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 3.2% cheaper than Chiang Mai without rent, and 3.3% more expensive with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Petaling Jaya is 6.7% cheaper than Chiang Mai without rent, and 3.7% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.48 MYR 14.12

$1.97 ฿62.0

76.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.63 MYR 75.6

$18.68 ฿587

-0.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.67 MYR 18.97

$7.92 ฿249

-41.04%

Cappuccino

$2.82 MYR 11.44

$2.02 ฿63.7

39.60%

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

$0.73 MYR 2.98

$0.84 ฿26.45

-13.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.37 MYR 1.49

$0.35 ฿11.07

5.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.46 MYR 14.04

$2.22 ฿69.9

55.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.19 MYR 21.08

$3.59 ฿113

44.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.91 MYR 7.76

$1.67 ฿52.4

14.37%

White Bread (500g)

$1.01 MYR 4.11

$1.62 ฿51.1

-37.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 MYR 7.09

$1.20 ฿37.83

45.83%

Eggs

$2.27 MYR 9.22

$1.93 ฿60.8

17.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.56 MYR 42.88

$16.00 ฿503

-34.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.44 MYR 13.95

$3.16 ฿99.2

8.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.23 MYR 33.41

$10.93 ฿344

-24.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.69 MYR 10.90

$2.67 ฿83.8

0.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 MYR 7.06

$1.18 ฿36.99

47.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.48 MYR 10.09

$1.64 ฿51.5

51.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.19 MYR 4.85

$1.59 ฿49.83

-25.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.19 MYR 4.82

$1.32 ฿41.64

-9.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 MYR 5.60

$1.19 ฿37.49

15.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 MYR 3.63

$0.71 ฿22.20

26.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 MYR 2.41

$0.56 ฿17.75

5.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.33 MYR 17.59

$4.64 ฿146

-6.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.00 MYR 77.2

$18.96 ฿596

0.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.69 MYR 10.91

$1.77 ฿55.7

51.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 MYR 15.54

$3.20 ฿101

19.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 MYR 3.03

$0.90 ฿28.32

-16.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.71 MYR 47.54

$19.24 ฿605

-39.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.02 MYR 4.14

$1.36 ฿42.78

-25.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 MYR 1.44

$1.35 ฿42.37

-74.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.01 MYR 36.59

$8.15 ฿256

10.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.50 MYR 2.02

$1.22 ฿38.43

-59.02%

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

$31.9K MYR 129.5K

$21.4K ฿671.8K

49.22%

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

$27.5K MYR 111.6K

$21.7K ฿683.8K

26.38%

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

$41.33 MYR 168

$70.3 ฿2,210

-41.21%

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

$9.31 MYR 37.82

$13.91 ฿437

-33.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.39 MYR 95.0

$18.00 ฿566

29.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.06 MYR 150

$41.78 ฿1,314

-11.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.33 MYR 29.75

$6.80 ฿214

7.79%

Cinema Ticket

$4.80 MYR 19.51

$5.72 ฿180

-16.08%

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

$213 MYR 864

$308 ฿9,693

-30.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,234 MYR 33.4K

$14.8K ฿465.7K

-44.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.78 MYR 202

$55.9 ฿1,756

-10.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.45 MYR 140

$26.71 ฿840

28.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$54.1 MYR 220

$84.5 ฿2,658

-35.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$48.92 MYR 199

$70.8 ฿2,227

-30.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$454 MYR 1,843

$431 ฿13.5K

5.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$349 MYR 1,418

$237 ฿7,439

47.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$835 MYR 3,388

$811 ฿25.5K

2.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$554 MYR 2,249

$501 ฿15.7K

10.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,218 MYR 13.1K

$2,202 ฿69.2K

46.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$759 MYR 3,081

$1,600 ฿50.3K

-52.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,712 MYR 6,952

$684 ฿21.5K

150.15%

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: January 13, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: January 13, 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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