Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bekasi and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Bekasi: $659 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Bekasi
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Bekasi Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Bekasi

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$659

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $659 in Bekasi versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Bekasi $659
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,065 in Bekasi versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Bekasi $1,065
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,472 in Bekasi versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Bekasi $1,472
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Bekasi costs roughly 30% less than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bekasi 52% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.81 Rp 51.0K

$2.24 ฿75.6

25.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.68 Rp 248.1K

$19.00 ฿641

-28.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.35 Rp 60.7K

$5.55 ฿187

-39.64%

Cappuccino

$1.53 Rp 27.8K

$1.67 ฿56.5

-8.38%

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

$0.42 Rp 7,579

$0.64 ฿21.55

-34.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.22 Rp 3,980

$0.31 ฿10.31

-29.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.50 Rp 45.3K

$2.36 ฿79.6

5.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.79 Rp 68.7K

$3.66 ฿124

3.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 Rp 19.9K

$1.95 ฿65.8

-43.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 Rp 19.4K

$1.44 ฿48.48

-25.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.88 Rp 15.9K

$1.33 ฿45.04

-33.83%

Eggs

$1.63 Rp 29.6K

$2.28 ฿77.1

-28.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.28 Rp 168.4K

$16.45 ฿555

-43.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.86 Rp 51.9K

$2.78 ฿93.9

2.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.84 Rp 142.2K

$9.31 ฿314

-15.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 Rp 50.8K

$2.35 ฿79.4

19.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 Rp 24.8K

$0.97 ฿32.80

41.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.53 Rp 45.8K

$1.60 ฿53.9

58.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.33 Rp 24.2K

$1.50 ฿50.6

-11.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.34 Rp 24.2K

$1.28 ฿43.12

4.69%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 Rp 39.0K

$1.10 ฿37.19

95.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 Rp 16.2K

$0.71 ฿23.82

25.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 Rp 7,994

$0.49 ฿16.37

-10.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.72 Rp 49.3K

$4.14 ฿140

-34.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.79 Rp 395.2K

$17.52 ฿591

24.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 Rp 34.4K

$1.61 ฿54.5

18.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.12 Rp 56.7K

$2.78 ฿94.0

12.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 Rp 6,190

$0.87 ฿29.31

-60.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.87 Rp 197.1K

$54.1 ฿1,826

-79.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.84 Rp 15.2K

$1.16 ฿39.06

-27.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,773

$0.53 ฿17.80

-18.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.20 Rp 39.9K

$2.42 ฿81.8

-9.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 Rp 14.5K

$1.45 ฿48.90

-44.83%

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

$21.4K Rp 387.9M

$21.1K ฿710.7K

1.55%

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

$32.7K Rp 593.6M

$26.9K ฿909.3K

21.48%

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

$63.4 Rp 1.1M

$62.2 ฿2,098

1.91%

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

$5.91 Rp 107.2K

$12.17 ฿411

-51.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.51 Rp 335.8K

$20.12 ฿679

-8.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.63 Rp 283.5K

$37.31 ฿1,259

-58.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.07 Rp 110.1K

$3.77 ฿127

61.01%

Cinema Ticket

$3.05 Rp 55.3K

$6.49 ฿219

-53.00%

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

$128 Rp 2.3M

$736 ฿24.8K

-82.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,220 Rp 149.1M

$14.8K ฿498.3K

-44.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.6 Rp 1.0M

$53.4 ฿1,801

5.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.43 Rp 570.1K

$24.64 ฿831

27.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 Rp 1.4M

$91.5 ฿3,087

-15.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.3 Rp 1.7M

$71.9 ฿2,428

31.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$201 Rp 3.7M

$482 ฿16.3K

-58.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$131 Rp 2.4M

$309 ฿10.4K

-57.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$460 Rp 8.3M

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-54.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$359 Rp 6.5M

$633 ฿21.4K

-43.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$590 Rp 10.7M

$2,363 ฿79.8K

-75.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$888 Rp 16.1M

$1,589 ฿53.6K

-44.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$359 Rp 6.5M

$590 ฿19.9K

-39.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.46

5.57

69.84%

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

Last update for Bekasi: 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

Bekasi

$213 32.3%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 10.1% $22

Accommodation & Living

Bekasi

$131 19.9%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 136% $178

Clothing & Footwear

Bekasi

$117 17.7%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 6.9% $8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bekasi

$88 13.3%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 7.6% $6.7

Eating Out

Bekasi

$74 11.2%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 5.5% $4

Sport & Entertainment

Bekasi

$22 3.3%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 131% $29

Getting Around

Bekasi

$15 2.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 303% $46

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $201 in Bekasi and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chiang Mai pays 64% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $14 in Bekasi vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $213 vs $234 per month, with Bekasi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Bekasi

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

14:13 2:13 PM

Same time as Bekasi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,334,871

127,240

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18,138 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,252 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bekasi Chiang Mai 2,920 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bekasi
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $659 in Bekasi and $936 in Chiang Mai, so Bekasi is about 30% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 39% lower in Bekasi. 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: $201 in Bekasi 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 Bekasi – a meal for two runs $14 versus $19 in Chiang Mai. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $659 per month in Bekasi versus $936 in Chiang Mai – Bekasi is about 30% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Bekasi 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.

Expats usually find Bekasi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 30% less than in Chiang Mai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.