Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Belo Horizonte and Chiang Mai

For one person, living costs are similar in Belo Horizonte and in Chiang Mai: $976 and $938 a month, rent and utilities included.

47

Cost of Living Index in Belo Horizonte
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Belo Horizonte Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Belo Horizonte

🇧🇷 Brazil

$976

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $976 in Belo Horizonte versus $938 in Chiang Mai.

Belo Horizonte $976
Chiang Mai $938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,574 in Belo Horizonte versus $1,426 in Chiang Mai.

Belo Horizonte $1,574
Chiang Mai $1,426

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,172 in Belo Horizonte versus $1,914 in Chiang Mai.

Belo Horizonte $2,172
Chiang Mai $1,914

Living in Belo Horizonte is roughly 4% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Belo Horizonte 28% lower, Chiang Mai 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.88 R$29.79

$2.26 ฿75.4

160.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.39 R$195

$19.18 ฿641

100.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.75 R$44.38

$5.59 ฿187

56.53%

Cappuccino

$2.16 R$10.97

$1.72 ฿57.6

25.58%

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

$1.41 R$7.15

$0.64 ฿21.54

120.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.77 R$3.89

$0.33 ฿11.18

133.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 R$10.93

$2.36 ฿78.7

-8.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R$18.85

$3.90 ฿130

-4.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.00 R$5.06

$2.05 ฿68.6

-51.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.77 R$8.97

$1.40 ฿46.70

26.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.98 R$10.03

$1.28 ฿42.89

54.69%

Eggs

$2.31 R$11.70

$2.25 ฿75.3

2.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.83 R$49.83

$16.94 ฿566

-41.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.35 R$22.07

$2.74 ฿91.6

58.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.42 R$37.61

$9.36 ฿313

-20.73%

Apples (1kg)

$1.95 R$9.91

$2.40 ฿80.3

-18.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.16 R$5.90

$1.01 ฿33.92

14.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.19 R$6.05

$1.61 ฿53.9

-26.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.65 R$8.38

$1.52 ฿50.7

8.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.14 R$5.78

$1.28 ฿42.90

-10.94%

Onion (1kg)

$0.98 R$4.97

$1.11 ฿37.22

-11.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.80 R$4.07

$0.72 ฿24.09

11.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 R$4.37

$0.52 ฿17.54

65.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.46 R$12.47

$4.33 ฿145

-43.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.26 R$41.87

$17.73 ฿593

-53.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 R$7.10

$1.63 ฿54.4

-14.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 R$14.00

$2.85 ฿95.3

-3.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.25 R$6.33

$0.85 ฿28.31

47.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$69.7 R$353

$53.9 ฿1,801

29.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.98 R$4.95

$1.17 ฿39.18

-16.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.77 R$3.90

$0.57 ฿19.00

35.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.45 R$32.71

$2.37 ฿79.2

172.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 R$6.42

$1.45 ฿48.32

-12.41%

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

$24.1K R$122.3K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

17.85%

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

$32.1K R$162.7K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

21.07%

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

$76.6 R$388

$62.3 ฿2,083

22.89%

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

$10.68 R$54.2

$12.27 ฿410

-12.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.61 R$110

$19.97 ฿668

8.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.17 R$143

$37.91 ฿1,267

-25.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$45.35 R$230

$3.76 ฿126

1106.12%

Cinema Ticket

$8.14 R$41.27

$6.71 ฿224

21.31%

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

$465 R$2,359

$797 ฿26.6K

-41.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K R$71.7K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

-4.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.6 R$312

$53.3 ฿1,780

15.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.25 R$250

$25.05 ฿837

96.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.2 R$503

$91.6 ฿3,062

8.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.0 R$365

$73.5 ฿2,455

-1.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$594 R$3,013

$464 ฿15.5K

28.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$294 R$1,489

$305 ฿10.2K

-3.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$888 R$4,499

$915 ฿30.6K

-3.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$591 R$2,995

$552 ฿18.5K

6.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,339 R$11.9K

$1,912 ฿63.9K

22.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,125 R$5,704

$1,438 ฿48.1K

-21.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$639 R$3,238

$595 ฿19.9K

7.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.25

5.57

101.97%

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

Last update for Belo Horizonte: October 10, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Belo Horizonte

$294 30.1%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 3.7% $11

Groceries & Markets

Belo Horizonte

$196 20.1%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 21.4% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Belo Horizonte

$127 13%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 13.7% $17

Eating Out

Belo Horizonte

$126 12.9%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 37.4% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Belo Horizonte

$109 11.2%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 13.1% $14

Getting Around

Belo Horizonte

$80 8.2%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 22.9% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Belo Horizonte

$44 4.6%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 15.5% $6.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $594 in Belo Horizonte and $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Belo Horizonte pays 7% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $38.00 in Belo Horizonte vs $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Groceries flip the comparison at $196 vs $238, with Belo Horizonte cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Belo Horizonte

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

04:40 4:40 AM

14:40 2:40 PM

10 h ahead of Belo Horizonte

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,315,560

127,240

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Belo Horizonte Chiang Mai 16,130 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Belo Horizonte
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

Belo Horizonte vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Belo Horizonte and Chiang Mai differ by about 4% in total monthly costs ($976 vs $938 including rent). Chiang Mai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 7% higher in Belo Horizonte, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $594 in Belo Horizonte versus $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $465 in Belo Horizonte versus $797 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Belo Horizonte pay roughly 21% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $938 in Chiang Mai versus $976 in Belo Horizonte, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Belo Horizonte. The gap between the two cities makes Chiang Mai 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, Belo Horizonte 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 Chiang Mai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Belo Horizonte. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.