Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Bandar Seri Begawan

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,215 in Bandar Seri Begawan, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Bandar Seri Begawan
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Bandar Seri Begawan Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Bandar Seri Begawan

🇧🇳 Brunei

$1,215

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Bandar Seri Begawan

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Chiang Mai and in Bandar Seri Begawan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,215 in Bandar Seri Begawan, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Bandar Seri Begawan $1,215

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,756 in Bandar Seri Begawan, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Bandar Seri Begawan $1,756

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,296 in Bandar Seri Begawan, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Bandar Seri Begawan $2,296

Chiang Mai is about 23% cheaper than Bandar Seri Begawan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both Chiang Mai and Bandar Seri Begawan are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 31% lower, Bandar Seri Begawan 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$3.93 BND 5.02

-43.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$27.87 BND 35.65

-31.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$6.14 BND 7.85

-9.61%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.96 BND 2.51

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 BND 3.02

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$4.01 BND 5.13

-58.35%

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

$0.64 ฿21.53

$0.95 BND 1.22

-32.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.30

$0.53 BND 0.68

-41.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.7

$1.89 BND 2.41

3.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.45

$1.76 BND 2.25

-18.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.01

$1.19 BND 1.52

11.76%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.0

$2.09 BND 2.68

9.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$9.18 BND 11.75

79.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.8

$4.61 BND 5.90

-39.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$10.69 BND 13.67

-12.91%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$3.14 BND 4.01

-25.16%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.78

$2.22 BND 2.84

-56.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$2.84 BND 3.64

-43.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$2.58 BND 3.30

-41.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.10

$1.67 BND 2.14

-23.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.17

$1.99 BND 2.55

-44.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.81

$3.63 BND 4.64

-80.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.36

$0.92 BND 1.17

-46.74%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$23.60 BND 30.19

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.34 BND 4.27

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$15.44 BND 19.75

-73.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.9

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.29

$0.81 BND 1.04

7.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

$23.46 BND 30.01

130.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.03

$3.98 BND 5.10

-70.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.79

$3.39 BND 4.33

-84.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.7

$11.48 BND 14.68

-78.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.87

$0.43 BND 0.55

237.21%

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

$21.1K ฿710.3K

$43.6K BND 55.7K

-51.66%

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

$26.9K ฿908.7K

$36.1K BND 46.2K

-25.45%

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

$62.2 ฿2,097

$61.3 BND 78.5

1.35%

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

$12.17 ฿410

$21.81 BND 27.90

-44.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$66.1 BND 84.6

-69.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$46.25 BND 59.2

-19.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$7.12 BND 9.11

-47.05%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$5.62 BND 7.18

15.48%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$220 BND 282

234.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.0K

$9,743 BND 12.5K

51.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,800

$77.1 BND 98.6

-30.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$95.5 BND 122

-74.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,086

$102 BND 130

-10.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,426

$73.2 BND 93.6

-1.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$726 BND 929

-33.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$481 BND 615

-35.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$1,159 BND 1,483

-13.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$681 BND 871

-6.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

$3,076 BND 3,935

-23.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$2,232 BND 2,855

-28.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$1,745 BND 2,232

-66.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.88

43.56%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Bandar Seri Begawan: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$481 39.6% 55.6% $172

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$220 18.1% 6.1% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$156 12.9% 44% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$149 12.3% 58% $55

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$104 8.6% 33.9% $26

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$48 3.9% 22.4% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$57 4.7% 14.3% $7.2

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $726 in Bandar Seri Begawan. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Bandar Seri Begawan are about 3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $28 in Bandar Seri Begawan. Groceries tell a different story – $234 in Chiang Mai vs $220 in Bandar Seri Begawan – so Bandar Seri Begawan wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇧🇳 Bandar Seri Begawan

🕒 Local time

23:20 11:20 PM

00:20 12:20 AM

1 h ahead of Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

50,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Brunei Dollar BND $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 BND = 0.782 USD

1 BND = 0.701 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BND, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Brunei Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 BND (1 BND = 0.782 USD). 1 EUR = 1.43 BND (1 BND = 0.701 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiang Mai Bandar Seri Begawan 2,320 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Bandar Seri Begawan

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

Chiang Mai vs Bandar Seri Begawan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Bandar Seri Begawan is pricier by about 30%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in utilities.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,403 per month in Chiang Mai and $1,823 in Bandar Seri Begawan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chiang Mai, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $482 there versus $726 in Bandar Seri Begawan.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,215 in Bandar Seri Begawan. That makes Chiang Mai about 23% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 57% less in Bandar Seri Begawan. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,215 in Bandar Seri Begawan. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $936 in Chiang Mai to $1,215 in Bandar Seri Begawan. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Bandar Seri Begawan makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.