Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Recife and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living costs are similar in Recife and in Chiang Mai: $924 and $938 a month, rent and utilities included.

45

Cost of Living Index in Recife
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Recife Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Recife

🇧🇷 Brazil

$924

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $924 per month in Recife vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Recife $924
Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $1,523 per month in Recife vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Recife $1,523
Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $2,121 per month in Recife vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Recife $2,121
Chiang Mai $1,914

Recife is about 2% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Recife and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Recife 32% lower, Chiang Mai 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.52 R$27.99

$2.26 ฿75.4

144.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.47 R$195

$19.18 ฿641

100.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.93 R$50.4

$5.59 ฿187

77.64%

Cappuccino

$2.58 R$13.08

$1.72 ฿57.6

50.00%

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

$1.10 R$5.56

$0.64 ฿21.54

71.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.63 R$3.21

$0.33 ฿11.18

90.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.64 R$8.31

$2.36 ฿78.7

-30.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 R$15.99

$3.90 ฿130

-19.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 R$7.00

$2.05 ฿68.6

-32.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.70 R$8.63

$1.40 ฿46.70

21.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 R$8.51

$1.28 ฿42.89

31.25%

Eggs

$1.91 R$9.68

$2.25 ฿75.3

-15.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.10 R$36.01

$16.94 ฿566

-58.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.68 R$23.73

$2.74 ฿91.6

70.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.08 R$40.97

$9.36 ฿313

-13.68%

Apples (1kg)

$1.42 R$7.22

$2.40 ฿80.3

-40.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 R$7.02

$1.01 ฿33.92

37.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.81 R$4.11

$1.61 ฿53.9

-49.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.23 R$6.23

$1.52 ฿50.7

-19.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.48 R$7.50

$1.28 ฿42.90

15.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 R$5.50

$1.11 ฿37.22

-1.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.52 R$2.65

$0.72 ฿24.09

-27.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 R$4.59

$0.52 ฿17.54

73.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.76 R$8.94

$4.33 ฿145

-59.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.25 R$41.80

$17.73 ฿593

-53.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$6.02

$1.63 ฿54.4

-26.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.51 R$7.65

$2.85 ฿95.3

-47.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 R$4.45

$0.85 ฿28.31

3.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.02 R$193

$53.9 ฿1,801

-29.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 R$6.50

$1.17 ฿39.18

9.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.74 R$3.74

$0.57 ฿19.00

29.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.63 R$18.42

$2.37 ฿79.2

53.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 R$6.91

$1.45 ฿48.32

-6.21%

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

$23.7K R$120.1K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

15.72%

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

$33.2K R$168.2K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

25.13%

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

$117 R$596

$62.3 ฿2,083

88.50%

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

$13.49 R$68.4

$12.27 ฿410

9.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.51 R$88.8

$19.97 ฿668

-12.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.79 R$110

$37.91 ฿1,267

-42.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.68 R$176

$3.76 ฿126

822.34%

Cinema Ticket

$8.54 R$43.28

$6.71 ฿224

27.27%

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

$282 R$1,432

$797 ฿26.6K

-64.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.0K R$60.9K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

-18.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.34 R$235

$53.3 ฿1,780

-12.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.2 R$259

$25.05 ฿837

104.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.5 R$383

$91.6 ฿3,062

-17.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$81.6 R$413

$73.5 ฿2,455

11.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$509 R$2,578

$464 ฿15.5K

9.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$265 R$1,345

$305 ฿10.2K

-12.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$887 R$4,495

$915 ฿30.6K

-3.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 R$3,233

$552 ฿18.5K

15.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,005 R$10.2K

$1,912 ฿63.9K

4.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,070 R$5,425

$1,438 ฿48.1K

-25.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$437 R$2,214

$595 ฿19.9K

-26.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.75

5.57

110.95%

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

Last update for Recife: October 10, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Recife

$265 28.7%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 14.8% $39

Groceries & Markets

Recife

$184 19.9%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 29.4% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Recife

$148 16.1%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 36.3% $54

Eating Out

Recife

$126 13.7%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 37.5% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Recife

$115 12.4%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 4.4% $5

Getting Around

Recife

$47 5%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 31.8% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Recife

$39 4.2%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 32.1% $12

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $509 in Recife 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.

Salaries run about 36% 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 $38.00 in Recife versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $184 in Recife vs $238 in Chiang Mai – so Recife wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Recife

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

04:21 4:21 AM

14:21 2:21 PM

10 h ahead of Recife

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,488,920

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 19, 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 19, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Recife Chiang Mai 14,900 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Recife
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

Recife vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 2% more than Recife, 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 $1,386 per month in Recife 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 Recife, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $282 per month in Recife and $797 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 29% 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 Recife, where all-in costs run around $924, than in Chiang Mai at $938. In Recife 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. Recife costs $924 versus $938 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 Recife. 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.