Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Secunda and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,062 in Secunda, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Secunda outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

51

Cost of Living Index in Secunda
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Secunda Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Secunda

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,062

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,062 per month in Secunda vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Secunda $1,062
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,635 per month in Secunda vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Secunda $1,635
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $2,208 per month in Secunda vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Secunda $2,208
Chiang Mai $1,979

Secunda costs about 14% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both Secunda and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Secunda 22% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.04 R 101

$2.24 ฿75.6

169.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.91 R 516

$19.00 ฿641

62.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.22 R 87.3

$5.55 ฿187

-5.95%

Cappuccino

$2.31 R 38.53

$1.67 ฿56.5

38.32%

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

$0.87 R 14.47

$0.64 ฿21.54

35.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.51 R 8.48

$0.31 ฿10.31

64.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.08 R 18.00

$2.36 ฿79.5

-54.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 R 21.86

$3.66 ฿124

-64.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 R 19.63

$1.95 ฿65.7

-40.00%

White Bread (500g)

$0.87 R 14.57

$1.44 ฿48.46

-39.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 R 31.05

$1.33 ฿45.03

39.85%

Eggs

$2.43 R 40.54

$2.28 ฿77.1

6.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.26 R 138

$16.45 ฿555

-49.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.07 R 84.7

$2.78 ฿93.9

82.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.18 R 120

$9.31 ฿314

-22.88%

Apples (1kg)

$1.80 R 30.14

$2.35 ฿79.4

-23.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 R 27.99

$0.97 ฿32.79

73.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.79 R 29.95

$1.60 ฿53.9

11.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.65 R 27.49

$1.50 ฿50.6

10.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 R 18.35

$1.28 ฿43.11

-14.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.23 R 20.48

$1.10 ฿37.18

11.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 R 20.68

$0.71 ฿23.82

74.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 R 22.53

$0.49 ฿16.36

175.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.21 R 53.6

$4.14 ฿140

-22.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.01 R 83.7

$17.52 ฿591

-71.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 R 26.71

$1.61 ฿54.5

-0.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 R 33.01

$2.78 ฿93.9

-28.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 25.08

$0.87 ฿29.30

72.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 R 4.81

$1.16 ฿39.04

-75.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.77 R 12.93

$0.53 ฿17.80

45.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.85 R 248

$2.42 ฿81.7

513.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.90

$1.45 ฿48.88

6.90%

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

$36.1K R 603.8K

$21.1K ฿710.5K

71.60%

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

$35.1K R 586.1K

$26.9K ฿909.0K

30.20%

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

$156 R 2,604

$62.2 ฿2,098

150.72%

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

$37.44 R 625

$12.17 ฿411

207.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.72 R 614

$20.12 ฿679

82.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.86 R 532

$37.31 ฿1,259

-14.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

$3.77 ฿127

186.47%

Cinema Ticket

$7.19 R 120

$6.49 ฿219

10.79%

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

$90.1 R 1,505

$736 ฿24.8K

-87.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,501 R 91.9K

$14.8K ฿498.2K

-62.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 R 900

$53.4 ฿1,801

0.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.55 R 544

$24.64 ฿831

32.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.6 R 1,546

$91.5 ฿3,087

1.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.9 R 1,385

$71.9 ฿2,427

15.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$402 R 6,711

$482 ฿16.3K

-16.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$360 R 6,014

$309 ฿10.4K

16.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$730 R 12.2K

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-27.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$743 R 12.4K

$633 ฿21.4K

17.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$869 R 14.5K

$2,363 ฿79.7K

-63.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$698 R 11.7K

$1,589 ฿53.6K

-56.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,444 R 24.1K

$590 ฿19.9K

144.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.34

5.57

103.59%

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

Last update for Secunda: 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

Secunda

$360 33.9%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 14.2% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Secunda

$230 21.7%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 58.9% $136

Groceries & Markets

Secunda

$193 18.1%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 21.7% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Secunda

$118 11.1%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 7.8% $9.2

Eating Out

Secunda

$105 9.9%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 26.2% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Secunda

$46 4.4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 8.8% $4.1

Getting Around

Secunda

$10 * 1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 504% $51

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $402 in Secunda 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 Secunda are about 2.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $31 in Secunda versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $193 in Secunda vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so Secunda wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Secunda

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

02:07 2:07 AM

07:07 7:07 AM

5 h ahead of Secunda

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

40,198

127,240

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.71 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Secunda Chiang Mai 9,050 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Secunda
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

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

Secunda costs about 14% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from utilities. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,593 per month in Secunda 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 Secunda, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $402 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $31 in Secunda and $19 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 18% cheaper in Secunda – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,062 in Secunda and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $936 in Chiang Mai to $1,062 in Secunda. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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