Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St Francis Bay and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $979 in St Francis Bay, rent and utilities included – about $530 less a year. The total is higher in St Francis Bay despite lower rent and utilities.

49

Cost of Living Index in St Francis Bay
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St Francis Bay Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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St Francis Bay

🇿🇦 South Africa

$979

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $979 per month in St Francis Bay vs $935 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

St Francis Bay $979
Chiang Mai $935

A couple spends around $1,629 per month in St Francis Bay vs $1,467 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

St Francis Bay $1,629
Chiang Mai $1,467

A family of three spends $2,279 per month in St Francis Bay vs $1,999 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

St Francis Bay $2,279
Chiang Mai $1,999

St Francis Bay costs about 5% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both St Francis Bay and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – St Francis Bay 28% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.81 R 177

$2.13 ฿71.7

407.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.74 R 685

$18.62 ฿625

124.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.53 R 58.0

$5.60 ฿188

-36.96%

Cappuccino

$2.14 R 35.06

$1.66 ฿55.9

28.92%

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

$1.01 R 16.62

$0.65 ฿21.73

55.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.72 R 11.89

$0.30 ฿10.24

140.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.06 R 33.72

$2.32 ฿78.0

-11.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 R 30.24

$3.67 ฿123

-49.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.94 R 15.43

$2.02 ฿67.7

-53.47%

White Bread (500g)

$1.00 R 16.33

$1.41 ฿47.29

-29.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 R 24.64

$1.39 ฿46.75

7.91%

Eggs

$2.70 R 44.32

$2.37 ฿79.5

13.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.11 R 117

$16.52 ฿555

-56.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.22 R 85.7

$2.67 ฿89.7

95.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.63 R 142

$9.02 ฿303

-4.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.18 R 35.71

$2.40 ฿80.6

-9.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 R 23.93

$1.04 ฿34.98

40.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.70 R 27.96

$1.66 ฿55.7

2.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.81 R 29.62

$1.56 ฿52.4

16.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.74 R 28.48

$1.24 ฿41.57

40.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 R 22.56

$1.09 ฿36.50

25.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 R 20.29

$0.76 ฿25.59

63.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.84

$0.51 ฿17.27

101.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.14 R 51.5

$4.12 ฿138

-23.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.74 R 77.7

$17.93 ฿602

-73.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 R 20.84

$1.62 ฿54.5

-21.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 R 29.72

$2.82 ฿94.8

-35.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.78 R 29.16

$0.93 ฿31.39

91.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,777

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.82 R 13.44

$1.18 ฿39.52

-30.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.46 R 7.51

$0.17 ฿5.76

170.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.62 R 141

$1.81 ฿60.9

376.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 R 21.44

$1.47 ฿49.47

-10.88%

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

$21.0K R 344.6K

$21.0K ฿705.8K

-0.04%

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

$35.2K R 577.0K

$26.5K ฿890.7K

32.62%

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

$60.8 R 997

$62.6 ฿2,101

-2.89%

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

$34.39 R 564

$11.60 ฿390

196.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.35 R 679

$20.30 ฿682

103.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.64 R 470

$37.88 ฿1,272

-24.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.00 R 197

$3.70 ฿124

224.32%

Cinema Ticket

$9.20 R 151

$6.51 ฿219

41.32%

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

$179 R 2,934

$727 ฿24.4K

-75.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,135 R 100.7K

$16.6K ฿556.7K

-62.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.9 R 1,179

$53.5 ฿1,798

34.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.31 R 645

$24.80 ฿833

58.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 R 1,842

$90.4 ฿3,036

24.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.1 R 1,560

$72.0 ฿2,418

32.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$420 R 6,891

$481 ฿16.2K

-12.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$308 R 5,056

$310 ฿10.4K

-0.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$834 R 13.7K

$1,058 ฿35.5K

-21.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$711 R 11.7K

$659 ฿22.1K

7.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$784 R 12.9K

$2,418 ฿81.2K

-67.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$648 R 10.6K

$1,609 ฿54.0K

-59.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.94

5.57

114.36%

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

Last update for St Francis Bay: November 1, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St Francis Bay

$308 31.5%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 0.6% $1.8

Groceries & Markets

St Francis Bay

$190 19.4%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 24.8% $47

Eating Out

St Francis Bay

$144 14.7%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 46.7% $67

Clothing & Footwear

St Francis Bay

$143 14.7%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 24.4% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St Francis Bay

$136 14%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 30.8% $42

Sport & Entertainment

St Francis Bay

$47 4.8%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 8.2% $3.9

Getting Around

St Francis Bay

$10 * 1%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 474% $48

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $420 in St Francis Bay versus $481 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $42 in St Francis Bay versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $190 in St Francis Bay vs $237 in Chiang Mai – so St Francis Bay wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 St Francis Bay

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

12:02 12:02 PM

17:02 5:02 PM

5 h ahead of St Francis Bay

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,910

127,240

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.09 USD

100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR

100 THB = 2.98 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.41 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.09 USD). 1 EUR = 18.44 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.59 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.75 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St Francis Bay Chiang Mai 9,800 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

St Francis Bay
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

St Francis Bay vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St Francis Bay costs about 5% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,468 per month in St Francis Bay 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 St Francis Bay, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $420 there versus $481 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $42 in St Francis Bay 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 20% cheaper in St Francis Bay – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $979 in St Francis Bay and $935 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 $935 in Chiang Mai to $979 in St Francis Bay. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.