Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bentota and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Bentota: $777 a month against $935 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Bentota
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Bentota Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Bentota

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$777

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $777 in Bentota versus $935 in Chiang Mai.

Bentota $777
Chiang Mai $935

Estimated couple costs with rent: $896 in Bentota versus $1,467 in Chiang Mai.

Bentota $896
Chiang Mai $1,467

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,014 in Bentota versus $1,999 in Chiang Mai.

Bentota $1,014
Chiang Mai $1,999

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

Both cities sit below the global median: Bentota 42% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.78 LKR 1,257

$2.13 ฿72.0

77.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.00 LKR 3,992

$18.62 ฿628

-35.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.36 LKR 2,447

$5.60 ฿189

31.43%

Cappuccino

$2.47 LKR 822

$1.66 ฿56.1

48.80%

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

$0.71 LKR 236

$0.65 ฿21.82

9.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 LKR 83.0

$0.30 ฿10.29

-16.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.19 LKR 728

$2.32 ฿78.3

-5.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 LKR 1,031

$3.67 ฿124

-15.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 LKR 523

$2.02 ฿68.0

-22.28%

White Bread (500g)

$0.52 LKR 174

$1.41 ฿47.49

-63.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.80 LKR 267

$1.39 ฿46.94

-42.45%

Eggs

$1.65 LKR 549

$2.37 ฿79.9

-30.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.18 LKR 5,048

$16.52 ฿557

-8.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.36 LKR 1,119

$2.67 ฿90.1

25.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.47 LKR 1,488

$9.02 ฿304

-50.44%

Apples (1kg)

$6.76 LKR 2,247

$2.40 ฿80.9

181.67%

Banana (1kg)

$0.76 LKR 254

$1.04 ฿35.12

-26.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.08 LKR 1,356

$1.66 ฿56.0

145.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.86 LKR 287

$1.56 ฿52.6

-44.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 LKR 357

$1.24 ฿41.75

-13.71%

Onion (1kg)

$0.82 LKR 274

$1.09 ฿36.65

-24.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 LKR 402

$0.76 ฿25.70

59.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.42 LKR 139

$0.51 ฿17.34

-17.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.06 LKR 3,347

$4.12 ฿139

144.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.69 LKR 4,553

$17.93 ฿605

-23.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 LKR 630

$1.62 ฿54.8

17.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 LKR 956

$2.82 ฿95.2

1.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.19 LKR 62.4

$0.93 ฿31.52

-79.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,784

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.38 LKR 126

$1.18 ฿39.69

-67.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 LKR 96.3

$0.17 ฿5.78

70.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 LKR 308

$1.81 ฿61.1

-48.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 LKR 461

$1.47 ฿49.67

-5.44%

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

$44.0K LKR 14.6M

$21.0K ฿708.7K

109.62%

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

$45.0K LKR 15.0M

$26.5K ฿894.4K

69.66%

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

$57.4 LKR 19.1K

$62.6 ฿2,110

-8.33%

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

$2.32 LKR 770

$11.60 ฿391

-80.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.88 LKR 2,952

$20.30 ฿685

-56.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,278

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿125

Cinema Ticket

$4.59 LKR 1,525

$6.51 ฿220

-29.49%

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

$40.65 LKR 13.5K

$727 ฿24.5K

-94.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.4K LKR 5.8M

$16.6K ฿559.0K

5.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.34 LKR 6,101

$53.5 ฿1,806

-65.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.33 LKR 5,762

$24.80 ฿836

-30.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.6 LKR 25.8K

$90.4 ฿3,049

-14.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.51 LKR 13.8K

$72.0 ฿2,428

-42.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$546 LKR 181.7K

$481 ฿16.2K

13.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$302 LKR 100.3K

$310 ฿10.5K

-2.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.7K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ฿22.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿54.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.5

5.57

124.42%

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

Last update for Bentota: 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

Bentota

$302 38.8%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 2.7% $8.2

Groceries & Markets

Bentota

$223 28.7%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 6.2% $14

Eating Out

Bentota

$103 13.2%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 25.6% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Bentota

$70 9%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 55.6% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bentota

$69 8.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 37.8% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Bentota

$9.2 * 1.2%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 455% $42

Getting Around

Bentota

$2.6 * 0.3%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 2174% $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 $546 in Bentota and $481 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $12 in Bentota vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $223 vs $237 per month, with Bentota cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Bentota

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

21:04 9:04 PM

22:34 10:34 PM

1 h 30 min ahead of Bentota

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

37,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 373 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bentota Chiang Mai 2,470 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bentota
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

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

Bentota is about 17% cheaper overall, especially in transport, leisure, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,166 in Bentota 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: $546 in Bentota versus $481 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 6% higher in Chiang Mai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $777 per month in Bentota versus $935 in Chiang Mai – Bentota 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.