Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nova Friburgo and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Nova Friburgo: $608 a month against $925 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Nova Friburgo
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Nova Friburgo Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Nova Friburgo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$608

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $608 per month in Nova Friburgo vs $925 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Nova Friburgo $608
Chiang Mai $925

A couple spends around $1,017 per month in Nova Friburgo vs $1,414 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Nova Friburgo $1,017
Chiang Mai $1,414

A family of three spends $1,426 per month in Nova Friburgo vs $1,903 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Nova Friburgo $1,426
Chiang Mai $1,903

Nova Friburgo is about 34% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Nova Friburgo and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Nova Friburgo 55% lower, Chiang Mai 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.05 R$30.66

$2.29 ฿76.5

164.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.82 R$151

$19.64 ฿656

51.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.36 R$32.25

$5.61 ฿188

13.37%

Cappuccino

$1.75 R$8.88

$1.66 ฿55.6

5.42%

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

$0.91 R$4.61

$0.70 ฿23.40

30.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 R$2.88

$0.31 ฿10.24

83.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 R$6.17

$2.41 ฿80.4

-49.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 R$12.28

$3.71 ฿124

-34.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 R$5.15

$1.95 ฿65.3

-47.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 R$7.55

$1.41 ฿47.03

5.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.37 R$6.94

$1.31 ฿43.62

4.58%

Eggs

$1.97 R$9.98

$2.18 ฿72.9

-9.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.78 R$44.51

$16.65 ฿556

-47.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.32 R$16.84

$2.76 ฿92.2

20.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.63 R$48.83

$9.11 ฿304

5.71%

Apples (1kg)

$1.63 R$8.25

$2.39 ฿80.0

-31.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.20 R$6.09

$1.03 ฿34.26

16.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.98 R$4.96

$1.63 ฿54.4

-39.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.41

$1.50 ฿50.0

-16.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.70 R$3.56

$1.29 ฿43.13

-45.74%

Onion (1kg)

$0.86 R$4.37

$1.11 ฿37.03

-22.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.57 R$2.90

$0.72 ฿24.08

-20.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 R$4.14

$0.53 ฿17.59

54.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.57 R$7.94

$4.31 ฿144

-63.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.04 R$30.60

$17.95 ฿600

-66.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 R$4.90

$1.58 ฿52.9

-38.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.37 R$6.95

$2.84 ฿95.0

-51.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 R$4.98

$0.86 ฿28.86

13.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.3 ฿1,780

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.21 R$6.12

$1.21 ฿40.29

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.55 R$2.77

$0.57 ฿18.99

-3.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.71 R$34.02

$2.35 ฿78.6

185.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 R$6.50

$1.44 ฿47.96

-11.11%

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

$19.7K R$99.7K

$20.7K ฿692.8K

-5.13%

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

$30.5K R$154.5K

$26.8K ฿895.7K

13.74%

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

$40.04 R$203

$62.3 ฿2,083

-35.76%

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

$9.52 R$48.26

$12.11 ฿405

-21.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.79 R$95.2

$19.94 ฿666

-5.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.63 R$110

$37.07 ฿1,239

-41.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.78 ฿126

Cinema Ticket

$6.84 R$34.69

$6.50 ฿217

5.23%

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

$142 R$719

$793 ฿26.5K

-82.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,604 R$13.2K

$14.8K ฿494.9K

-82.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.6 R$348

$53.7 ฿1,796

27.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$83.6 R$424

$24.62 ฿823

239.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.1 R$340

$90.9 ฿3,036

-26.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$47.52 R$241

$71.1 ฿2,378

-33.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$156 R$789

$455 ฿15.2K

-65.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$99.8 R$506

$298 ฿9,954

-66.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$395 R$2,005

$908 ฿30.4K

-56.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$236 R$1,195

$554 ฿18.5K

-57.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,578 R$7,998

$1,931 ฿64.5K

-18.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$785 R$3,980

$1,445 ฿48.3K

-45.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 R$2,542

$591 ฿19.7K

-15.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.67

5.57

91.56%

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

Last update for Nova Friburgo: October 17, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Nova Friburgo

$171 28.2%

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5% 37.4% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Nova Friburgo

$120 19.7%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7% 9.9% $12

Eating Out

Nova Friburgo

$105 17.3%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5% 25.4% $27

Accommodation & Living

Nova Friburgo

$100 16.4%

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2% 198% $198

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nova Friburgo

$68 11.2%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2% 38.1% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Nova Friburgo

$35 5.8%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 41.8% $15

Getting Around

Nova Friburgo

$7.9 * 1.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 672% $53

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $156 in Nova Friburgo versus $455 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.

Salaries run about 18% higher in Chiang Mai, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $30.00 in Nova Friburgo versus $20.00 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $171 in Nova Friburgo vs $235 in Chiang Mai – so Nova Friburgo wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Nova Friburgo

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

07:53 7:53 AM

17:53 5:53 PM

10 h ahead of Nova Friburgo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

189,939

127,240

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 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 BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Nova Friburgo Chiang Mai 16,000 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Nova Friburgo
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

Nova Friburgo vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 52% more than Nova Friburgo, 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 $912 per month in Nova Friburgo and $1,388 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Nova Friburgo, 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 $30.00 in Nova Friburgo and $20.00 in Chiang Mai. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 37% more in Chiang Mai, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Nova Friburgo, where all-in costs run around $608, than in Chiang Mai at $925. In Nova Friburgo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chiang Mai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Nova Friburgo costs $608 versus $925 in Chiang Mai. 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 Nova Friburgo. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Chiang Mai makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.