Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Batangas and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Batangas: $610 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Batangas
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Batangas Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Batangas

🇵🇭 Philippines

$610

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $610 in Batangas versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Batangas $610
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $887 in Batangas versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Batangas $887
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,165 in Batangas versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Batangas $1,165
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Batangas costs roughly 35% less than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Batangas 55% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.14 ₱136

$2.24 ฿75.6

-4.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ₱1,210

$19.00 ฿641

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.63 ₱168

$5.55 ฿187

-52.61%

Cappuccino

$2.06 ₱131

$1.67 ฿56.5

23.35%

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

$0.37 ₱23.82

$0.64 ฿21.54

-42.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 ₱17.93

$0.31 ฿10.31

-9.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.05 ₱66.8

$2.36 ฿79.5

-55.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 ₱88.9

$3.66 ฿124

-61.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 ₱109

$1.95 ฿65.7

-12.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.16 ₱73.9

$1.44 ฿48.46

-19.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 ₱49.23

$1.33 ฿45.03

-42.11%

Eggs

$1.61 ₱103

$2.28 ฿77.1

-29.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.49 ₱350

$16.45 ฿555

-66.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.09 ₱261

$2.78 ฿93.9

47.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.99 ₱445

$9.31 ฿314

-24.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.29 ₱146

$2.35 ฿79.4

-2.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 ₱85.8

$0.97 ฿32.79

39.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.41 ₱153

$1.60 ฿53.9

50.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.16 ₱73.8

$1.50 ฿50.6

-22.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.20 ₱140

$1.28 ฿43.11

71.88%

Onion (1kg)

$3.24 ₱207

$1.10 ฿37.18

194.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 ₱81.9

$0.71 ฿23.82

81.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 ₱56.5

$0.49 ฿16.36

81.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.52 ₱161

$4.14 ฿140

-39.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.55 ₱481

$17.52 ฿591

-56.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 ₱81.2

$1.61 ฿54.5

-21.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 ₱110

$2.78 ฿93.9

-38.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 ₱39.97

$0.87 ฿29.30

-27.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.76 ₱48.48

$1.16 ฿39.04

-34.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.33

$0.53 ฿17.80

-60.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.48 ₱158

$2.42 ฿81.7

2.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.01 ₱64.1

$1.45 ฿48.88

-30.34%

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

$20.9K ₱1.3M

$21.1K ฿710.5K

-0.77%

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

$18.9K ₱1.2M

$26.9K ฿909.0K

-29.79%

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

$161 ₱10.3K

$62.2 ฿2,098

159.74%

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

$14.33 ₱913

$12.17 ฿411

17.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.93 ₱1,525

$20.12 ฿679

18.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.53 ₱1,180

$37.31 ฿1,259

-50.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.48 ₱795

$3.77 ฿127

231.03%

Cinema Ticket

$5.63 ₱359

$6.49 ฿219

-13.25%

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

$71.9 ₱4,579

$736 ฿24.8K

-90.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,239 ₱78.9K

$14.8K ฿498.2K

-91.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$15.94 ₱1,016

$53.4 ฿1,801

-70.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.67 ₱1,445

$24.64 ฿831

-8.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$53.8 ₱3,431

$91.5 ฿3,087

-41.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$39.82 ₱2,538

$71.9 ฿2,427

-44.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$71.1 ₱4,532

$309 ฿10.4K

-76.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$156 ₱9,968

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-84.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$93.3 ₱5,945

$633 ฿21.4K

-85.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,500 ₱159.3K

$2,363 ฿79.7K

5.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,573 ₱100.2K

$1,589 ฿53.6K

-1.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$185 ₱11.8K

$590 ฿19.9K

-68.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

25.67%

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

Last update for Batangas: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Batangas

$200 32.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 52.7% $105

Groceries & Markets

Batangas

$185 30.3%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 26.8% $50

Accommodation & Living

Batangas

$71 11.7%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 334% $238

Eating Out

Batangas

$60 9.9%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 28.6% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Batangas

$60 9.8%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 82.5% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Batangas

$30 4.9%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 68.8% $21

Getting Around

Batangas

$4.3 * 0.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 1320% $57

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

Cost Breakdown

Chiang Mai pays about 3.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Batangas vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $185 vs $234 per month, with Batangas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Batangas

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

07:12 7:12 AM

06:12 6:12 AM

1 h behind Batangas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

329,874

127,240

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 63.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.15 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Batangas Chiang Mai 2,420 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Batangas
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $610 in Batangas and $936 in Chiang Mai, so Batangas is about 35% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 69% lower in Batangas. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Childcare runs $72 in Batangas versus $736 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $610 per month in Batangas versus $936 in Chiang Mai – Batangas is about 35% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Batangas gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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

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