Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Badulla and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Badulla: $547 a month against $935 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

26

Cost of Living Index in Badulla
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Badulla Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Badulla

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$547

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Badulla 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 Badulla and in Chiang Mai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $547 in Badulla versus $935 in Chiang Mai.

Badulla $547
Chiang Mai $935

Estimated couple costs with rent: $883 in Badulla versus $1,467 in Chiang Mai.

Badulla $883
Chiang Mai $1,467

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,219 in Badulla versus $1,999 in Chiang Mai.

Badulla $1,219
Chiang Mai $1,999

Living in Badulla costs roughly 42% less than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Badulla 60% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.84 LKR 1,276

$2.13 ฿71.8

80.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.93 LKR 8,291

$18.62 ฿626

33.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.54 LKR 2,507

$5.60 ฿188

34.64%

Cappuccino

$2.47 LKR 823

$1.66 ฿55.9

48.80%

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

$0.68 LKR 227

$0.65 ฿21.75

4.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 90.6

$0.30 ฿10.25

-10.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 LKR 752

$2.32 ฿78.1

-2.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 LKR 1,006

$3.67 ฿123

-17.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 LKR 539

$2.02 ฿67.8

-19.80%

White Bread (500g)

$0.57 LKR 190

$1.41 ฿47.34

-59.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.61 LKR 203

$1.39 ฿46.79

-56.12%

Eggs

$1.65 LKR 548

$2.37 ฿79.6

-30.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.15 LKR 5,038

$16.52 ฿555

-8.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.70 LKR 1,230

$2.67 ฿89.8

38.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 LKR 2,528

$9.02 ฿303

-15.74%

Apples (1kg)

$6.61 LKR 2,198

$2.40 ฿80.6

175.42%

Banana (1kg)

$0.89 LKR 296

$1.04 ฿35.01

-14.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.27 LKR 1,421

$1.66 ฿55.8

157.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.26 LKR 420

$1.56 ฿52.4

-19.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.09 LKR 362

$1.24 ฿41.61

-12.10%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 LKR 261

$1.09 ฿36.53

-27.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 LKR 405

$0.76 ฿25.61

60.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.46 LKR 152

$0.51 ฿17.29

-9.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.15 LKR 3,375

$4.12 ฿139

146.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.31 LKR 4,428

$17.93 ฿603

-25.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 LKR 634

$1.62 ฿54.6

17.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 LKR 947

$2.82 ฿94.9

1.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.42

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,778

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.41 LKR 136

$1.18 ฿39.56

-65.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.33 LKR 111

$0.17 ฿5.76

94.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.87 LKR 288

$1.81 ฿60.9

-51.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 LKR 454

$1.47 ฿49.51

-6.80%

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

$42.8K LKR 14.2M

$21.0K ฿706.4K

103.73%

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

$46.1K LKR 15.3M

$26.5K ฿891.4K

73.86%

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

$56.2 LKR 18.7K

$62.6 ฿2,103

-10.10%

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

$4.32 LKR 1,437

$11.60 ฿390

-62.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.66 LKR 6,873

$20.30 ฿683

1.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,274

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿124

Cinema Ticket

$4.39 LKR 1,461

$6.51 ฿219

-32.57%

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

$40.51 LKR 13.5K

$727 ฿24.4K

-94.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.5K LKR 5.8M

$16.6K ฿557.2K

5.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.24 LKR 6,068

$53.5 ฿1,800

-65.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.37 LKR 5,779

$24.80 ฿834

-29.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.6 LKR 25.8K

$90.4 ฿3,039

-14.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.18 LKR 13.7K

$72.0 ฿2,420

-42.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$76.3 LKR 25.4K

$481 ฿16.2K

-84.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$44.38 LKR 14.8K

$310 ฿10.4K

-85.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$89.8 LKR 29.9K

$659 ฿22.1K

-86.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,570 LKR 1.5M

$2,418 ฿81.3K

89.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$747 LKR 248.4K

$1,609 ฿54.1K

-53.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$222 LKR 73.7K

$595 ฿20.0K

-62.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.5

5.57

124.42%

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

Last update for Badulla: November 1, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Badulla

$237 43.3%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 0.1% $0.1

Eating Out

Badulla

$104 19.1%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 26.5% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Badulla

$81 14.9%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 16.3% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Badulla

$69 12.7%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 55.9% $39

Accommodation & Living

Badulla

$44 8.1%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 598% $266

Sport & Entertainment

Badulla

$8.8 * 1.6%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 480% $42

Getting Around

Badulla

$2.1 * 0.4%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 2720% $57

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $76 in Badulla and $481 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chiang Mai pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $25 in Badulla vs $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries flip the comparison at $237 vs $237, with Badulla cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Badulla

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

10:48 10:48 AM

12:18 12:18 PM

1 h 30 min ahead of Badulla

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

110,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.67 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 374 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.67 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.85 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Badulla Chiang Mai 2,340 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Badulla
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

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

Badulla is about 42% cheaper overall, especially in transport, leisure, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 63% lower in Badulla. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $76 in Badulla versus $481 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Chiang Mai – a meal for two runs $19 versus $25 in Badulla. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Childcare runs $41 in Badulla versus $727 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Badulla and Chiang Mai are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Badulla wins on affordability, Chiang Mai on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.