Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio Branco and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio Branco: $847 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Rio Branco
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Rio Branco Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Rio Branco

🇧🇷 Brazil

$847

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $847 per month in Rio Branco vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Rio Branco $847
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,331 per month in Rio Branco vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Rio Branco $1,331
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $1,815 per month in Rio Branco vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Rio Branco $1,815
Chiang Mai $1,979

Rio Branco is about 9% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Rio Branco and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Rio Branco 38% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.68 R$35.74

$2.24 ฿75.7

198.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.63 R$132

$19.00 ฿642

29.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.16 R$38.29

$5.55 ฿188

29.01%

Cappuccino

$2.82 R$15.10

$1.67 ฿56.6

68.86%

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

$1.28 R$6.86

$0.64 ฿21.56

100.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.72 R$3.83

$0.31 ฿10.32

132.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.90 R$10.18

$2.36 ฿79.6

-19.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 R$14.71

$3.66 ฿124

-24.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.99 R$5.28

$1.95 ฿65.8

-49.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 R$8.24

$1.44 ฿48.51

6.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.16 R$6.20

$1.33 ฿45.07

-12.78%

Eggs

$1.99 R$10.64

$2.28 ฿77.1

-12.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.67 R$46.34

$16.45 ฿556

-47.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.08 R$21.81

$2.78 ฿94.0

46.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.89 R$42.17

$9.31 ฿314

-15.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.06 R$11.01

$2.35 ฿79.5

-12.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.23 R$6.58

$0.97 ฿32.82

26.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.09 R$5.84

$1.60 ฿53.9

-31.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.46 R$7.78

$1.50 ฿50.7

-2.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 R$6.05

$1.28 ฿43.15

-11.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 R$5.39

$1.10 ฿37.22

-8.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$4.11

$0.71 ฿23.84

8.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 R$4.06

$0.49 ฿16.38

55.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.28 R$12.20

$4.14 ฿140

-44.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.30 R$39.02

$17.52 ฿592

-58.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 R$5.54

$1.61 ฿54.5

-35.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.92 R$10.25

$2.78 ฿94.0

-30.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 R$3.36

$0.87 ฿29.33

-27.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.25 R$226

$54.1 ฿1,827

-21.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.24 R$6.62

$1.16 ฿39.08

6.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 R$4.53

$0.53 ฿17.82

60.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.55 R$40.34

$2.42 ฿81.8

211.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 R$6.86

$1.45 ฿48.93

-11.72%

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

$22.0K R$117.8K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

4.59%

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

$31.5K R$168.4K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

16.90%

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

$72.1 R$385

$62.2 ฿2,100

15.94%

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

$11.32 R$60.6

$12.17 ฿411

-6.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.70 R$105

$20.12 ฿680

-2.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.58 R$131

$37.31 ฿1,260

-34.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.43 R$136

$3.77 ฿127

574.54%

Cinema Ticket

$6.60 R$35.29

$6.49 ฿219

1.69%

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

$264 R$1,410

$736 ฿24.9K

-64.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,146 R$32.9K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-58.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.0 R$273

$53.4 ฿1,802

-4.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.00 R$246

$24.64 ฿832

86.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.0 R$454

$91.5 ฿3,089

-7.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.8 R$357

$71.9 ฿2,429

-7.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$343 R$1,831

$482 ฿16.3K

-28.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$233 R$1,248

$309 ฿10.4K

-24.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$623 R$3,332

$1,006 ฿34.0K

-38.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$453 R$2,420

$633 ฿21.4K

-28.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,562 R$8,351

$2,363 ฿79.8K

-33.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,550 R$8,288

$1,589 ฿53.7K

-2.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$238 R$1,271

$590 ฿19.9K

-59.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

97.49%

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

Last update for Rio Branco: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio Branco

$233 27.6%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 32.3% $75

Groceries & Markets

Rio Branco

$178 21.1%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 31.3% $56

Eating Out

Rio Branco

$132 15.6%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 41.2% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Rio Branco

$112 13.2%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 3% $3.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio Branco

$103 12.2%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 8.4% $8.6

Getting Around

Rio Branco

$50 5.9%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 22.2% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Rio Branco

$38 4.5%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 33.1% $12

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $343 in Rio Branco 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.

Salaries in Chiang Mai are about 2.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $25 in Rio Branco versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $178 in Rio Branco vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so Rio Branco wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio Branco

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

18:01 6:01 PM

06:01 6:01 AM

12 h ahead of Rio Branco

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

364,756

127,240

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.95 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Rio Branco Chiang Mai 18,290 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio Branco
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

Rio Branco vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 10% more than Rio Branco, 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 $1,270 per month in Rio Branco and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Rio Branco, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $343 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

Kindergarten costs $264 per month in Rio Branco and $736 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 31% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

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

If budget matters most, go with Rio Branco. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Chiang Mai makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.