Cost of Living Comparison Between Petaling Jaya and Chiang Mai Cost of Living Comparison Between Petaling Jaya and Chiang Mai

🙂 Solo nomad: Petaling Jaya is 5.6% cheaper than Chiang Mai without rent, and 5% more expensive with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Petaling Jaya is 4.5% cheaper than Chiang Mai without rent, and 1.1% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.65 MYR 14.33

$2.03 ฿63.8

79.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.95 MYR 74.5

$18.59 ฿585

1.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.74 MYR 18.61

$7.48 ฿235

-36.63%

Cappuccino

$2.81 MYR 11.06

$2.00 ฿62.8

40.50%

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

$0.73 MYR 2.87

$0.85 ฿26.63

-14.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 MYR 1.57

$0.35 ฿11.05

14.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.58 MYR 14.07

$2.21 ฿69.5

61.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.97 MYR 19.52

$3.76 ฿118

32.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 MYR 7.64

$1.72 ฿54.0

12.79%

White Bread (500g)

$0.94 MYR 3.71

$1.63 ฿51.4

-42.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 MYR 7.00

$1.16 ฿36.42

53.45%

Eggs

$2.25 MYR 8.84

$1.98 ฿62.2

13.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.55 MYR 41.45

$15.93 ฿501

-33.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.55 MYR 13.96

$3.17 ฿99.6

11.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.89 MYR 31.02

$10.90 ฿343

-27.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.79 MYR 10.95

$2.65 ฿83.2

5.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 MYR 6.57

$1.22 ฿38.45

36.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.45 MYR 9.61

$1.70 ฿53.4

44.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.20 MYR 4.72

$1.59 ฿49.99

-24.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.18 MYR 4.63

$1.32 ฿41.63

-10.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 MYR 5.22

$1.17 ฿36.74

13.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.95 MYR 3.75

$0.68 ฿21.31

39.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 MYR 2.30

$0.56 ฿17.52

3.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MYR 16.75

$4.51 ฿142

-5.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.10 MYR 79.0

$19.07 ฿600

5.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 MYR 10.47

$1.77 ฿55.7

50.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.92 MYR 15.39

$3.18 ฿100.0

23.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.77 MYR 3.01

$0.96 ฿30.27

-19.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.59 MYR 45.55

$18.90 ฿594

-38.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.03 MYR 4.03

$1.36 ฿42.69

-24.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 MYR 1.39

$1.35 ฿42.51

-74.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.50 MYR 37.32

$8.03 ฿253

18.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.46 MYR 1.82

$1.24 ฿39.08

-62.90%

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

$31.5K MYR 123.9K

$21.2K ฿665.4K

48.97%

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

$28.4K MYR 111.5K

$21.8K ฿684.0K

30.47%

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

$40.92 MYR 161

$71.2 ฿2,240

-42.56%

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

$9.19 MYR 36.10

$14.09 ฿443

-34.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.78 MYR 89.5

$17.47 ฿549

30.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.50 MYR 143

$42.07 ฿1,323

-13.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.22 MYR 28.36

$6.88 ฿216

4.94%

Cinema Ticket

$4.93 MYR 19.39

$5.94 ฿187

-17.00%

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

$211 MYR 828

$307 ฿9,664

-31.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,077 MYR 31.7K

$14.8K ฿465.1K

-45.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.40 MYR 194

$55.7 ฿1,750

-11.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.58 MYR 136

$26.79 ฿842

29.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$53.3 MYR 209

$83.2 ฿2,617

-36.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$48.25 MYR 190

$70.1 ฿2,204

-31.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$465 MYR 1,826

$427 ฿13.4K

8.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$339 MYR 1,331

$237 ฿7,454

42.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$829 MYR 3,258

$802 ฿25.2K

3.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$545 MYR 2,143

$503 ฿15.8K

8.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,253 MYR 12.8K

$2,061 ฿64.8K

57.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$803 MYR 3,156

$1,533 ฿48.2K

-47.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,811 MYR 7,115

$654 ฿20.6K

176.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.49

-10.20%

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

Last update for Petaling Jaya: March 1, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: March 1, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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