Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Cabarete

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,191 in Cabarete, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 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 Cabarete
Learn more

Cabarete Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Cabarete

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$1,191

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $936 in Chiang Mai versus $1,191 in Cabarete.

Chiang Mai $936
Cabarete $1,191

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,457 in Chiang Mai versus $1,800 in Cabarete.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Cabarete $1,800

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,979 in Chiang Mai versus $2,409 in Cabarete.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Cabarete $2,409

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 21% less than in Cabarete, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Chiang Mai 31% lower, Cabarete 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$7.60 DOP 458

-70.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$50.1 DOP 3,020

-62.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$6.53 DOP 394

-15.01%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$2.01 DOP 121

-16.92%

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

$0.64 ฿21.55

$1.06 DOP 63.7

-39.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.31

$0.58 DOP 34.91

-46.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$2.39 DOP 144

-1.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$3.15 DOP 190

16.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$1.40 DOP 84.7

39.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.48

$1.52 DOP 91.5

-5.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.04

$1.62 DOP 97.5

-17.90%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$2.30 DOP 139

-0.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$7.10 DOP 429

131.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$5.34 DOP 322

-47.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$6.72 DOP 406

38.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$2.91 DOP 175

-19.24%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.80

$0.79 DOP 47.66

22.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$2.70 DOP 163

-40.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.84 DOP 111

-18.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.12

$2.04 DOP 123

-37.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.19

$2.22 DOP 134

-50.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.82

$0.97 DOP 58.7

-26.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.37

$0.85 DOP 51.6

-42.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$4.10 DOP 248

0.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$10.24 DOP 618

71.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$2.56 DOP 155

-37.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$2.42 DOP 146

14.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.31

$1.03 DOP 62.1

-15.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,826

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.06

$3.30 DOP 199

-64.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

$2.24 DOP 135

-76.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$5.67 DOP 342

-57.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.90

$1.22 DOP 73.8

18.85%

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

$21.1K ฿710.7K

$26.8K DOP 1.6M

-21.47%

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

$26.9K ฿909.3K

$33.6K DOP 2.0M

-19.85%

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

$62.2 ฿2,098

$90.2 DOP 5,444

-31.08%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$31.17 DOP 1,881

-60.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$36.44 DOP 2,199

-44.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$24.37 DOP 1,471

53.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$7.29 DOP 440

-10.97%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$246 DOP 14.9K

199.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.3K

$7,266 DOP 438.5K

103.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,801

$45.08 DOP 2,721

18.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$45.53 DOP 2,747

-45.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,087

$86.5 DOP 5,219

5.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,428

$123 DOP 7,394

-41.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$713 DOP 43.0K

-32.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$497 DOP 30.0K

-37.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$1,219 DOP 73.6K

-17.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$809 DOP 48.8K

-21.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$293 DOP 17.7K

442.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

13.56

-58.92%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Cabarete: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Cabarete

$497 41.7% 60.8% $188

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Cabarete

$215 18.1% 8.2% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Cabarete

$135 11.3% 24.1% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Cabarete

$158 13.3% 67.1% $63

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Cabarete

$129 10.9% 66.6% $52

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Cabarete

$19 * 1.6% 69.7% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Cabarete

$39 3.3% 22.5% $11

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 $713 in Cabarete. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $50 in Cabarete. Groceries flip the comparison at $234 vs $215, with Cabarete cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇩🇴 Cabarete

🕒 Local time

10:51 10:51 AM

23:51 11:51 PM

11 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

4,094

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 DOP = 1.66 USD

100 DOP = 1.48 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DOP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 60.35 DOP (100 DOP = 1.66 USD). 1 EUR = 67.38 DOP (100 DOP = 1.48 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Cabarete 15,580 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Cabarete

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 Cabarete: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 21% lower than in Cabarete. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Chiang Mai the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,403 in Chiang Mai and $1,787 in Cabarete to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $482 in Chiang Mai versus $713 in Cabarete. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $736 in Chiang Mai versus $246 in Cabarete. 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 $50 in Cabarete. 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.

Safety-wise, Chiang Mai and Cabarete are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.