Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bodrum and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $1,189 in Bodrum, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Bodrum
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Bodrum Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Bodrum

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,189

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,189 in Bodrum versus $938 in Chiang Mai.

Bodrum $1,189
Chiang Mai $938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,331 in Bodrum versus $1,426 in Chiang Mai.

Bodrum $2,331
Chiang Mai $1,426

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,474 in Bodrum versus $1,914 in Chiang Mai.

Bodrum $3,474
Chiang Mai $1,914

Living in Bodrum is roughly 27% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bodrum 12% lower, Chiang Mai 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.15 ₺502

$2.26 ฿75.4

349.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.4 ₺2,992

$19.18 ฿641

215.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ₺431

$5.59 ฿187

55.64%

Cappuccino

$3.46 ₺171

$1.72 ฿57.6

101.16%

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

$1.50 ₺74.1

$0.64 ฿21.54

134.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 ₺41.12

$0.33 ฿11.18

151.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.16 ₺206

$2.36 ฿78.7

76.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.65 ₺230

$3.90 ฿130

19.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.97 ₺48.00

$2.05 ฿68.6

-52.68%

White Bread (500g)

$0.99 ₺48.91

$1.40 ฿46.70

-29.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.40 ₺119

$1.28 ฿42.89

87.50%

Eggs

$1.96 ₺96.8

$2.25 ฿75.3

-12.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.02 ₺595

$16.94 ฿566

-29.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.53 ₺175

$2.74 ฿91.6

28.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.91 ₺1,085

$9.36 ฿313

134.08%

Apples (1kg)

$1.57 ₺77.7

$2.40 ฿80.3

-34.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 ₺95.6

$1.01 ฿33.92

91.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.91 ₺45.10

$1.61 ฿53.9

-43.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.16 ₺57.4

$1.52 ฿50.7

-23.68%

Potato (1kg)

$0.51 ₺25.47

$1.28 ฿42.90

-60.16%

Onion (1kg)

$0.41 ₺20.10

$1.11 ฿37.22

-63.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.80 ₺39.85

$0.72 ฿24.09

11.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 ₺33.95

$0.52 ฿17.54

32.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.27 ₺112

$4.33 ฿145

-47.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.93 ₺689

$17.73 ฿593

-21.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ₺87.9

$1.63 ฿54.4

9.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 ₺90.8

$2.85 ฿95.3

-35.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.13 ₺55.7

$0.85 ฿28.31

32.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.9 ฿1,801

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 ₺154

$1.17 ฿39.18

165.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ₺51.1

$0.57 ฿19.00

80.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.37 ฿79.2

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₺65.0

$1.45 ฿48.32

-9.66%

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

$42.2K ₺2.1M

$20.5K ฿684.3K

106.29%

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

$38.9K ₺1.9M

$26.5K ฿886.1K

46.69%

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

$42.50 ₺2,104

$62.3 ฿2,083

-31.81%

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

$10.17 ₺503

$12.27 ฿410

-17.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.14 ₺551

$19.97 ฿668

-44.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.7 ₺3,699

$37.91 ฿1,267

97.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.76 ฿126

Cinema Ticket

$7.17 ₺355

$6.71 ฿224

6.86%

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

$411 ₺20.3K

$797 ฿26.6K

-48.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,802 ₺435.8K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

-40.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 ₺5,078

$53.3 ฿1,780

92.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 ₺2,937

$25.05 ฿837

136.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$156 ₺7,703

$91.6 ฿3,062

69.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 ₺5,783

$73.5 ฿2,455

59.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$618 ₺30.6K

$464 ฿15.5K

33.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$400 ₺19.8K

$305 ฿10.2K

31.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,298 ₺64.3K

$915 ฿30.6K

41.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 ₺75.9K

$552 ฿18.5K

177.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,887 ₺142.9K

$1,912 ฿63.9K

50.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,410 ₺119.3K

$1,438 ฿48.1K

67.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,065 ₺52.7K

$595 ฿19.9K

78.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

38.25

5.57

586.71%

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

Last update for Bodrum: October 13, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bodrum

$400 33.7%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 23.9% $96

Groceries & Markets

Bodrum

$240 20.1%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 0.6% $1.6

Clothing & Footwear

Bodrum

$195 16.4%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 44% $86

Eating Out

Bodrum

$188 15.8%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 58% $109

Sport & Entertainment

Bodrum

$89 7.5%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 42.3% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bodrum

$64 5.4%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 48.2% $31

Getting Around

Bodrum

$13 * 1.1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 380% $49

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 $618 in Bodrum and $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bodrum pays 79% 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: $60.0 in Bodrum vs $19.00 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $240 vs $238 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Bodrum

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

03:19 3:19 AM

07:19 7:19 AM

4 h ahead of Bodrum

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

187,284

127,240

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 49.51 TRY (100 TRY = 2.02 USD). 1 EUR = 55.66 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bodrum Chiang Mai 7,150 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Bodrum
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

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

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 27% lower than in Bodrum. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Chiang Mai the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 79% higher in Bodrum, 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: $618 in Bodrum versus $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 1% higher in Bodrum. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,189 per month in Bodrum versus $938 in Chiang Mai – a 27% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $938 in Chiang Mai versus $1,189 in Bodrum, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Bodrum. The gap between the two cities makes Chiang Mai the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Chiang Mai delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $938 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Chiang Mai hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Bodrum 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 27% less than in Bodrum. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.