Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Richards Bay Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Richards Bay

🙂 Solo nomad: Chiang Mai is 20% cheaper than Richards Bay without rent, and 15.1% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Chiang Mai is 14.6% cheaper than Richards Bay without rent, and 14.9% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Chiang Mai
Richards Bay
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$2.02 ฿65.3
$7.7 R 137
-73.77%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$18.78 ฿608
$27.83 R 495
-32.52%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.67 ฿248
$5.09 R 90.4
50.69%
Cappuccino
$1.98 ฿64.2
$1.92 R 34.22
3.13%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.82 ฿26.64
$0.93 R 16.62
-11.83%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.33 ฿10.58
$0.66 R 11.76
-50.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.12 ฿68.6
$1.39 R 24.71
52.52%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.73 ฿121
$1.71 R 30.43
118.13%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Chiang Mai
Richards Bay
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.64 ฿53.2
$0.98 R 17.41
67.35%
White Bread (500g)
$1.57 ฿50.9
$0.99 R 17.52
58.59%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.19 ฿38.62
$1.42 R 25.19
-16.20%
Eggs
$1.98 ฿64.1
$2.2 R 39.13
-10.00%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$15.99 ฿517
$7.54 R 134
112.07%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.12 ฿101
$4.43 R 78.9
-29.57%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.16 ฿361
$5.27 R 93.8
111.76%
Apples (1kg)
$2.76 ฿89.2
$1.51 R 26.83
82.78%
Banana (1kg)
$1.22 ฿39.5
$1.41 R 25.01
-13.48%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.71 ฿55.4
$1.32 R 23.4
29.55%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.55 ฿50.2
$1.37 R 24.31
13.14%
Potato (1kg)
$1.34 ฿43.21
$1.13 R 20.18
18.58%
Onion (1kg)
$1.21 ฿39.23
$1.07 R 19.06
13.08%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.72 ฿23.2
$1.02 R 18.12
-29.41%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.53 ฿17.05
$0.91 R 16.17
-41.76%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.72 ฿153
$2.36 R 41.96
100.00%
Wine (Bottle)
$18.39 ฿595
$4.71 R 83.8
290.45%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.79 ฿57.9
$1.47 R 26.16
21.77%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.21 ฿104
$1.67 R 29.78
92.22%
🚌 Getting Around
Chiang Mai
Richards Bay
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.94 ฿30.44
$5.72 R 102
-83.57%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$18.9 ฿612
$96.3 R 1,713
-80.38%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.42 ฿46.08
$1.71 R 30.33
-16.96%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.35 ฿43.53
$0.61 R 10.91
121.31%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$7.85 ฿254
$6.67 R 119
17.69%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.25 ฿40.4
$1.32 R 23.48
-5.30%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.2K ฿684.9K
$19.8K R 352.1K
6.90%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$21.8K ฿706.8K
$24.7K R 439.7K
-11.65%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Chiang Mai
Richards Bay
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$70.6 ฿2,285
$131 R 2,338
-46.28%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$13.72 ฿444
$29.54 R 525
-53.55%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$17.56 ฿568
$34.15 R 607
-48.58%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Chiang Mai
Richards Bay
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$41.64 ฿1,347
$32.64 R 581
27.57%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$6.9 ฿223
$4.41 R 78.4
56.46%
Cinema Ticket
$5.8 ฿188
$6.87 R 122
-15.57%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Chiang Mai
Richards Bay
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$308 ฿9,963
$90.8 R 1,615
239.11%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$14.7K ฿475.8K
$2,495 R 44.4K
489.26%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Chiang Mai
Richards Bay
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$55.4 ฿1,793
$41.51 R 738
33.46%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$26.4 ฿854
$18.96 R 337
39.24%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$85.1 ฿2,755
$86.1 R 1,530
-1.07%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$71.8 ฿2,323
$73.7 R 1,311
-2.63%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Chiang Mai
Richards Bay
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$434 ฿14K
$385 R 6,843
12.84%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$235 ฿7,610
$292 R 5,194
-19.47%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$821 ฿26.6K
$824 R 14.7K
-0.34%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$498 ฿16.1K
$603 R 10.7K
-17.42%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,180 ฿70.6K
$294 R 5,232
641.05%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,543 ฿49.9K
$545 R 9,691
183.15%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Chiang Mai
Richards Bay
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$703 ฿22.8K
$1,054 R 18.7K
-33.24%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5
12.01
-58.37%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 29, 2025

Last update for Richards Bay: October 28, 2025

Similar cities

Join the CityCost newsletter – low traffic, no spam, and easy to unsubscribe. Your email stays private.