Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Belo Horizonte

For one person, living costs are similar in Chiang Mai and in Belo Horizonte: $938 and $976 a month, rent and utilities included.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Belo Horizonte
Learn more

Belo Horizonte Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Belo Horizonte

🇧🇷 Brazil

$976

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Belo Horizonte

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 Belo Horizonte actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $938 in Chiang Mai versus $976 in Belo Horizonte.

Chiang Mai $938
Belo Horizonte $976

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,426 in Chiang Mai versus $1,574 in Belo Horizonte.

Chiang Mai $1,426
Belo Horizonte $1,574

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,914 in Chiang Mai versus $2,172 in Belo Horizonte.

Chiang Mai $1,914
Belo Horizonte $2,172

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 4% less than in Belo Horizonte, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Chiang Mai 30% lower, Belo Horizonte 28% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.26 ฿75.4

$5.88 R$29.79

-61.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.18 ฿641

$38.39 R$195

-50.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.59 ฿187

$8.75 R$44.38

-36.11%

Cappuccino

$1.72 ฿57.6

$2.16 R$10.97

-20.37%

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

$0.64 ฿21.54

$1.41 R$7.15

-54.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ฿11.18

$0.77 R$3.89

-57.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿78.7

$2.16 R$10.93

9.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.90 ฿130

$3.72 R$18.85

4.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.05 ฿68.6

$1.00 R$5.06

105.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 ฿46.70

$1.77 R$8.97

-20.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 ฿42.89

$1.98 R$10.03

-35.35%

Eggs

$2.25 ฿75.3

$2.31 R$11.70

-2.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.94 ฿566

$9.83 R$49.83

72.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.74 ฿91.6

$4.35 R$22.07

-37.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.36 ฿313

$7.42 R$37.61

26.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 ฿80.3

$1.95 R$9.91

23.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.01 ฿33.92

$1.16 R$5.90

-12.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.61 ฿53.9

$1.19 R$6.05

35.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.52 ฿50.7

$1.65 R$8.38

-7.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿42.90

$1.14 R$5.78

12.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.11 ฿37.22

$0.98 R$4.97

13.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 ฿24.09

$0.80 R$4.07

-10.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.54

$0.86 R$4.37

-39.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.33 ฿145

$2.46 R$12.47

76.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.73 ฿593

$8.26 R$41.87

114.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 ฿54.4

$1.40 R$7.10

16.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.3

$2.76 R$14.00

3.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 ฿28.31

$1.25 R$6.33

-32.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.9 ฿1,801

$69.7 R$353

-22.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 ฿39.18

$0.98 R$4.95

19.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.57 ฿19.00

$0.77 R$3.90

-25.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.37 ฿79.2

$6.45 R$32.71

-63.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.32

$1.27 R$6.42

14.17%

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

$20.5K ฿684.3K

$24.1K R$122.3K

-15.14%

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

$26.5K ฿886.1K

$32.1K R$162.7K

-17.40%

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

$62.3 ฿2,083

$76.6 R$388

-18.63%

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

$12.27 ฿410

$10.68 R$54.2

14.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.97 ฿668

$21.61 R$110

-7.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.91 ฿1,267

$28.17 R$143

34.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.76 ฿126

$45.35 R$230

-91.71%

Cinema Ticket

$6.71 ฿224

$8.14 R$41.27

-17.57%

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

$797 ฿26.6K

$465 R$2,359

71.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿495.7K

$14.1K R$71.7K

4.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.3 ฿1,780

$61.6 R$312

-13.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.05 ฿837

$49.25 R$250

-49.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.6 ฿3,062

$99.2 R$503

-7.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.5 ฿2,455

$72.0 R$365

1.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$464 ฿15.5K

$594 R$3,013

-21.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$305 ฿10.2K

$294 R$1,489

3.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$915 ฿30.6K

$888 R$4,499

3.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$552 ฿18.5K

$591 R$2,995

-6.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,912 ฿63.9K

$2,339 R$11.9K

-18.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,438 ฿48.1K

$1,125 R$5,704

27.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿19.9K

$639 R$3,238

-6.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.25

-50.49%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Last update for Belo Horizonte: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5%

Belo Horizonte

$294 30.1% 3.6% $11

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4%

Belo Horizonte

$196 20.1% 17.6% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7%

Belo Horizonte

$127 13% 15.9% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1%

Belo Horizonte

$109 11.2% 15.1% $14

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4%

Belo Horizonte

$126 12.9% 59.7% $47

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5%

Belo Horizonte

$80 8.2% 29.7% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5%

Belo Horizonte

$44 4.6% 13.4% $6.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $464 in Chiang Mai and $594 in Belo Horizonte. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Belo Horizonte pays 7% 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: $19.00 in Chiang Mai vs $38.00 in Belo Horizonte. Groceries flip the comparison at $238 vs $196, with Belo Horizonte cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇧🇷 Belo Horizonte

🕒 Local time

15:43 3:43 PM

05:43 5:43 AM

10 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

2,315,560

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Belo Horizonte 16,130 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Belo Horizonte

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 Belo Horizonte: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai and Belo Horizonte differ by about 4% in total monthly costs ($938 vs $976 including rent). Chiang Mai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 7% lower in Belo Horizonte. 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: $464 in Chiang Mai versus $594 in Belo Horizonte. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $797 in Chiang Mai versus $465 in Belo Horizonte. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Belo Horizonte pay roughly 21% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $938 in Chiang Mai versus $976 in Belo Horizonte, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Belo Horizonte. The gap between the two cities makes Chiang Mai 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.

Safety-wise, Chiang Mai and Belo Horizonte 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 Chiang Mai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Belo Horizonte. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.