Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Samarinda and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Samarinda: $647 a month against $938 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Samarinda
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Samarinda Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Samarinda

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$647

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $647 per month in Samarinda vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Samarinda $647
Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $1,021 per month in Samarinda vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Samarinda $1,021
Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $1,395 per month in Samarinda vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Samarinda $1,395
Chiang Mai $1,914

Samarinda is about 31% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Samarinda and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Samarinda 52% lower, Chiang Mai 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.70 Rp 30.6K

$2.26 ฿75.4

-24.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.69 Rp 246.4K

$19.18 ฿641

-28.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.35 Rp 60.2K

$5.59 ฿187

-40.07%

Cappuccino

$1.53 Rp 27.5K

$1.72 ฿57.6

-11.05%

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

$0.44 Rp 7,903

$0.64 ฿21.54

-31.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 Rp 4,499

$0.33 ฿11.18

-24.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.27 Rp 40.9K

$2.36 ฿78.7

-3.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 Rp 62.1K

$3.90 ฿130

-11.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.07 Rp 19.2K

$2.05 ฿68.6

-47.80%

White Bread (500g)

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

$1.40 ฿46.70

-40.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.71 Rp 12.8K

$1.28 ฿42.89

-44.53%

Eggs

$1.40 Rp 25.3K

$2.25 ฿75.3

-37.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.21 Rp 129.9K

$16.94 ฿566

-57.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.61 Rp 65.0K

$2.74 ฿91.6

31.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.04 Rp 180.7K

$9.36 ฿313

7.26%

Apples (1kg)

$5.14 Rp 92.4K

$2.40 ฿80.3

114.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

$1.01 ฿33.92

9.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.09 Rp 19.5K

$1.61 ฿53.9

-32.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 Rp 26.5K

$1.52 ฿50.7

-3.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.32 Rp 23.8K

$1.28 ฿42.90

3.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.76 Rp 31.7K

$1.11 ฿37.22

58.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 Rp 13.6K

$0.72 ฿24.09

4.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,097

$0.52 ฿17.54

-1.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.08 Rp 37.4K

$4.33 ฿145

-51.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.04 Rp 378.7K

$17.73 ฿593

18.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 Rp 28.8K

$1.63 ฿54.4

-1.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 Rp 45.4K

$2.85 ฿95.3

-11.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 Rp 5,403

$0.85 ฿28.31

-64.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.9 ฿1,801

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.50 Rp 8,935

$1.17 ฿39.18

-57.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.34 Rp 6,183

$0.57 ฿19.00

-40.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.67 Rp 48.0K

$2.37 ฿79.2

12.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

$1.45 ฿48.32

-44.14%

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

$26.8K Rp 482.4M

$20.5K ฿684.3K

30.90%

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

$31.1K Rp 559.1M

$26.5K ฿886.1K

17.16%

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

$67.2 Rp 1.2M

$62.3 ฿2,083

7.88%

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

$4.75 Rp 85.5K

$12.27 ฿410

-61.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.78 Rp 338.0K

$19.97 ฿668

-5.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.72 Rp 354.9K

$37.91 ฿1,267

-47.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.94 Rp 160.9K

$3.76 ฿126

137.77%

Cinema Ticket

$2.75 Rp 49.4K

$6.71 ฿224

-59.02%

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

$89.9 Rp 1.6M

$797 ฿26.6K

-88.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,095 Rp 145.7M

$14.8K ฿495.7K

-45.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.77 Rp 859.9K

$53.3 ฿1,780

-10.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.33 Rp 582.0K

$25.05 ฿837

29.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.9 Rp 1.4M

$91.6 ฿3,062

-16.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$74.1 Rp 1.3M

$73.5 ฿2,455

0.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$195 Rp 3.5M

$464 ฿15.5K

-57.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$148 Rp 2.7M

$305 ฿10.2K

-51.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$491 Rp 8.8M

$915 ฿30.6K

-46.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$338 Rp 6.1M

$552 ฿18.5K

-38.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,107 Rp 19.9M

$1,912 ฿63.9K

-42.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$730 Rp 13.1M

$1,438 ฿48.1K

-49.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$336 Rp 6.0M

$595 ฿19.9K

-43.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.46

5.57

69.84%

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

Last update for Samarinda: October 12, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Samarinda

$213 32.9%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 11.8% $25

Accommodation & Living

Samarinda

$148 22.8%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 106% $157

Clothing & Footwear

Samarinda

$104 16.1%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 5.3% $5.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Samarinda

$91 14%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 4.2% $3.8

Eating Out

Samarinda

$63 9.7%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 25.4% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Samarinda

$25 3.9%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 104% $26

Getting Around

Samarinda

$3.4 * 0.5%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 1698% $58

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $195 in Samarinda 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 77% 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 $14.00 in Samarinda versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $213 vs $238 – making Samarinda the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Samarinda

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

11:25 11:25 AM

10:25 10:25 AM

1 h behind Samarinda

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

726,223

127,240

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 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 IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Samarinda Chiang Mai 2,920 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Samarinda
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

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

Chiang Mai costs about 45% more than Samarinda, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $970 per month in Samarinda 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 Samarinda, 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 $14.00 in Samarinda and $19.00 in Chiang Mai. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 12% 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 $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Samarinda, where all-in costs run around $647, than in Chiang Mai at $938. In Samarinda 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. Samarinda costs $647 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 Samarinda. 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.