Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Caraguatatuba and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Caraguatatuba: $843 a month against $938 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Caraguatatuba
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Caraguatatuba Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Caraguatatuba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$843

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $843 in Caraguatatuba versus $938 in Chiang Mai.

Caraguatatuba $843
Chiang Mai $938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,363 in Caraguatatuba versus $1,426 in Chiang Mai.

Caraguatatuba $1,363
Chiang Mai $1,426

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,883 in Caraguatatuba versus $1,914 in Chiang Mai.

Caraguatatuba $1,883
Chiang Mai $1,914

Living in Caraguatatuba costs roughly 10% less than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Caraguatatuba 38% lower, Chiang Mai 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.70 R$39.04

$2.26 ฿75.4

240.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.38 R$149

$19.18 ฿641

53.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.23 R$46.80

$5.59 ฿187

65.12%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R$11.99

$1.72 ฿57.6

37.79%

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

$1.23 R$6.25

$0.64 ฿21.54

92.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.88 R$4.48

$0.33 ฿11.18

166.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 R$11.96

$2.36 ฿78.7

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 R$16.60

$3.90 ฿130

-16.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.00 R$5.09

$2.05 ฿68.6

-51.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.61 R$8.17

$1.40 ฿46.70

15.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 R$7.10

$1.28 ฿42.89

9.37%

Eggs

$1.96 R$9.96

$2.25 ฿75.3

-12.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.89 R$29.84

$16.94 ฿566

-65.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.32 R$16.82

$2.74 ฿91.6

21.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.98 R$40.47

$9.36 ฿313

-14.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 R$10.89

$2.40 ฿80.3

-10.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 R$8.46

$1.01 ฿33.92

65.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.46 R$7.39

$1.61 ฿53.9

-9.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.42 R$7.19

$1.52 ฿50.7

-6.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.27 R$6.45

$1.28 ฿42.90

-0.78%

Onion (1kg)

$0.82 R$4.13

$1.11 ฿37.22

-26.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 R$3.60

$0.72 ฿24.09

-1.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 R$3.99

$0.52 ฿17.54

51.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.16 R$10.96

$4.33 ฿145

-50.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.00 R$35.46

$17.73 ฿593

-60.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 R$7.58

$1.63 ฿54.4

-7.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 R$13.11

$2.85 ฿95.3

-9.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 R$4.96

$0.85 ฿28.31

15.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.55 R$119

$53.9 ฿1,801

-56.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 R$5.89

$1.17 ฿39.18

-0.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.73 R$3.70

$0.57 ฿19.00

28.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.52 R$17.85

$2.37 ฿79.2

48.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.59

$1.45 ฿48.32

-10.34%

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

$15.7K R$79.3K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

-23.56%

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

$29.5K R$149.6K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

11.30%

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

$66.3 R$336

$62.3 ฿2,083

6.39%

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

$13.05 R$66.2

$12.27 ฿410

6.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.44 R$114

$19.97 ฿668

12.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.64 R$110

$37.91 ฿1,267

-42.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.29 R$82.6

$3.76 ฿126

333.24%

Cinema Ticket

$8.17 R$41.40

$6.71 ฿224

21.76%

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

$223 R$1,130

$797 ฿26.6K

-72.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,271 R$21.7K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

-71.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.8 R$293

$53.3 ฿1,780

8.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.6 R$287

$25.05 ฿837

125.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.3 R$397

$91.6 ฿3,062

-14.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.2 R$300

$73.5 ฿2,455

-19.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$416 R$2,110

$464 ฿15.5K

-10.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$237 R$1,201

$305 ฿10.2K

-22.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$879 R$4,453

$915 ฿30.6K

-4.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$522 R$2,648

$552 ฿18.5K

-5.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,681 R$8,523

$1,912 ฿63.9K

-12.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,217 R$6,170

$1,438 ฿48.1K

-15.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$336 R$1,704

$595 ฿19.9K

-43.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.15

5.57

46.32%

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

Last update for Caraguatatuba: October 11, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Caraguatatuba

$237 28.1%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 28.6% $68

Groceries & Markets

Caraguatatuba

$176 20.9%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 35.3% $62

Eating Out

Caraguatatuba

$145 17.2%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 45.3% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Caraguatatuba

$113 13.5%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 3.4% $3.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Caraguatatuba

$102 12.1%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 7.1% $7.2

Sport & Entertainment

Caraguatatuba

$38 4.5%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 35.2% $13

Getting Around

Caraguatatuba

$32 3.8%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 90% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $416 in Caraguatatuba and $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chiang Mai pays 77% 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: $29.00 in Caraguatatuba vs $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Groceries flip the comparison at $176 vs $238, with Caraguatatuba cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Caraguatatuba

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

02:42 2:42 AM

12:42 12:42 PM

10 h ahead of Caraguatatuba

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

134,873

127,240

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 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 BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Caraguatatuba Chiang Mai 16,300 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Caraguatatuba
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

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

Caraguatatuba is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and transport. The 11% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 77% lower in Chiang Mai. 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: $416 in Caraguatatuba versus $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Chiang Mai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Caraguatatuba – a meal for two runs $29.00 versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $843 in Caraguatatuba versus $938 in Chiang Mai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Caraguatatuba but tight or insufficient in Chiang Mai. The gap between the two cities makes Caraguatatuba the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Caraguatatuba is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Chiang Mai, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Caraguatatuba 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 Caraguatatuba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 11% less than in Chiang Mai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.