Nomadsurance

Cost of living

Cost of living in Thailand for digital nomads

What a solo remote worker actually spends per month in Chiang Mai and Bangkok, and where the money really goes.

by Lukas Schönberg, founder
Draft notice: First-draft editorial; review pending.

Key takeaways

  • A solo nomad gets by on about $640–$1,125 (฿21,000–37,000) a month in Chiang Mai, before flights, visa and insurance.
  • Rent is what moves the number: ฿9,500 for a place outside the centre, ฿16,500 for something central in Chiang Mai.
  • Bangkok costs more, and it is mostly rent. A central one-bed runs around ฿21,900.
  • Eating stays cheap. A plate at a local restaurant is about ฿65.

Monthly budget

ItemUSDLocal
Rent, 1-bedChiang Mai, outside centre to central$290–$500฿9,500–16,500
Utilitieselectricity and water, one person$65฿2,100
Foodmostly-local diet plus some groceries$215–$365฿7,000–12,000
Mobile databasic plan to unlimited tourist SIM$13–$30฿440–999
Local transportmonthly pass; many rent a scooter instead$55฿1,800
Coworking deskoptional monthly hot desk$105฿3,500
Typical totalsolo, lean to comfortable, excl. flights, visa, insurance$640–$1,125฿21,000–37,000

What different budgets get you

Lean, solo

~$640

A room outside the centre, mostly local food, a scooter, no paid desk.

Comfortable, solo

~$1,000

A central flat, eating out more often, and a coworking desk.

Couple

~$1,450

A shared central one-bed, food and transport for two, plus a desk.

Rent

In Chiang Mai you will pay around ฿9,500 a month for a one-bed outside the centre, or ฿16,500 for something central and set up for remote work. Bangkok runs higher, roughly ฿10,600 on the edges and ฿21,900 in the middle, so the same flat can cost close to double. Either way, sign a monthly lease instead of paying nightly and the price drops again, more so in low season.

Food

You can eat very well here without trying. A plate at a local restaurant is about ฿65 in Chiang Mai and ฿110 in Bangkok. Cook now and then and groceries barely register: milk is around ฿61 a litre, eggs ฿69 a dozen, chicken ฿95 a kilo, rice ฿39. Eat mostly local with the odd Western meal out and ฿7,000–12,000 a month covers it.

Coworking

A hot desk runs from about ฿3,500 a month at spaces like Yellow Coworking in Chiang Mai, usually with 24/7 access, fast wifi and a room full of other remote workers. Plenty of people skip it and work from cafés instead, so treat the desk as optional rather than a fixed line.

Transport

Chiang Mai has a ฿1,800 monthly transit pass that almost nobody buys. Most people rent a scooter by the month or just use Grab, both cheap by Western standards. Bangkok is the exception, where the BTS and MRT are the fastest way across town.

Connectivity

Data is fast and close to free. A basic plan with 10GB or more is about ฿440 a month, and an unlimited 30-day tourist SIM is around ฿999. Add apartment fibre and you are set for video calls all day, with the SIM as a backup for travel days.

Chiang Mai vs Bangkok

Chiang Mai is the cheaper, slower option: less rent, a tight nomad scene, everything close together. Bangkok costs more, mostly on rent and eating out, but you get a major international airport, the best private hospitals in the country and quicker ways to get around. Roughly, Bangkok adds a clear premium on rent, a smaller one on food, and costs about the same for data and a desk.

Rent by neighbourhood

Chiang Mai

Santitham$180–$305฿6,000–10,000
Old City$275–$485฿9,000–16,000
Nimman$365–$760฿12,000–25,000

Bangkok

On Nut$395–$760฿13,000–25,000
Ari$550–$1,065฿18,000–35,000
Sukhumvit$730–$1,215฿24,000–40,000

How it compares

Hub1-bed, centre
Bali (Denpasar)$380
Chiang Mai$500
Bangkok$665
Lisbon$1,625

Central one-bed monthly rent, US$. Bali here is Denpasar; Canggu and Ubud cost more.

FAQ

About $640 to $1,125 a month (฿21,000–37,000) for one person, covering rent, utilities, food, transport, data and a coworking desk. That leaves out flights, visa costs and insurance. The low end means a place outside the centre and mostly local food; the high end is a central flat, more eating out and a paid desk.

Chiang Mai, and the gap is almost all rent. A central one-bed is about ฿16,500 ($500) in Chiang Mai against ฿21,900 ($665) in Bangkok. Food, transport and data cost about the same; Bangkok mainly stings on eating out.

In Chiang Mai, yes, on the lean-to-middle end of these ranges. In Bangkok it gets tight once central rent is in. A thousand dollars covers a solo nomad's rent, food, transport and data with room for a desk, but not insurance, visa costs or flights.

In Chiang Mai, roughly ฿9,500 ($290) a month for a one-bed outside the centre and ฿16,500 ($500) central. Bangkok runs higher, about ฿10,600 ($320) on the edges to ฿21,900 ($665) in the middle. A monthly lease beats nightly rates for any stay over a few weeks.

No. This is living costs only. International health insurance and visa costs, like the DTV or LTR, are separate and add up fast. Our Thailand insurance and visa guide covers what those actually run.

Both. A basic mobile plan with 10GB or more is about ฿440 ($13) a month, an unlimited 30-day tourist SIM around ฿999 ($30), and apartment fibre is everywhere. For most work the basic plan plus fibre is plenty.

Eating mostly local runs about ฿7,000–12,000 ($215–$365) a month for one. A plate at a local restaurant is around ฿65 ($2) in Chiang Mai and ฿110 ($3.30) in Bangkok, and cooking with cheap groceries pulls it down further.

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