Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Fourways

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,031 in Fourways, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Fourways outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Fourways
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Fourways Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Fourways

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,031

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,031 in Fourways, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Fourways $1,031

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,591 in Fourways, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Fourways $1,591

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,151 in Fourways, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Fourways $2,151

Chiang Mai is about 9% cheaper than Fourways, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Chiang Mai and Fourways are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 31% lower, Fourways 24% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$9.11 R 152

-75.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$36.79 R 614

-48.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$5.32 R 88.8

4.32%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$2.18 R 36.38

-23.39%

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

$0.64 ฿21.55

$1.02 R 17.07

-37.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.31

$0.81 R 13.46

-61.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$2.35 R 39.27

0.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$2.74 R 45.75

33.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$1.16 R 19.43

68.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.48

$1.12 R 18.74

28.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.04

$1.67 R 27.83

-20.36%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$2.40 R 40.09

-5.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$7.56 R 126

117.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$4.35 R 72.7

-36.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$7.02 R 117

32.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$1.38 R 23.11

70.29%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.80

$1.59 R 26.59

-38.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$1.76 R 29.41

-9.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.54 R 25.73

-2.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.12

$1.12 R 18.71

14.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.19

$1.21 R 20.23

-9.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.82

$1.22 R 20.39

-41.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.37

$1.09 R 18.21

-55.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$3.19 R 53.3

29.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$5.01 R 83.6

249.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.52 R 25.45

5.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$1.96 R 32.71

41.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,826

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.06

$0.29 R 4.77

300.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

$0.80 R 13.39

-33.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$14.28 R 238

-83.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.90

$1.56 R 26.00

-7.05%

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

$21.1K ฿710.7K

$28.7K R 479.0K

-26.61%

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

$26.9K ฿909.3K

$26.7K R 445.7K

0.90%

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

$62.2 ฿2,098

$87.3 R 1,457

-28.74%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$36.98 R 617

-67.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$36.87 R 615

-45.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$32.58 R 544

14.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$16.27 R 272

-76.83%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$7.12 R 119

-8.85%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$256 R 4,273

187.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.3K

$7,815 R 130.5K

88.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,801

$53.0 R 885

0.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$31.76 R 530

-22.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,087

$77.2 R 1,289

18.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,428

$84.3 R 1,407

-14.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$386 R 6,440

25.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$387 R 6,458

-20.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$740 R 12.3K

36.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$704 R 11.8K

-10.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$1,572 R 26.2K

-62.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.34

-50.88%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Fourways: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Fourways

$387 37.5% 25.2% $78

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Fourways

$181 17.6% 22.7% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Fourways

$111 10.8% 2% $2.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Fourways

$161 15.6% 70.5% $67

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Fourways

$140 13.5% 79.8% $62

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Fourways

$4.3 * 0.4% 93% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Fourways

$47 4.5% 6.9% $3.5

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $386 in Fourways. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Fourways are about 2.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $37 in Fourways. Groceries tell a different story – $234 in Chiang Mai vs $181 in Fourways – so Fourways wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇿🇦 Fourways

🕒 Local time

07:03 7:03 AM

02:03 2:03 AM

5 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

💱 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 = 5.37 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.69 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.64 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Fourways 9,140 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Fourways

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 Fourways: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Fourways costs about 10% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,403 per month in Chiang Mai and $1,546 in Fourways. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Fourways, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $386 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai and $37 in Fourways. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 23% cheaper in Fourways – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,031 in Fourways. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $936 versus $1,031 in Fourways. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Fourways makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.