Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Chapeco

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $975 in Chapeco, rent and utilities included – about $480 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Chapeco outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Chapeco
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Chapeco Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Chapeco

🇧🇷 Brazil

$975

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $935 in Chiang Mai versus $975 in Chapeco.

Chiang Mai $935
Chapeco $975

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,467 in Chiang Mai versus $1,447 in Chapeco.

Chiang Mai $1,467
Chapeco $1,447

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,999 in Chiang Mai versus $1,920 in Chapeco.

Chiang Mai $1,999
Chapeco $1,920

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

Both cities sit below the global median: Chiang Mai 31% lower, Chapeco 28% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 ฿71.6

$5.41 R$29.78

-60.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.62 ฿624

$37.33 R$205

-50.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 ฿188

$8.99 R$49.50

-37.71%

Cappuccino

$1.66 ฿55.8

$1.79 R$9.86

-7.26%

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

$0.65 ฿21.69

$0.76 R$4.17

-14.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 ฿10.22

$0.63 R$3.48

-52.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.32 ฿77.9

$1.51 R$8.33

53.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 ฿123

$2.33 R$12.80

57.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 ฿67.6

$0.87 R$4.77

132.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.21

$1.08 R$5.97

30.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 ฿46.67

$1.96 R$10.80

-29.08%

Eggs

$2.37 ฿79.4

$1.80 R$9.90

31.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.52 ฿554

$8.17 R$44.94

102.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.67 ฿89.5

$7.95 R$43.75

-66.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.02 ฿302

$11.15 R$61.4

-19.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 ฿80.4

$2.45 R$13.48

-2.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 ฿34.91

$1.00 R$5.49

4.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 ฿55.6

$0.56 R$3.10

196.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.3

$0.71 R$3.92

119.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ฿41.50

$0.58 R$3.18

113.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 ฿36.44

$0.53 R$2.90

105.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 ฿25.54

$0.90 R$4.94

-15.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.24

$0.76 R$4.16

-32.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.12 ฿138

$2.41 R$13.26

70.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.93 ฿601

$9.35 R$51.4

91.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ฿54.4

$0.89 R$4.90

82.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 ฿94.6

$1.46 R$8.01

93.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.33

$0.85 R$4.66

9.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,773

$37.07 R$204

42.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ฿39.45

$1.31 R$7.22

-9.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.17 ฿5.75

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 ฿60.8

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.38

$1.13 R$6.21

30.09%

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

$21.0K ฿704.5K

$21.9K R$120.4K

-3.93%

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

$26.5K ฿889.1K

$29.8K R$164.1K

-11.09%

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

$62.6 ฿2,098

$174 R$956

-63.98%

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

$11.60 ฿389

$10.64 R$58.6

9.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.30 ฿681

$18.58 R$102

9.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,270

$24.23 R$133

56.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿124

$32.92 R$181

-88.76%

Cinema Ticket

$6.51 ฿218

$6.60 R$36.35

-1.36%

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

$727 ฿24.4K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ฿555.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ฿1,795

$27.24 R$150

96.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.80 ฿832

$18.24 R$100

35.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.4 ฿3,031

$36.56 R$201

147.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.0 ฿2,413

$54.8 R$301

31.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 ฿16.1K

$393 R$2,166

22.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$310 ฿10.4K

$324 R$1,783

-4.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.5K

$828 R$4,559

27.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ฿22.1K

$520 R$2,863

26.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.1K

$1,578 R$8,684

53.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿53.9K

$1,017 R$5,597

58.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿19.9K

$420 R$2,310

41.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Last update for Chapeco: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1%

Chapeco

$324 33.2% 4.5% $14

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3%

Chapeco

$198 20.3% 16.4% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6%

Chapeco

$62 6.3% 43.2% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Chapeco

$203 20.8% 115% $108

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2%

Chapeco

$110 11.2% 43.1% $33

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3%

Chapeco

$42 * 4.3% 28.8% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4%

Chapeco

$37 3.8% 26.4% $13

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 $481 in Chiang Mai and $393 in Chapeco. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chiang Mai pays 42% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $37 in Chapeco. Groceries flip the comparison at $237 vs $198, with Chapeco cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇧🇷 Chapeco

🕒 Local time

19:26 7:26 PM

09:26 9:26 AM

10 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

243,477

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.162 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 33.53 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 5.5 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.18 BRL (1 BRL = 0.162 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiang Mai Chapeco 16,970 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Chapeco

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 Chapeco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 4% lower than in Chapeco. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Chiang Mai the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 42% higher in Chiang Mai, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $481 in Chiang Mai versus $393 in Chapeco. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Chapeco pay roughly 16% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $935 per month in Chiang Mai versus $975 in Chapeco – Chiang Mai is about 4% 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.