Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barbacena and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Barbacena: $857 a month against $938 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $970 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Barbacena
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Barbacena Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Barbacena

🇧🇷 Brazil

$857

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $857 in Barbacena versus $938 in Chiang Mai.

Barbacena $857
Chiang Mai $938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,305 in Barbacena versus $1,426 in Chiang Mai.

Barbacena $1,305
Chiang Mai $1,426

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,753 in Barbacena versus $1,914 in Chiang Mai.

Barbacena $1,753
Chiang Mai $1,914

Living in Barbacena costs roughly 9% less than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Barbacena 37% lower, Chiang Mai 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.35 R$26.90

$2.26 ฿75.6

136.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$20.84 R$105

$19.18 ฿643

8.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.93 R$29.80

$5.59 ฿188

6.08%

Cappuccino

$1.74 R$8.74

$1.72 ฿57.8

1.16%

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

$1.57 R$7.90

$0.64 ฿21.61

145.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 R$4.31

$0.33 ฿11.22

160.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.32 R$6.63

$2.36 ฿79.0

-44.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 R$11.39

$3.90 ฿131

-41.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 R$5.71

$2.05 ฿68.9

-44.39%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 R$10.38

$1.40 ฿46.86

47.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.13

$1.28 ฿43.03

-4.69%

Eggs

$2.38 R$11.98

$2.25 ฿75.5

5.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.81 R$54.4

$16.94 ฿568

-36.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.44 R$22.29

$2.74 ฿91.9

62.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.97 R$50.1

$9.36 ฿314

6.52%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 R$14.56

$2.40 ฿80.6

20.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.83 R$9.21

$1.01 ฿34.03

81.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 R$7.91

$1.61 ฿54.1

-2.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.79 R$9.01

$1.52 ฿50.9

17.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 R$6.09

$1.28 ฿43.04

-5.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.21

$1.11 ฿37.34

-6.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 R$3.56

$0.72 ฿24.17

-1.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 R$3.51

$0.52 ฿17.60

34.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.02 R$15.20

$4.33 ฿145

-30.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 R$39.36

$17.73 ฿595

-55.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 R$5.94

$1.63 ฿54.6

-27.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 R$12.16

$2.85 ฿95.7

-15.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.97 R$4.87

$0.85 ฿28.40

14.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.05 R$226

$53.9 ฿1,807

-16.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.26 R$6.35

$1.17 ฿39.31

7.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 R$4.27

$0.57 ฿19.06

49.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.35 R$46.99

$2.37 ฿79.4

294.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 R$6.57

$1.45 ฿48.48

-9.66%

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

$23.5K R$118.2K

$20.5K ฿686.5K

14.82%

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

$32.7K R$164.4K

$26.5K ฿889.0K

23.35%

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

$136 R$686

$62.3 ฿2,090

118.93%

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

$11.02 R$55.4

$12.27 ฿411

-10.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.95 R$115

$19.97 ฿670

14.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.50 R$133

$37.91 ฿1,271

-30.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.48 R$148

$3.76 ฿126

684.04%

Cinema Ticket

$7.94 R$39.92

$6.71 ฿225

18.33%

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

$596 R$2,997

$797 ฿26.7K

-25.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$67.4K

$14.8K ฿497.3K

-9.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.74 R$210

$53.3 ฿1,786

-21.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.77 R$245

$25.05 ฿840

94.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.6 R$380

$91.6 ฿3,072

-17.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.2 R$338

$73.5 ฿2,463

-8.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$234 R$1,174

$464 ฿15.6K

-49.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$168 R$842

$305 ฿10.2K

-44.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$434 R$2,182

$915 ฿30.7K

-52.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$307 R$1,542

$552 ฿18.5K

-44.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,629 R$8,189

$1,912 ฿64.1K

-14.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,334 R$6,704

$1,438 ฿48.2K

-7.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

5.57

114.18%

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

Last update for Barbacena: October 10, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Barbacena

$215 25.1%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 10.7% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barbacena

$170 19.9%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 44.5% $76

Accommodation & Living

Barbacena

$168 19.6%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 81.8% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Barbacena

$105 12.3%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 4.3% $4.5

Eating Out

Barbacena

$102 11.9%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 22.8% $23

Getting Around

Barbacena

$54 6.4%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 12.6% $6.9

Sport & Entertainment

Barbacena

$42 5%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 21.1% $9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $234 in Barbacena and $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $21.00 in Barbacena vs $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Groceries flip the comparison at $215 vs $238, with Barbacena cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Barbacena

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

08:09 8:09 AM

18:09 6:09 PM

10 h ahead of Barbacena

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

125,317

127,240

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.199 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 EUR

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 5.03 BRL (1 BRL = 0.199 USD). 1 EUR = 5.63 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 33.53 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barbacena Chiang Mai 16,120 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Barbacena
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

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

Barbacena and Chiang Mai differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($857 vs $938 including rent). Barbacena is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,286 in Barbacena and $1,408 in Chiang Mai to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $234 in Barbacena versus $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $857 per month in Barbacena versus $938 in Chiang Mai – a 9% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Barbacena runs roughly 20% less than in Chiang Mai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $857 in Barbacena versus $938 in Chiang Mai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Barbacena but tight or insufficient in Chiang Mai. The gap between the two cities makes Barbacena the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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, Barbacena and Chiang Mai are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Barbacena gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Chiang Mai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.