Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Benoni

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,067 in Benoni, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 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
51

Cost of Living Index in Benoni
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Benoni Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Benoni

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,067

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Benoni

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $936 in Chiang Mai versus $1,067 in Benoni.

Chiang Mai $936
Benoni $1,067

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,457 in Chiang Mai versus $1,318 in Benoni.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Benoni $1,318

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,979 in Chiang Mai versus $1,568 in Benoni.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Benoni $1,568

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 12% less than in Benoni, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Chiang Mai 31% lower, Benoni 22% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$9.86 R 165

-77.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$37.05 R 619

-48.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$5.55 R 92.7

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$2.17 R 36.21

-23.04%

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

$0.64 ฿21.54

$1.14 R 19.02

-43.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.31

$0.84 R 14.08

-63.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

$2.37 R 39.54

-0.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$2.75 R 45.92

33.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.7

$1.21 R 20.21

61.16%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.46

$1.12 R 18.66

28.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.03

$1.79 R 29.83

-25.70%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$2.49 R 41.52

-8.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$8.18 R 137

101.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$4.85 R 81.0

-42.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$7.12 R 119

30.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$1.74 R 29.03

35.06%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.79

$1.60 R 26.73

-39.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$1.77 R 29.64

-9.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.56 R 26.14

-3.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.11

$1.07 R 17.88

19.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.18

$1.17 R 19.60

-5.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.82

$1.22 R 20.33

-41.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.36

$1.30 R 21.66

-62.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$3.52 R 58.9

17.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$4.97 R 83.0

252.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.51 R 25.27

6.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$1.98 R 33.13

40.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.30

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.04

$0.29 R 4.80

300.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

$0.93 R 15.56

-43.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.7

$14.37 R 240

-83.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.88

$1.53 R 25.61

-5.23%

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

$21.1K ฿710.5K

$35.4K R 592.0K

-40.57%

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

$26.9K ฿909.0K

$34.4K R 575.4K

-21.77%

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

$62.2 ฿2,098

$197 R 3,294

-68.46%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$39.26 R 656

-69.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$37.82 R 632

-46.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$17.81 R 298

109.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$7.15 R 119

-9.23%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$246 R 4,108

199.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.2K

$5,379 R 89.9K

174.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,801

$52.1 R 870

2.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$31.79 R 531

-22.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,087

$91.2 R 1,524

0.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,427

$82.3 R 1,376

-12.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$393 R 6,564

22.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$302 R 5,049

2.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$489 R 8,178

105.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$2,000 R 33.4K

-70.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

10.91

-48.95%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Benoni: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Benoni

$302 28.3% 2.2% $6.7

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Benoni

$191 17.9% 18.4% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Benoni

$116 10.9% 6.6% $7.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Benoni

$274 25.7% 190% $180

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Benoni

$147 13.8% 89.2% $69

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Benoni

$4.9 * 0.5% 91.9% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Benoni

$32 3% 36.1% $18

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $482 in Chiang Mai and $393 in Benoni. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Benoni pays about 3.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $37 in Benoni. Groceries flip the comparison at $234 vs $191, with Benoni cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇿🇦 Benoni

🕒 Local time

02:59 2:59 AM

21:59 9:59 PM

5 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

158,777

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 16.71 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiang Mai Benoni 9,120 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Benoni

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 Benoni: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,067 in Benoni, so Chiang Mai is about 12% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 71% 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: $482 in Chiang Mai versus $393 in Benoni. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Benoni pay roughly 18% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $936 per month in Chiang Mai versus $1,067 in Benoni – Chiang Mai is about 12% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Chiang Mai is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Benoni are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Chiang Mai wins on affordability, Benoni on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.