Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Chiang Mai Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Chiang Mai

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 19.8% more expensive than Chiang Mai without rent, and 50.3% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 28.3% more expensive than Chiang Mai without rent, and 50.5% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cape Town
Chiang Mai
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.12 R 185
$2.03 ฿64.3
447.78%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$44.86 R 746
$18.59 ฿590
141.31%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.00 R 83.1
$7.48 ฿237
-33.16%
Cappuccino
$2.05 R 34.12
$2.00 ฿63.3
2.50%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.12 R 18.60
$0.85 ฿26.87
31.76%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.81 R 13.48
$0.35 ฿11.15
131.43%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.85 R 47.40
$2.21 ฿70.2
28.96%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.58 R 42.80
$3.76 ฿119
-31.38%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
Chiang Mai
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.15 R 19.17
$1.72 ฿54.5
-33.14%
White Bread (500g)
$1.04 R 17.32
$1.63 ฿51.8
-36.20%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.85 R 30.68
$1.16 ฿36.75
59.48%
Eggs
$2.43 R 40.32
$1.98 ฿62.8
22.73%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.49 R 141
$15.93 ฿505
-46.70%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.17 R 85.9
$3.17 ฿100
63.09%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.49 R 124
$10.90 ฿346
-31.28%
Apples (1kg)
$1.51 R 25.17
$2.65 ฿83.9
-43.02%
Banana (1kg)
$1.44 R 23.93
$1.22 ฿38.79
18.03%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.45 R 24.12
$1.70 ฿53.8
-14.71%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.58 R 26.25
$1.59 ฿50.4
-0.63%
Potato (1kg)
$1.12 R 18.53
$1.32 ฿42.00
-15.15%
Onion (1kg)
$1.23 R 20.37
$1.17 ฿37.07
5.13%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.08 R 18.03
$0.68 ฿21.50
58.82%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.00 R 16.60
$0.56 ฿17.68
78.57%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.10 R 51.5
$4.51 ฿143
-31.26%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.46 R 107
$19.07 ฿605
-66.12%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.39 R 23.14
$1.77 ฿56.2
-21.47%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.74 R 28.84
$3.18 ฿101
-45.28%
🚌 Getting Around
Cape Town
Chiang Mai
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.93 R 15.49
$0.96 ฿30.54
-3.12%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$47.00 R 781
$18.90 ฿599
148.68%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.43 R 23.69
$1.36 ฿43.07
5.15%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.98 R 16.35
$1.35 ฿42.89
-27.41%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.35 R 72.3
$8.03 ฿255
-45.83%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.25 R 20.78
$1.24 ฿39.43
0.81%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.5K R 357.7K
$21.2K ฿671.3K
1.70%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.0K R 398.6K
$21.8K ฿690.1K
10.25%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
Chiang Mai
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$101 R 1,672
$71.2 ฿2,260
41.21%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$32.78 R 545
$14.09 ฿447
132.65%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$41.87 R 696
$17.47 ฿554
139.67%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
Chiang Mai
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$41.03 R 682
$42.07 ฿1,335
-2.47%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$8.21 R 136
$6.88 ฿218
19.33%
Cinema Ticket
$6.91 R 115
$5.94 ฿188
16.33%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cape Town
Chiang Mai
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$213 R 3,547
$307 ฿9,750
-30.56%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,248 R 87.2K
$14.8K ฿469.3K
-64.52%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
Chiang Mai
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$54.6 R 908
$55.7 ฿1,766
-1.85%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$33.30 R 553
$26.79 ฿850
24.30%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$111 R 1,849
$83.2 ฿2,640
33.72%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$83.4 R 1,386
$70.1 ฿2,224
18.90%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
Chiang Mai
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$749 R 12.5K
$427 ฿13.6K
75.37%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$517 R 8,586
$237 ฿7,521
117.89%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,460 R 24.3K
$802 ฿25.4K
82.11%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,008 R 16.8K
$503 ฿16.0K
100.30%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,156 R 35.8K
$2,061 ฿65.4K
4.63%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,484 R 24.7K
$1,533 ฿48.6K
-3.15%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cape Town
Chiang Mai
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,625 R 27.0K
$654 ฿20.7K
148.52%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.77
5
135.40%

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

Last update for Cape Town: March 2, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: March 1, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.
Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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