Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Benoni and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,067 in Benoni, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Benoni
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Benoni Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Benoni

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,067

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,067 in Benoni versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Benoni $1,067
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,318 in Benoni versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Benoni $1,318
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,568 in Benoni versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Benoni $1,568
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Benoni is roughly 14% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Benoni 22% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.86 R 165

$2.24 ฿75.6

340.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.05 R 619

$19.00 ฿641

95.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 R 92.7

$5.55 ฿187

Cappuccino

$2.17 R 36.21

$1.67 ฿56.5

29.94%

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

$1.14 R 19.02

$0.64 ฿21.54

78.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 R 14.08

$0.31 ฿10.31

170.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.37 R 39.54

$2.36 ฿79.5

0.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 R 45.92

$3.66 ฿124

-24.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 R 20.21

$1.95 ฿65.7

-37.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 R 18.66

$1.44 ฿48.46

-22.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 R 29.83

$1.33 ฿45.03

34.59%

Eggs

$2.49 R 41.52

$2.28 ฿77.1

9.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.18 R 137

$16.45 ฿555

-50.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.85 R 81.0

$2.78 ฿93.9

74.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.12 R 119

$9.31 ฿314

-23.52%

Apples (1kg)

$1.74 R 29.03

$2.35 ฿79.4

-25.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 R 26.73

$0.97 ฿32.79

64.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.64

$1.60 ฿53.9

10.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 R 26.14

$1.50 ฿50.6

4.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 R 17.88

$1.28 ฿43.11

-16.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 R 19.60

$1.10 ฿37.18

6.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 R 20.33

$0.71 ฿23.82

71.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 R 21.66

$0.49 ฿16.36

165.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.52 R 58.9

$4.14 ฿140

-14.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.97 R 83.0

$17.52 ฿591

-71.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 R 25.27

$1.61 ฿54.5

-6.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 R 33.13

$2.78 ฿93.9

-28.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.30

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 R 4.80

$1.16 ฿39.04

-75.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 R 15.56

$0.53 ฿17.80

75.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.37 R 240

$2.42 ฿81.7

493.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 R 25.61

$1.45 ฿48.88

5.52%

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

$35.4K R 592.0K

$21.1K ฿710.5K

68.27%

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

$34.4K R 575.4K

$26.9K ฿909.0K

27.83%

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

$197 R 3,294

$62.2 ฿2,098

217.10%

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

$39.26 R 656

$12.17 ฿411

222.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.82 R 632

$20.12 ฿679

87.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.81 R 298

$37.31 ฿1,259

-52.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$7.15 R 119

$6.49 ฿219

10.17%

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

$246 R 4,108

$736 ฿24.8K

-66.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,379 R 89.9K

$14.8K ฿498.2K

-63.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.1 R 870

$53.4 ฿1,801

-2.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.79 R 531

$24.64 ฿831

29.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.2 R 1,524

$91.5 ฿3,087

-0.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.3 R 1,376

$71.9 ฿2,427

14.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$393 R 6,564

$482 ฿16.3K

-18.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$302 R 5,049

$309 ฿10.4K

-2.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$489 R 8,178

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-51.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,000 R 33.4K

$590 ฿19.9K

239.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.91

5.57

95.87%

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

Last update for Benoni: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Benoni

$302 28.3%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 2.2% $6.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Benoni

$274 25.7%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 65.6% $180

Groceries & Markets

Benoni

$191 17.9%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 22.6% $43

Eating Out

Benoni

$147 13.8%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 47.1% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Benoni

$116 10.9%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 6.2% $7.2

Sport & Entertainment

Benoni

$32 3%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 56.6% $18

Getting Around

Benoni

$4.9 * 0.5%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 1142% $56

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 $393 in Benoni and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Benoni pays about 3.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $37 in Benoni vs $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries flip the comparison at $191 vs $234, with Benoni cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Benoni

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

15:21 3:21 PM

20:21 8:21 PM

5 h ahead of Benoni

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

158,777

127,240

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 16.71 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.36 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 ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Benoni Chiang Mai 9,120 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Benoni
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,067 in Benoni and $936 in Chiang Mai, so Chiang Mai is about 12% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Benoni is about 3.4 times higher, 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: $393 in Benoni versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Benoni pay roughly 18% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,067 per month in Benoni versus $936 in Chiang Mai – Chiang Mai is about 12% 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, Benoni and Chiang Mai are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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