Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Sandton Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Sandton

😐 Solo nomad: Chiang Mai is 1.7% more expensive than Sandton without rent, and 21.5% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Chiang Mai is 24.9% cheaper than Sandton without rent, and 23.8% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Chiang Mai
Sandton
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$2.02 ฿65.3
$11.09 R 197
-81.79%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$18.78 ฿608
$44.31 R 788
-57.62%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.67 ฿248
$4.95 R 88.1
54.95%
Cappuccino
$1.98 ฿64.2
$2.03 R 36.08
-2.46%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.82 ฿26.64
$1.07 R 19.03
-23.36%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.33 ฿10.58
$0.87 R 15.52
-62.07%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.12 ฿68.6
$2.21 R 39.29
-4.07%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.73 ฿121
$2.54 R 45.25
46.85%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Chiang Mai
Sandton
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.64 ฿53.2
$1.16 R 20.59
41.38%
White Bread (500g)
$1.57 ฿50.9
$1.05 R 18.72
49.52%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.19 ฿38.62
$1.63 R 29.06
-26.99%
Eggs
$1.98 ฿64.1
$2.52 R 44.84
-21.43%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$15.99 ฿517
$7.79 R 139
105.26%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.12 ฿101
$4.71 R 83.7
-33.76%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.16 ฿361
$6.63 R 118
68.33%
Apples (1kg)
$2.76 ฿89.2
$1.63 R 28.92
69.33%
Banana (1kg)
$1.22 ฿39.5
$1.46 R 25.91
-16.44%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.71 ฿55.4
$1.58 R 28.18
8.23%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.55 ฿50.2
$1.7 R 30.32
-8.82%
Potato (1kg)
$1.34 ฿43.21
$1.36 R 24.2
-1.47%
Onion (1kg)
$1.21 ฿39.23
$1.45 R 25.7
-16.55%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.72 ฿23.2
$1.14 R 20.28
-36.84%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.53 ฿17.05
$0.92 R 16.4
-42.39%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.72 ฿153
$2.84 R 50.5
66.20%
Wine (Bottle)
$18.39 ฿595
$5.67 R 101
224.34%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.79 ฿57.9
$1.35 R 24.04
32.59%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.21 ฿104
$1.58 R 28.18
103.16%
🚌 Getting Around
Chiang Mai
Sandton
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.94 ฿30.44
$1.62 R 28.8
-41.98%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$18.9 ฿612
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.42 ฿46.08
$1.1 R 19.49
29.09%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.35 ฿43.53
$0.88 R 15.65
53.41%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$7.85 ฿254
$3.13 R 55.7
150.80%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.25 ฿40.4
$1.31 R 23.31
-4.58%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.2K ฿684.9K
$22.8K R 405.1K
-7.08%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$21.8K ฿706.8K
$23.5K R 418.7K
-7.23%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Chiang Mai
Sandton
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$70.6 ฿2,285
$119 R 2,114
-40.60%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$13.72 ฿444
$37.04 R 659
-62.96%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$17.56 ฿568
$43.23 R 769
-59.38%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Chiang Mai
Sandton
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$41.64 ฿1,347
$42.12 R 749
-1.14%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$6.9 ฿223
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$5.8 ฿188
$7.11 R 126
-18.42%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Chiang Mai
Sandton
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$308 ฿9,963
$193 R 3,435
59.41%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$14.7K ฿475.8K
$4,857 R 86.4K
202.75%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Chiang Mai
Sandton
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$55.4 ฿1,793
$50.1 R 890
10.69%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$26.4 ฿854
$33.4 R 594
-20.96%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$85.1 ฿2,755
$91.6 R 1,629
-7.07%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$71.8 ฿2,323
$86.9 R 1,546
-17.41%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Chiang Mai
Sandton
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$434 ฿14K
$389 R 6,915
11.66%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$235 ฿7,610
$379 R 6,744
-37.98%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$821 ฿26.6K
$676 R 12K
21.43%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$498 ฿16.1K
$819 R 14.6K
-39.19%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,180 ฿70.6K
$747 R 13.3K
192.05%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,543 ฿49.9K
$671 R 11.9K
129.78%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Chiang Mai
Sandton
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$703 ฿22.8K
$1,948 R 34.6K
-63.89%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5
11.51
-56.56%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 29, 2025

Last update for Sandton: October 26, 2025

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