Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jeffreys Bay and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $1,027 in Jeffreys Bay, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Jeffreys Bay outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

50

Cost of Living Index in Jeffreys Bay
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Jeffreys Bay Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Jeffreys Bay

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,027

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Jeffreys Bay 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 Jeffreys Bay and in Chiang Mai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,027 per month in Jeffreys Bay vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Jeffreys Bay $1,027
Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $1,601 per month in Jeffreys Bay vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Jeffreys Bay $1,601
Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $2,175 per month in Jeffreys Bay vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Jeffreys Bay $2,175
Chiang Mai $1,914

Jeffreys Bay costs about 9% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Jeffreys Bay and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Jeffreys Bay 24% lower, Chiang Mai 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.49 R 123

$2.26 ฿75.4

231.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.21 R 448

$19.18 ฿641

41.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.79 R 95.3

$5.59 ฿187

3.58%

Cappuccino

$1.76 R 28.97

$1.72 ฿57.6

2.33%

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

$0.79 R 12.93

$0.64 ฿21.54

23.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 R 11.15

$0.33 ฿11.18

106.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.93 R 31.87

$2.36 ฿78.7

-18.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 R 31.87

$3.90 ฿130

-50.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 R 19.09

$2.05 ฿68.6

-43.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 R 17.21

$1.40 ฿46.70

-25.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.63

$1.28 ฿42.89

16.41%

Eggs

$2.78 R 45.74

$2.25 ฿75.3

23.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.50 R 107

$16.94 ฿566

-61.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.03 R 82.9

$2.74 ฿91.6

83.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.72 R 127

$9.36 ฿313

-17.52%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 R 33.05

$2.40 ฿80.3

-16.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.46

$1.01 ฿33.92

46.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.63 R 26.89

$1.61 ฿53.9

1.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 R 28.44

$1.52 ฿50.7

13.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 R 27.14

$1.28 ฿42.90

28.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 R 20.14

$1.11 ฿37.22

9.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 R 20.32

$0.72 ฿24.09

70.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 R 16.27

$0.52 ฿17.54

90.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.28 R 54.0

$4.33 ฿145

-24.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.86 R 63.6

$17.73 ฿593

-78.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 R 20.06

$1.63 ฿54.4

-25.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 R 29.65

$2.85 ฿95.3

-36.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 R 25.29

$0.85 ฿28.31

80.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.9 ฿1,801

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$1.17 ฿39.18

-46.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 R 7.71

$0.57 ฿19.00

-17.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.62 R 142

$2.37 ฿79.2

263.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 R 22.53

$1.45 ฿48.32

-5.52%

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

$21.4K R 353.1K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

4.66%

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

$17.3K R 285.1K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

-34.72%

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

$122 R 2,017

$62.3 ฿2,083

96.45%

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

$34.24 R 564

$12.27 ฿410

179.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.08 R 726

$19.97 ฿668

120.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.15 R 530

$37.91 ฿1,267

-15.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.90 R 97.2

$3.76 ฿126

56.91%

Cinema Ticket

$2.98 R 49.07

$6.71 ฿224

-55.59%

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

$137 R 2,255

$797 ฿26.6K

-82.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,025 R 99.3K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

-59.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.5 R 1,178

$53.3 ฿1,780

34.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.23 R 630

$25.05 ฿837

52.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 R 1,856

$91.6 ฿3,062

22.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.6 R 1,591

$73.5 ฿2,455

31.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$383 R 6,317

$464 ฿15.5K

-17.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$335 R 5,520

$305 ฿10.2K

9.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$732 R 12.1K

$915 ฿30.6K

-20.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$552 ฿18.5K

29.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$861 R 14.2K

$1,912 ฿63.9K

-54.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$644 R 10.6K

$1,438 ฿48.1K

-55.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.94

5.57

114.36%

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

Last update for Jeffreys Bay: October 11, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Jeffreys Bay

$335 32.6%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 9.1% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jeffreys Bay

$201 19.6%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 52.9% $106

Groceries & Markets

Jeffreys Bay

$183 17.8%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 30.3% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Jeffreys Bay

$144 14%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 23.7% $34

Eating Out

Jeffreys Bay

$118 11.5%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 32.9% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Jeffreys Bay

$38 3.7%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 34.7% $13

Getting Around

Jeffreys Bay

$9.1 * 0.9%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 573% $52

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $383 in Jeffreys Bay versus $464 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 $27.00 in Jeffreys Bay versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $183 in Jeffreys Bay vs $238 in Chiang Mai – so Jeffreys Bay wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Jeffreys Bay

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

07:27 7:27 AM

12:27 12:27 PM

5 h ahead of Jeffreys Bay

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

27,107

127,240

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Jeffreys Bay Chiang Mai 9,780 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Jeffreys Bay
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

Jeffreys Bay vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jeffreys Bay costs about 9% more than Chiang Mai, 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 $1,540 per month in Jeffreys Bay and $1,408 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chiang Mai, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $27.00 in Jeffreys Bay and $19.00 in Chiang Mai. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 30% cheaper in Jeffreys Bay – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Chiang Mai, where all-in costs run around $938, than in Jeffreys Bay at $1,027. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Jeffreys Bay it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $938 versus $1,027 in Jeffreys Bay. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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