Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hillcrest and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $1,081 in Hillcrest, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Hillcrest
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Hillcrest Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Hillcrest

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,081

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Hillcrest and in Chiang Mai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,081 per month in Hillcrest vs $935 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Hillcrest $1,081
Chiang Mai $935

A couple spends around $1,686 per month in Hillcrest vs $1,467 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Hillcrest $1,686
Chiang Mai $1,467

A family of three spends $2,292 per month in Hillcrest vs $1,999 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Hillcrest $2,292
Chiang Mai $1,999

Hillcrest costs about 16% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Hillcrest and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Hillcrest 20% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.87 R 131

$2.13 ฿72.0

269.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.34 R 636

$18.62 ฿628

105.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.01 R 99.7

$5.60 ฿189

7.32%

Cappuccino

$2.71 R 45.03

$1.66 ฿56.1

63.25%

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

$1.14 R 18.91

$0.65 ฿21.82

75.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 R 14.88

$0.30 ฿10.29

200.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.45 R 40.68

$2.32 ฿78.3

5.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 R 41.51

$3.67 ฿124

-31.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 R 19.50

$2.02 ฿68.0

-41.58%

White Bread (500g)

$0.98 R 16.31

$1.41 ฿47.49

-30.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 R 24.86

$1.39 ฿46.94

7.91%

Eggs

$2.32 R 38.53

$2.37 ฿79.9

-2.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.19 R 136

$16.52 ฿557

-50.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.05 R 83.7

$2.67 ฿90.1

89.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.27 R 121

$9.02 ฿304

-19.40%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 R 21.46

$2.40 ฿80.9

-46.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 R 31.95

$1.04 ฿35.12

85.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.29

$1.66 ฿56.0

17.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 R 28.75

$1.56 ฿52.6

10.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.26

$1.24 ฿41.75

17.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.44 R 23.94

$1.09 ฿36.65

32.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 R 19.99

$0.76 ฿25.70

59.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.92

$0.51 ฿17.34

123.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.5

$4.12 ฿139

-9.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.80 R 79.6

$17.93 ฿605

-73.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 R 23.36

$1.62 ฿54.8

-12.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 R 32.55

$2.82 ฿95.2

-30.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.54 R 25.47

$0.93 ฿31.52

65.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,784

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 R 7.22

$1.18 ฿39.69

-62.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 R 11.74

$0.17 ฿5.78

317.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.70 R 128

$1.81 ฿61.1

325.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 R 24.11

$1.47 ฿49.67

-1.36%

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

$35.2K R 584.1K

$21.0K ฿708.7K

67.57%

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

$33.1K R 548.4K

$26.5K ฿894.4K

24.66%

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

$153 R 2,539

$62.6 ฿2,110

144.61%

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

$35.61 R 591

$11.60 ฿391

206.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.04 R 648

$20.30 ฿685

92.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.00 R 547

$37.88 ฿1,278

-12.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.55 R 225

$3.70 ฿125

266.22%

Cinema Ticket

$7.29 R 121

$6.51 ฿220

11.98%

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

$310 R 5,149

$727 ฿24.5K

-57.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,429 R 123.3K

$16.6K ฿559.0K

-55.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.6 R 856

$53.5 ฿1,806

-3.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.96 R 464

$24.80 ฿836

12.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.0 R 1,608

$90.4 ฿3,049

7.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.2 R 1,313

$72.0 ฿2,428

9.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 R 6,248

$481 ฿16.2K

-21.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$353 R 5,850

$310 ฿10.5K

13.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$640 R 10.6K

$1,058 ฿35.7K

-39.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$732 R 12.1K

$659 ฿22.2K

11.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$764 R 12.7K

$2,418 ฿81.5K

-68.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$575 R 9,536

$1,609 ฿54.3K

-64.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.78

5.57

111.49%

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

Last update for Hillcrest: November 1, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hillcrest

$353 32.6%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 12.1% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hillcrest

$228 21.1%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 58.5% $133

Groceries & Markets

Hillcrest

$189 17.5%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 25% $47

Eating Out

Hillcrest

$139 12.9%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 44.9% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Hillcrest

$115 10.6%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 5.8% $6.7

Sport & Entertainment

Hillcrest

$48 4.4%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 7% $3.3

Getting Around

Hillcrest

$10 * 0.9%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 480% $49

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $377 in Hillcrest versus $481 in Chiang Mai. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38 in Hillcrest versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $189 in Hillcrest vs $237 in Chiang Mai – so Hillcrest wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Hillcrest

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

13:29 1:29 PM

18:29 6:29 PM

5 h ahead of Hillcrest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.03 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 16.59 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.03 USD). 1 EUR = 18.6 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Hillcrest Chiang Mai 9,080 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Hillcrest
Chiang Mai

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

Hillcrest vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hillcrest costs about 16% 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 $1,622 per month in Hillcrest and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Hillcrest, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $377 there versus $481 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38 in Hillcrest and $19 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 20% cheaper in Hillcrest – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,081 in Hillcrest and $935 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $935 versus $1,081 in Hillcrest. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.