Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Ubatuba

For one person, living is cheaper in Ubatuba: $790 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Ubatuba
Learn more

Ubatuba Living Index

Jump to prices

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Ubatuba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$790

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $790 in Ubatuba, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Ubatuba $790

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,256 in Ubatuba, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Ubatuba $1,256

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,722 in Ubatuba, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Ubatuba $1,722

Chiang Mai costs about 18% more than Ubatuba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Chiang Mai and Ubatuba are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 31% lower, Ubatuba 42% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$6.82 R$37.09

-67.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$27.03 R$147

-29.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$4.78 R$25.97

16.11%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$1.37 R$7.44

21.90%

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

$0.64 ฿21.53

$1.24 R$6.77

-48.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.30

$0.81 R$4.42

-61.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

$2.24 R$12.18

5.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$3.64 R$19.77

0.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.7

$0.92 R$5.01

111.96%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.45

$1.71 R$9.27

-15.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.01

$1.27 R$6.93

4.72%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.0

$2.31 R$12.57

-1.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$2.76 R$15.02

496.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.8

$3.78 R$20.53

-26.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$7.32 R$39.79

27.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$1.52 R$8.24

54.61%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.78

$1.10 R$5.97

-11.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$1.11 R$6.02

44.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.31 R$7.10

14.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.10

$1.14 R$6.18

12.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.17

$1.14 R$6.21

-3.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.81

$0.85 R$4.64

-16.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.36

$0.58 R$3.14

-15.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$2.29 R$12.44

80.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$7.42 R$40.32

136.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.47 R$7.99

9.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$2.31 R$12.58

20.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.29

$0.97 R$5.29

-10.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.03

$1.09 R$5.95

6.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.79

$0.71 R$3.86

-25.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.7

$8.10 R$44.06

-70.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.87

$1.23 R$6.71

17.89%

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

$21.1K ฿710.3K

$22.2K R$120.5K

-4.96%

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

$26.9K ฿908.7K

$31.8K R$173.1K

-15.38%

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

$62.2 ฿2,097

$61.4 R$334

1.29%

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

$12.17 ฿410

$8.67 R$47.13

40.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$18.41 R$100

9.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$11.06 R$60.2

237.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$7.39 R$40.20

-12.18%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$414 R$2,253

77.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.0K

$10.2K R$55.3K

45.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,800

$61.4 R$334

-13.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$53.1 R$288

-53.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,086

$84.8 R$461

7.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,426

$74.2 R$403

-2.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$366 R$1,991

31.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$275 R$1,493

12.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$735 R$3,997

36.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$562 R$3,054

12.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

$1,656 R$9,005

42.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$352 R$1,916

67.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

10.81

-48.47%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Ubatuba: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Ubatuba

$275 34.7% 11.1% $34

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Ubatuba

$158 20% 32.7% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Ubatuba

$123 15.6% 13.3% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Ubatuba

$88 11.2% 6.4% $6

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Ubatuba

$112 14.2% 44.4% $34

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Ubatuba

$8.5 * 1.1% 86.1% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Ubatuba

$26 3.3% 48.6% $24

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 $366 in Ubatuba. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 67% higher in Chiang Mai. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $27 in Ubatuba. Groceries tell a different story – $234 in Chiang Mai vs $158 in Ubatuba – so Ubatuba wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇧🇷 Ubatuba

🕒 Local time

00:35 12:35 AM

14:35 2:35 PM

10 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

92,981

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 BRL = 0.184 USD

1 BRL = 0.165 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 5.44 BRL (1 BRL = 0.184 USD). 1 EUR = 6.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.165 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Ubatuba 16,260 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Ubatuba

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 Ubatuba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 18% more than Ubatuba, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. 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 $1,185 in Ubatuba. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Ubatuba, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $366 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai and $27 in Ubatuba. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 49% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $936 in Chiang Mai and $790 in Ubatuba, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Ubatuba – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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