Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kangar, Perlis and Chiang Mai

For one person, living costs are similar in Kangar, Perlis and in Chiang Mai: $910 and $936 a month, rent and utilities included.

45

Cost of Living Index in Kangar, Perlis
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Kangar, Perlis Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Kangar, Perlis

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$910

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $910 per month in Kangar, Perlis vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kangar, Perlis $910
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,427 per month in Kangar, Perlis vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kangar, Perlis $1,427
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $1,944 per month in Kangar, Perlis vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kangar, Perlis $1,944
Chiang Mai $1,979

Kangar, Perlis is about 3% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Kangar, Perlis and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Kangar, Perlis 33% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.59 MYR 14.62

$2.24 ฿75.7

60.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$20.29 MYR 82.7

$19.00 ฿642

6.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.02 MYR 20.47

$5.55 ฿188

-9.55%

Cappuccino

$2.59 MYR 10.56

$1.67 ฿56.6

55.09%

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

$0.70 MYR 2.85

$0.64 ฿21.56

9.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 MYR 1.91

$0.31 ฿10.32

51.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.37 MYR 17.82

$2.36 ฿79.6

85.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.62 MYR 18.83

$3.66 ฿124

26.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 MYR 7.51

$1.95 ฿65.8

-5.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 MYR 4.31

$1.44 ฿48.51

-26.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 MYR 5.69

$1.33 ฿45.07

5.26%

Eggs

$2.23 MYR 9.07

$2.28 ฿77.1

-2.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.65 MYR 63.8

$16.45 ฿556

-4.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.01 MYR 20.41

$2.78 ฿94.0

80.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.38 MYR 38.22

$9.31 ฿314

0.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.84 MYR 11.55

$2.35 ฿79.5

20.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.82 MYR 7.42

$0.97 ฿32.82

87.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 MYR 10.82

$1.60 ฿53.9

65.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.34 MYR 5.45

$1.50 ฿50.7

-10.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 MYR 4.33

$1.28 ฿43.15

-17.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 MYR 5.90

$1.10 ฿37.22

31.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 MYR 4.56

$0.71 ฿23.84

57.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 MYR 2.02

$0.49 ฿16.38

2.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.93 MYR 20.11

$4.14 ฿140

19.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.61 MYR 88.1

$17.52 ฿592

23.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.81 MYR 11.44

$1.61 ฿54.5

74.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 MYR 18.22

$2.78 ฿94.0

60.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.78 MYR 3.18

$0.87 ฿29.33

-10.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.74 MYR 47.84

$54.1 ฿1,827

-78.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.24 MYR 5.04

$1.16 ฿39.08

6.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 MYR 2.45

$0.53 ฿17.82

13.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.61 MYR 30.99

$2.42 ฿81.8

214.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 MYR 3.27

$1.45 ฿48.93

-44.83%

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

$50.2K MYR 204.7K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

138.59%

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

$37.5K MYR 152.7K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

39.09%

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

$49.46 MYR 202

$62.2 ฿2,100

-20.44%

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

$9.52 MYR 38.79

$12.17 ฿411

-21.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.47 MYR 124

$20.12 ฿680

51.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.44 MYR 132

$37.31 ฿1,260

-13.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.31 MYR 29.77

$3.77 ฿127

93.90%

Cinema Ticket

$4.44 MYR 18.07

$6.49 ฿219

-31.59%

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

$208 MYR 846

$736 ฿24.9K

-71.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,103 MYR 28.9K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-51.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.7 MYR 243

$53.4 ฿1,802

11.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.71 MYR 158

$24.64 ฿832

57.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.9 MYR 309

$91.5 ฿3,089

-17.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.9 MYR 346

$71.9 ฿2,429

18.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$442 MYR 1,801

$482 ฿16.3K

-8.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$264 MYR 1,077

$309 ฿10.4K

-14.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$764 MYR 3,114

$1,006 ฿34.0K

-24.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$547 MYR 2,230

$633 ฿21.4K

-13.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,900 MYR 7,742

$2,363 ฿79.8K

-19.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,131 MYR 4,609

$1,589 ฿53.7K

-28.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

5.57

-27.11%

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

Last update for Kangar, Perlis: October 27, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kangar, Perlis

$269 29.5%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 12.8% $34

Accommodation & Living

Kangar, Perlis

$264 29%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 16.9% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Kangar, Perlis

$117 12.8%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 6.9% $8

Eating Out

Kangar, Perlis

$111 12.2%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 29.9% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kangar, Perlis

$89 9.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 5.6% $5

Sport & Entertainment

Kangar, Perlis

$41 4.5%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 21.7% $9

Getting Around

Kangar, Perlis

$19 2.1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 221% $42

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $442 in Kangar, Perlis versus $482 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 $20 in Kangar, Perlis versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $269 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Kangar, Perlis

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

00:07 12:07 AM

23:07 11:07 PM

1 h behind Kangar, Perlis

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

284,853

127,240

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.53 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kangar, Perlis Chiang Mai 1,380 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Kangar, Perlis
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

Kangar, Perlis vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 3% more than Kangar, Perlis, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,365 per month in Kangar, Perlis and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $442 in Kangar, Perlis and $482 in Chiang Mai. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Kindergarten costs $208 per month in Kangar, Perlis and $736 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 13% cheaper in Chiang Mai – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $910 in Kangar, Perlis and $936 in Chiang Mai, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

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

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.