Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bacau and Chiang Mai

For one person, living costs are similar in Bacau and in Chiang Mai: $916 and $936 a month, rent and utilities included.

44

Cost of Living Index in Bacau
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Bacau Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Bacau

🇷🇴 Romania

$916

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bacau and in Chiang Mai

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bacau and in Chiang Mai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $916 per month in Bacau vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Bacau $916
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,552 per month in Bacau vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Bacau $1,552
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $2,189 per month in Bacau vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Bacau $2,189
Chiang Mai $1,979

Bacau is about 2% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Bacau and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Bacau 33% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.19 RON 68.2

$2.24 ฿75.7

533.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 RON 407

$19.00 ฿642

345.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.24 RON 34.80

$5.55 ฿188

30.45%

Cappuccino

$2.04 RON 9.81

$1.67 ฿56.6

22.16%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 RON 9.64

$0.64 ฿21.56

214.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 RON 8.98

$0.31 ฿10.32

503.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 RON 11.88

$2.36 ฿79.6

4.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.34 RON 16.03

$3.66 ฿124

-8.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 RON 5.68

$1.95 ฿65.8

-39.49%

White Bread (500g)

$0.70 RON 3.35

$1.44 ฿48.51

-51.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 RON 8.12

$1.33 ฿45.07

27.07%

Eggs

$3.47 RON 16.67

$2.28 ฿77.1

52.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.68 RON 36.91

$16.45 ฿556

-53.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.33 RON 25.61

$2.78 ฿94.0

91.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.30 RON 39.88

$9.31 ฿314

-10.85%

Apples (1kg)

$1.10 RON 5.27

$2.35 ฿79.5

-53.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 RON 7.12

$0.97 ฿32.82

52.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.49 RON 7.14

$1.60 ฿53.9

-6.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 RON 8.80

$1.50 ฿50.7

22.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.72 RON 3.48

$1.28 ฿43.15

-43.75%

Onion (1kg)

$0.68 RON 3.29

$1.10 ฿37.22

-38.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 RON 3.58

$0.71 ฿23.84

5.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 RON 3.45

$0.49 ฿16.38

46.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 RON 25.71

$4.14 ฿140

29.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.25 RON 25.24

$17.52 ฿592

-70.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 RON 4.90

$1.61 ฿54.5

-36.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.17 RON 5.64

$2.78 ฿94.0

-57.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.70 RON 3.35

$0.87 ฿29.33

-19.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.15 RON 140

$54.1 ฿1,827

-46.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.61 RON 2.94

$1.16 ฿39.08

-47.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 RON 3.12

$0.53 ฿17.82

22.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.72 RON 32.31

$2.42 ฿81.8

177.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.78 RON 8.55

$1.45 ฿48.93

22.76%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$28.9K RON 138.9K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

37.21%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$24.8K RON 119.4K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

-7.80%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$106 RON 509

$62.2 ฿2,100

70.44%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$7.47 RON 35.90

$12.17 ฿411

-38.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$4.63 RON 22.25

$20.12 ฿680

-76.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.29 RON 122

$37.31 ฿1,260

-32.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.98 RON 76.8

$3.77 ฿127

323.87%

Cinema Ticket

$6.09 RON 29.25

$6.49 ฿219

-6.16%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$589 RON 2,830

$736 ฿24.9K

-20.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,986 RON 24.0K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-66.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.0 RON 409

$53.4 ฿1,802

59.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.98 RON 154

$24.64 ฿832

29.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.3 RON 290

$91.5 ฿3,089

-34.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.2 RON 400

$71.9 ฿2,429

15.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$416 RON 1,999

$482 ฿16.3K

-13.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$236 RON 1,135

$309 ฿10.4K

-23.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$549 RON 2,636

$1,006 ฿34.0K

-45.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$405 RON 1,945

$633 ฿21.4K

-36.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,805 RON 8,673

$2,363 ฿79.8K

-23.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,229 RON 5,905

$1,589 ฿53.7K

-22.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$936 RON 4,501

$590 ฿19.9K

58.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.97

5.57

25.13%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Bacau: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Bacau

$236 25.8%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 30.8% $73

Eating Out

Bacau

$194 21.2%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 60.1% $117

Groceries & Markets

Bacau

$177 19.3%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 32.7% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bacau

$118 12.9%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 20% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Bacau

$117 12.8%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 7.3% $8.6

Sport & Entertainment

Bacau

$37 4.1%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 34.2% $13

Getting Around

Bacau

$36 3.9%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 71.4% $26

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $416 in Bacau versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 59% higher in Bacau, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85 in Bacau versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $177 in Bacau vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so Bacau wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Bacau

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

20:00 8:00 PM

01:00 1:00 AM

5 h ahead of Bacau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

144,307

127,240

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.81 RON (1 RON = 0.208 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bacau Chiang Mai 7,150 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Bacau
Chiang Mai

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Bacau vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Chiang Mai is pricier by about 2%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,373 per month in Bacau and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Bacau, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $416 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85 in Bacau and $19 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $916 in Bacau and $936 in Chiang Mai. That’s a gap of about 2%.

Families tend to lean toward Bacau – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.