend as well. Working together in this way go-go dancers can help each other to earn the highest possible amount of money through lady drinks.

While many customers will assume that each drink they buy for a lady is alcoholic, this is not always the case. If a lady is still able to stand up after having 40 drinks purchased for her over a single evening, then you can safely assume that not all of them contained alcohol. 

Seasoned go-go patrons might even tell you stories about ladies discreetly pouring out their drinks into plant pots or into the toilet.

Freelance go-go dancers

Some go-go bars employ ‘freelance’ dancers, who do not receive a regular salary from the bar and might only receive a small retainer per night. Many ladies prefer this type of arrangement as it allows them the freedom to work at different bars and spend prolonged periods with their customers as they please.

Rules on lady drinks and bar fines for freelancers might also be different compared to regular dancers, depending on the bar.

How many customers do go-go dancers have?

The answer to this question will vary depending on how popular the lady is, and which bar she works in.

Many of the top earning go-go dancers will aim for at least two ‘short time’ bar fines per day during high season. A short time session can last 30 minutes or less, and if the lady is in high demand, then she will be able to service multiple customers per day.

Older or less good-looking ladies might struggle to find one customer per day.

Sponsoring a Thai go-go dancer

Sponsors can form a big source of income for many go-go dancers. 

Men will sometimes meet dancers in go-go bars, spend time with them, and end up falling in love. While this is obviously a bad idea for a host of different reasons, it happens more often than you might think.

Once a lady has secured a sponsor, she will then continue to work as a dancer in her go-go bar, promising her boyfriend that she ‘will never go with customers’ – in reality she will continue to leave with customers but simply lie and conceal her true activities.

In other cases, the lady might promise her sponsor that she has stopped working in the bar; she might claim to have found a legitimate job or that she has left the city. The reality of the situation is usually far different.

If a lady tells her sponsor that she has stopped working in the go-go, she will send many photos of her in the village or working at a legitimate job, in order to make her story seem believable. Most men that are in love with working girls fall for the scam hook line and sinker.

For many go-go dancers, their dream is to recruit several different ‘boyfriends’, who will all believe that they are the only man in her life. By receiving cash from multiple guys, many dancers are able to earn huge amounts of money for themselves.

In a relationship with a Thai go-go dancer

If you find yourself forming a relationship with a Thai go-go dancer, then we can help to check on her activities while you are out of the country.

If you are sending her money with the expectation that she will be loyal to you, then we can help to protect your investment by testing that she is being true to her word. 

Investigating go-go dancers in this way typically saves our clients far more money than it would cost supporting the lady for even a short period of time – not to mention the heartache and time that can also be saved by discovering the truth early on.

Learn more about bar girl investigations.