Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bellville and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $1,101 in Bellville, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Bellville
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Bellville Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Bellville

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,101

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,101 in Bellville versus $935 in Chiang Mai.

Bellville $1,101
Chiang Mai $935

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,704 in Bellville versus $1,467 in Chiang Mai.

Bellville $1,704
Chiang Mai $1,467

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,307 in Bellville versus $1,999 in Chiang Mai.

Bellville $2,307
Chiang Mai $1,999

Living in Bellville is roughly 18% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bellville 19% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.16 R 199

$2.13 ฿71.7

470.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.21 R 397

$18.62 ฿625

30.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.17 R 101

$5.60 ฿188

10.18%

Cappuccino

$1.88 R 30.77

$1.66 ฿55.9

13.25%

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

$1.32 R 21.69

$0.65 ฿21.73

103.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.93 R 15.30

$0.30 ฿10.24

210.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.24 R 36.78

$2.32 ฿78.0

-3.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.53 R 58.0

$3.67 ฿123

-3.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.65

$2.02 ฿67.7

-34.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.22 R 20.02

$1.41 ฿47.29

-13.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 R 34.98

$1.39 ฿46.75

53.24%

Eggs

$3.18 R 52.1

$2.37 ฿79.5

34.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.84 R 145

$16.52 ฿555

-46.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.70 R 110

$2.67 ฿89.7

150.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$9.02 ฿303

3.10%

Apples (1kg)

$1.92 R 31.50

$2.40 ฿80.6

-20.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 R 32.31

$1.04 ฿34.98

89.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 R 28.43

$1.66 ฿55.7

4.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 R 33.63

$1.56 ฿52.4

31.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.49

$1.24 ฿41.57

25.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.18

$1.09 ฿36.50

34.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.36

$0.76 ฿25.59

71.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.56

$0.51 ฿17.27

133.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.54 R 58.2

$4.12 ฿138

-14.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.16 R 101

$17.93 ฿602

-65.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 R 22.04

$1.62 ฿54.5

-17.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 R 34.77

$2.82 ฿94.8

-24.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.61 R 26.44

$0.93 ฿31.39

73.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,777

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.86 R 14.16

$1.18 ฿39.52

-27.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 R 13.96

$0.17 ฿5.76

400.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.85 R 79.6

$1.81 ฿60.9

167.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.61 R 26.40

$1.47 ฿49.47

9.52%

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

$34.6K R 567.1K

$21.0K ฿705.8K

64.51%

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

$33.1K R 543.8K

$26.5K ฿890.7K

25.00%

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

$119 R 1,949

$62.6 ฿2,101

89.93%

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

$25.71 R 422

$11.60 ฿390

121.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.82 R 670

$20.30 ฿682

101.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.14 R 560

$37.88 ฿1,272

-9.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.66 R 191

$3.70 ฿124

215.14%

Cinema Ticket

$9.26 R 152

$6.51 ฿219

42.24%

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

$299 R 4,911

$727 ฿24.4K

-58.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,126 R 133.3K

$16.6K ฿556.7K

-50.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 942

$53.5 ฿1,798

7.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.43 R 532

$24.80 ฿833

30.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$119 R 1,953

$90.4 ฿3,036

31.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,664

$72.0 ฿2,418

40.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$445 R 7,293

$481 ฿16.2K

-7.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$322 R 5,290

$310 ฿10.4K

4.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$811 R 13.3K

$1,058 ฿35.5K

-23.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$661 R 10.8K

$659 ฿22.1K

0.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$789 R 12.9K

$2,418 ฿81.2K

-67.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$709 R 11.6K

$1,609 ฿54.0K

-55.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

5.57

95.51%

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

Last update for Bellville: October 31, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bellville

$322 29.3%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 3.9% $13

Groceries & Markets

Bellville

$224 20.3%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 5.9% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bellville

$185 16.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 49% $91

Eating Out

Bellville

$166 15%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 53.8% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Bellville

$140 12.7%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 22.4% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Bellville

$53 4.8%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 3.4% $1.8

Getting Around

Bellville

$12 * 1.1%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 407% $47

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 $445 in Bellville and $481 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $24 in Bellville vs $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries flip the comparison at $224 vs $237, with Bellville cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Bellville

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

12:32 12:32 PM

17:32 5:32 PM

5 h ahead of Bellville

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

112,507

127,240

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.09 USD

100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.41 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.09 USD). 1 EUR = 18.44 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.59 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.75 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bellville Chiang Mai 10,310 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Bellville
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

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

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 15% lower than in Bellville. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Chiang Mai the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,651 in Bellville and $1,403 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: $445 in Bellville versus $481 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Bellville pay roughly 6% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,101 per month in Bellville versus $935 in Chiang Mai – Chiang Mai is about 15% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Chiang Mai is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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