Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Brackenfell

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,038 in Brackenfell, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Brackenfell outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Brackenfell
Learn more

Brackenfell Living Index

Jump to prices

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Brackenfell

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,038

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $936 in Chiang Mai versus $1,038 in Brackenfell.

Chiang Mai $936
Brackenfell $1,038

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,457 in Chiang Mai versus $1,651 in Brackenfell.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Brackenfell $1,651

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,979 in Chiang Mai versus $2,264 in Brackenfell.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Brackenfell $2,264

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

Both cities sit below the global median: Chiang Mai 31% lower, Brackenfell 24% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.7

$9.25 R 154

-75.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿642

$24.23 R 404

-21.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿188

$6.11 R 102

-9.17%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.6

$2.49 R 41.44

-32.93%

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

$0.64 ฿21.56

$1.09 R 18.13

-41.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.32

$0.99 R 16.45

-68.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$2.42 R 40.26

-2.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$2.51 R 41.76

45.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$1.07 R 17.86

82.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.51

$1.16 R 19.27

24.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.07

$2.12 R 35.26

-37.26%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$1.91 R 31.77

19.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿556

$8.12 R 135

102.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$2.75 R 45.81

1.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$6.85 R 114

35.91%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.5

$1.44 R 23.97

63.19%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.82

$1.97 R 32.80

-50.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$1.71 R 28.43

-6.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$1.69 R 28.10

-11.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.15

$1.39 R 23.21

-7.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.22

$1.05 R 17.50

4.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.84

$0.95 R 15.79

-25.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.38

$1.08 R 18.02

-54.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$3.59 R 59.8

15.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿592

$4.23 R 70.5

314.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.41 R 23.43

14.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$2.01 R 33.45

38.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.33

$1.54 R 25.68

-43.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.08

$0.62 R 10.38

87.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.82

$0.93 R 15.57

-43.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$4.96 R 82.7

-51.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$1.37 R 22.76

5.84%

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

$21.1K ฿711.2K

$18.1K R 301.3K

16.46%

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

$26.9K ฿909.8K

$19.7K R 329.1K

36.43%

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

$62.2 ฿2,100

$117 R 1,946

-46.75%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$28.72 R 479

-57.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿680

$40.08 R 668

-49.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,260

$23.95 R 399

55.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$10.85 R 181

-65.25%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$9.05 R 151

-28.29%

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

$736 ฿24.9K

$151 R 2,512

388.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.6K

$7,043 R 117.4K

109.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,802

$42.85 R 714

24.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿832

$22.96 R 383

7.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,089

$67.4 R 1,123

35.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,429

$50.7 R 845

41.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$646 R 10.8K

-25.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$395 R 6,581

-21.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿34.0K

$1,295 R 21.6K

-22.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$927 R 15.4K

-31.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$880 R 14.7K

168.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

$681 R 11.3K

133.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$1,850 R 30.8K

-68.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

10.97

-49.23%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Brackenfell: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Brackenfell

$395 38.1% 27.8% $86

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Brackenfell

$174 16.7% 25.8% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Brackenfell

$83 8% 23.8% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Brackenfell

$186 17.9% 96.4% $91

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Brackenfell

$148 14.2% 90.2% $70

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Brackenfell

$11 * 1.1% 81.3% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Brackenfell

$42 4.1% 16.4% $8.2

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 $646 in Brackenfell. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brackenfell pays about 3.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $24 in Brackenfell. Groceries flip the comparison at $234 vs $174, with Brackenfell cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇿🇦 Brackenfell

🕒 Local time

04:36 4:36 AM

23:36 11:36 PM

5 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

80,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Brackenfell 10,310 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Brackenfell

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 Brackenfell: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 10% lower than in Brackenfell. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Chiang Mai the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 68% 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 $646 in Brackenfell. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $736 in Chiang Mai versus $151 in Brackenfell. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Chiang Mai – a meal for two runs $19 versus $24 in Brackenfell. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.

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