Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bauru and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Bauru: $777 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Bauru
Learn more

Bauru Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Bauru

🇧🇷 Brazil

$777

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $777 in Bauru versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Bauru $777
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,191 in Bauru versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Bauru $1,191
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,606 in Bauru versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Bauru $1,606
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Bauru costs roughly 17% less than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bauru 43% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.78 R$25.74

$2.24 ฿75.6

113.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.95 R$134

$19.00 ฿641

31.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.12 R$38.32

$5.55 ฿187

28.29%

Cappuccino

$1.55 R$8.36

$1.67 ฿56.5

-7.19%

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

$0.85 R$4.60

$0.64 ฿21.55

32.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 R$2.68

$0.31 ฿10.31

61.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.46 R$7.86

$2.36 ฿79.6

-38.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 R$13.28

$3.66 ฿124

-32.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.87 R$4.70

$1.95 ฿65.8

-55.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 R$7.33

$1.44 ฿48.48

-5.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 R$6.35

$1.33 ฿45.04

-11.28%

Eggs

$2.30 R$12.37

$2.28 ฿77.1

0.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.27 R$39.11

$16.45 ฿555

-55.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.13 R$22.20

$2.78 ฿93.9

48.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.98 R$32.16

$9.31 ฿314

-35.77%

Apples (1kg)

$1.92 R$10.35

$2.35 ฿79.4

-18.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 R$7.00

$0.97 ฿32.80

34.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.19 R$6.38

$1.60 ฿53.9

-25.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.71 R$9.21

$1.50 ฿50.6

14.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.33 R$7.18

$1.28 ฿43.12

3.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 R$6.31

$1.10 ฿37.19

6.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.31 R$7.07

$0.71 ฿23.82

84.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 R$4.87

$0.49 ฿16.37

83.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.21 R$11.92

$4.14 ฿140

-46.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.66 R$35.87

$17.52 ฿591

-61.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R$6.10

$1.61 ฿54.5

-29.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 R$11.59

$2.78 ฿94.0

-22.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.95 R$5.11

$0.87 ฿29.31

9.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.87 R$150

$54.1 ฿1,826

-48.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.78 R$9.59

$1.16 ฿39.06

53.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.19 R$6.42

$0.53 ฿17.80

124.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.66 R$19.68

$2.42 ฿81.8

51.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.06 R$5.69

$1.45 ฿48.90

-26.90%

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

$22.5K R$121.1K

$21.1K ฿710.7K

6.89%

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

$32.6K R$175.2K

$26.9K ฿909.3K

20.83%

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

$130 R$699

$62.2 ฿2,098

108.86%

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

$9.51 R$51.2

$12.17 ฿411

-21.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.40 R$99.0

$20.12 ฿679

-8.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.47 R$94.0

$37.31 ฿1,259

-53.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.60 R$116

$3.77 ฿127

472.94%

Cinema Ticket

$5.01 R$26.96

$6.49 ฿219

-22.80%

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

$241 R$1,297

$736 ฿24.8K

-67.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,563 R$29.9K

$14.8K ฿498.3K

-62.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.0 R$344

$53.4 ฿1,801

19.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.43 R$250

$24.64 ฿831

88.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 R$555

$91.5 ฿3,087

12.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.3 R$394

$71.9 ฿2,428

1.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$227 R$1,220

$482 ฿16.3K

-53.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$154 R$831

$309 ฿10.4K

-50.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$430 R$2,312

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-57.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$285 R$1,533

$633 ฿21.4K

-55.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,517 R$8,166

$2,363 ฿79.8K

-35.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$669 R$3,600

$1,589 ฿53.6K

-57.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$355 R$1,909

$590 ฿19.9K

-39.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.59

5.57

72.17%

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

Last update for Bauru: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Bauru

$173 22.3%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 35.4% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bauru

$158 20.3%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 40.1% $63

Accommodation & Living

Bauru

$154 19.9%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 100% $155

Clothing & Footwear

Bauru

$129 16.6%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 15.8% $20

Eating Out

Bauru

$96 12.3%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 19.1% $18

Getting Around

Bauru

$39 5.1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 55.7% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Bauru

$27 3.5%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 82.9% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $227 in Bauru and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chiang Mai pays 66% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $25 in Bauru vs $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries flip the comparison at $173 vs $234, with Bauru cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Bauru

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

11:35 11:35 AM

21:35 9:35 PM

10 h ahead of Bauru

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

379,146

127,240

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.186 USD

1 BRL = 0.167 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 5.38 BRL (1 BRL = 0.186 USD). 1 EUR = 6.01 BRL (1 BRL = 0.167 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bauru Chiang Mai 16,670 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Bauru
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

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

Bauru wins on cost – living expenses run 17% lower than in Chiang Mai. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Bauru the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 40% lower in Bauru. 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: $227 in Bauru versus $482 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 Bauru. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $777 per month in Bauru versus $936 in Chiang Mai – Bauru is about 17% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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.

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