Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Cape Town Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Cape Town

🙂 Solo nomad: Chiang Mai is 16.3% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 31.7% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Chiang Mai is 18.8% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 32.8% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.02 ฿65.3

$11.02 R 196

-81.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.78 ฿608

$44.54 R 792

-57.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.67 ฿248

$4.96 R 88.2

54.64%

Cappuccino

$1.98 ฿64.2

$1.98 R 35.25

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

$0.82 ฿26.64

$1.16 R 20.6

-29.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ฿10.58

$0.87 R 15.46

-62.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.12 ฿68.6

$2.82 R 50.1

-24.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.73 ฿121

$2.47 R 43.97

51.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 ฿53.2

$1.16 R 20.62

41.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 ฿50.9

$1.1 R 19.49

42.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 ฿38.62

$1.83 R 32.49

-34.97%

Eggs

$1.98 ฿64.1

$2.39 R 42.45

-17.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.99 ฿517

$8.28 R 147

93.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.12 ฿101

$5.22 R 92.8

-40.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿361

$7.46 R 133

49.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.76 ฿89.2

$1.55 R 27.64

78.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.22 ฿39.5

$1.41 R 25.08

-13.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.71 ฿55.4

$1.45 R 25.83

17.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.55 ฿50.2

$1.52 R 26.99

1.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.34 ฿43.21

$1.08 R 19.21

24.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.21 ฿39.23

$1.24 R 22.05

-2.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 ฿23.2

$1.09 R 19.32

-33.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 ฿17.05

$0.98 R 17.46

-45.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.72 ฿153

$3.04 R 54

55.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.39 ฿595

$5.68 R 101

223.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 ฿57.9

$1.42 R 25.18

26.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.21 ฿104

$1.68 R 29.94

91.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.94 ฿30.44

$0.91 R 16.22

3.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.9 ฿612

$47.53 R 845

-60.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.42 ฿46.08

$1.38 R 24.59

2.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.35 ฿43.53

$0.95 R 16.94

42.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.85 ฿254

$4.54 R 80.8

72.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 ฿40.4

$1.23 R 21.88

1.63%

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

$21.2K ฿684.9K

$21K R 373K

0.91%

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

$21.8K ฿706.8K

$24.5K R 434.9K

-10.68%

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

$70.6 ฿2,285

$99.2 R 1,764

-28.82%

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

$13.72 ฿444

$33.54 R 597

-59.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.56 ฿568

$40.65 R 723

-56.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.64 ฿1,347

$42.61 R 758

-2.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.9 ฿223

$8.17 R 145

-15.54%

Cinema Ticket

$5.8 ฿188

$6.85 R 122

-15.33%

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

$308 ฿9,963

$209 R 3,720

47.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.7K ฿475.8K

$5,202 R 92.5K

182.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 ฿1,793

$55.1 R 980

0.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.4 ฿854

$33.11 R 589

-20.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.1 ฿2,755

$111 R 1,974

-23.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.8 ฿2,323

$85.5 R 1,520

-16.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$434 ฿14K

$766 R 13.6K

-43.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$235 ฿7,610

$522 R 9,280

-54.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$821 ฿26.6K

$1,434 R 25.5K

-42.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$498 ฿16.1K

$1,029 R 18.3K

-51.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,180 ฿70.6K

$2,000 R 35.6K

8.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,543 ฿49.9K

$1,318 R 23.4K

17.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$703 ฿22.8K

$1,641 R 29.2K

-57.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.77

-57.52%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 29, 2025

Last update for Cape Town: October 29, 2025

Similar cities

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

Bansko

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

Almaty

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

Bogota

🇨🇴 Colombia

Beijing (Pekin)

🇨🇳 China

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

Nairobi

🇰🇪 Kenya