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 22.3% more expensive than Chiang Mai without rent, and 46.7% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 27.6% more expensive than Chiang Mai without rent, and 52.9% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.06 R 181

$2.01 ฿64.5

450.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.39 R 744

$18.23 ฿584

148.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.09 R 83.4

$7.65 ฿245

-33.46%

Cappuccino

$2.08 R 34.09

$1.92 ฿61.5

8.33%

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

$1.16 R 19.08

$0.84 ฿26.97

38.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.89 R 14.64

$0.36 ฿11.42

147.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.84 R 46.55

$2.19 ฿70.2

29.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 R 40.15

$3.79 ฿121

-35.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 R 17.99

$1.64 ฿52.5

-32.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 R 17.97

$1.62 ฿52.0

-32.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.03

$1.15 ฿36.98

59.13%

Eggs

$2.50 R 41.02

$1.94 ฿62.2

28.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.65 R 142

$15.94 ฿511

-45.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.06 R 83.0

$3.10 ฿99.5

63.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.58 R 124

$11.07 ฿355

-31.53%

Apples (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.76

$2.71 ฿86.8

-42.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 R 23.18

$1.18 ฿37.80

19.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.50 R 24.66

$1.71 ฿54.7

-12.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 R 25.10

$1.61 ฿51.5

-4.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.09 R 17.80

$1.39 ฿44.66

-21.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.18 R 19.39

$1.15 ฿36.81

2.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.06 R 17.38

$0.71 ฿22.83

49.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 R 16.19

$0.55 ฿17.65

80.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.11 R 51.0

$4.57 ฿146

-31.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.36 R 104

$18.87 ฿605

-66.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 R 22.45

$1.82 ฿58.4

-24.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 R 28.77

$3.21 ฿103

-45.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 R 15.03

$0.88 ฿28.24

4.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.28 R 792

$18.89 ฿606

155.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.38 R 22.59

$1.41 ฿45.30

-2.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 R 15.26

$1.30 ฿41.71

-28.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.37 R 71.6

$8.20 ฿263

-46.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.20 R 19.68

$1.23 ฿39.29

-2.44%

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

$21.6K R 354.1K

$21.2K ฿678.9K

1.95%

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

$24.0K R 393.7K

$22.3K ฿715.3K

7.59%

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

$101 R 1,664

$69.9 ฿2,240

45.21%

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

$32.97 R 541

$14.07 ฿451

134.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.85 R 670

$17.70 ฿567

130.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.59 R 698

$41.41 ฿1,328

2.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.89 R 129

$6.69 ฿215

17.94%

Cinema Ticket

$6.62 R 109

$5.74 ฿184

15.33%

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

$213 R 3,490

$299 ฿9,593

-28.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,331 R 87.4K

$15.0K ฿481.2K

-64.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.6 R 896

$54.8 ฿1,758

-0.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.27 R 546

$26.35 ฿845

26.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 R 1,878

$84.7 ฿2,714

35.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.0 R 1,377

$69.7 ฿2,236

20.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$767 R 12.6K

$427 ฿13.7K

79.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$525 R 8,604

$241 ฿7,718

117.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,440 R 23.6K

$811 ฿26.0K

77.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 R 16.5K

$498 ฿16.0K

102.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,240 R 36.7K

$2,022 ฿64.8K

10.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,451 R 23.8K

$1,524 ฿48.9K

-4.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,707 R 28.0K

$639 ฿20.5K

167.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.77

135.40%

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

Last update for Cape Town: April 14, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: April 13, 2026

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

Cape Town vs other spots: cost of living compared

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