Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Botucatu and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Botucatu: $629 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Botucatu
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Botucatu Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Botucatu

🇧🇷 Brazil

$629

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $629 in Botucatu versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Botucatu $629
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,009 in Botucatu versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Botucatu $1,009
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,388 in Botucatu versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Botucatu $1,388
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Botucatu costs roughly 33% less than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Botucatu 54% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.50 R$29.42

$2.24 ฿75.6

145.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.72 R$159

$19.00 ฿641

56.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.50 R$34.74

$5.55 ฿187

17.12%

Cappuccino

$2.49 R$13.33

$1.67 ฿56.5

49.10%

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

$1.26 R$6.76

$0.64 ฿21.53

96.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.93 R$4.98

$0.31 ฿10.30

200.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 R$13.06

$2.36 ฿79.5

3.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 R$14.56

$3.66 ฿124

-25.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.87 R$4.64

$1.95 ฿65.7

-55.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R$6.67

$1.44 ฿48.45

-13.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.92 R$4.90

$1.33 ฿45.01

-30.83%

Eggs

$1.88 R$10.04

$2.28 ฿77.0

-17.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.98 R$42.66

$16.45 ฿555

-51.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.72 R$19.88

$2.78 ฿93.8

33.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.10 R$37.98

$9.31 ฿314

-23.74%

Apples (1kg)

$1.94 R$10.38

$2.35 ฿79.4

-17.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.16 R$6.22

$0.97 ฿32.78

19.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.90 R$4.81

$1.60 ฿53.9

-43.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.14 R$6.10

$1.50 ฿50.6

-24.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.27 R$6.78

$1.28 ฿43.10

-0.78%

Onion (1kg)

$0.95 R$5.09

$1.10 ฿37.17

-13.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 R$4.62

$0.71 ฿23.81

21.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 R$4.38

$0.49 ฿16.36

67.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.21 R$11.80

$4.14 ฿140

-46.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.20 R$33.15

$17.52 ฿591

-64.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 R$6.00

$1.61 ฿54.5

-30.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 R$9.50

$2.78 ฿93.9

-35.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 R$4.65

$0.87 ฿29.29

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.46 R$7.83

$1.16 ฿39.03

25.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R$8.18

$0.53 ฿17.79

188.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.65 R$89.0

$2.42 ฿81.7

588.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 R$6.06

$1.45 ฿48.87

-22.07%

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

$22.0K R$117.5K

$21.1K ฿710.3K

4.37%

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

$31.5K R$168.5K

$26.9K ฿908.7K

16.95%

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

$24.47 R$131

$62.2 ฿2,097

-60.64%

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

$9.21 R$49.28

$12.17 ฿410

-24.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.17 R$81.1

$20.12 ฿679

-24.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$8.45 R$45.18

$6.49 ฿219

30.20%

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

$265 R$1,420

$736 ฿24.8K

-63.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,872 R$31.4K

$14.8K ฿498.0K

-60.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.58 R$260

$53.4 ฿1,800

-8.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.27 R$183

$24.64 ฿831

39.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.9 R$470

$91.5 ฿3,086

-3.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$56.8 R$304

$71.9 ฿2,426

-21.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$258 R$1,378

$482 ฿16.3K

-46.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$166 R$885

$309 ฿10.4K

-46.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$562 R$3,006

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-44.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$284 R$1,521

$633 ฿21.4K

-55.10%

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)

$399 R$2,133

$590 ฿19.9K

-32.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.5

5.57

70.56%

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

Last update for Botucatu: October 27, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Botucatu

$166 26.3%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 86.6% $143

Groceries & Markets

Botucatu

$163 25.9%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 44.1% $72

Eating Out

Botucatu

$120 19.1%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 35.3% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Botucatu

$102 16.3%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 6.1% $6.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Botucatu

$49 7.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 93.4% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Botucatu

$17 * 2.7%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 198% $33

Getting Around

Botucatu

$13 * 2%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 387% $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 $258 in Botucatu and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chiang Mai pays 48% 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: $30 in Botucatu vs $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries flip the comparison at $163 vs $234, with Botucatu cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Botucatu

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

13:24 1:24 PM

23:24 11:24 PM

10 h ahead of Botucatu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

145,155

127,240

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.97 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Botucatu Chiang Mai 16,610 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Botucatu
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

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

Botucatu wins on cost – living expenses run 33% lower than in Chiang Mai. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Botucatu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 32% lower in Botucatu. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $258 in Botucatu versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $265 in Botucatu versus $736 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Chiang Mai – a meal for two runs $19 versus $30 in Botucatu. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $629 in Botucatu versus $936 in Chiang Mai, a $800 budget is realistic in Botucatu but tight or insufficient in Chiang Mai. The gap between the two cities makes Botucatu 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.

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