Cost of living comparison

Chiang Mai, Thailand

compared to

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur vs. Chiang Mai Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 12.9% more expensive than Chiang Mai.

Restaurants: pay 53.1% more in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 17.2% more in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 11.7% less in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 34.4% more in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 39.1% less in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.6% more in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 6.8% more in Kuala Lumpur

The cost of restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing in Kuala Lumpur are more expensive than in Chiang Mai. Expenses including childcare and transportation are lower in Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur vs. Chiang Mai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kuala Lumpur instead of Chiang Mai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 53.1% more for restaurants

	Chiang Mai	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.75 THB58.50	$4.54 MYR20.09	+159.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.28 THB243.76	$4.54 MYR20.09	-37.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.65 THB21.86	$0.84 MYR3.73	+29.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 THB11.10	$0.53 MYR2.36	+61.0%
Average			+53.1%

Chiang Mai vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.2% more for groceries

	Chiang Mai	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$1.47 THB49.08	$0.95 MYR4.19	-35.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.16 THB239.62	$7.58 MYR33.51	+5.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.98 THB200.28	$7.22 MYR31.92	+20.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.02 THB67.59	$2.36 MYR10.42	+16.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.25 THB41.81	$1.94 MYR8.56	+54.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.19 THB39.69	$1.24 MYR5.48	+4.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.52 THB17.29	$0.69 MYR3.06	+33.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.57 THB19.07	$1.25 MYR5.53	+119.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.68 THB22.85	$0.63 MYR2.77	-8.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 THB20.18	$0.47 MYR2.06	-22.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 THB17.14	$0.51 MYR2.27	+0.1%
Average			+17.2%

Chiang Mai vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.7% less for transportation

	Chiang Mai	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.46 THB149.40	$1.77 MYR7.84	-60.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$23.30 THB780.03	$11.36 MYR50.23	-51.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,118.56 THB706,901.38	$37,478.71 MYR165,749.57	+77.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.72 THB392.45	$10.22 MYR45.20	-12.8%
Average			-11.7%

Chiang Mai vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

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pay 34.4% more for housing

	Chiang Mai	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$18.20 THB609.15	$25.27 MYR111.74	+38.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$388.93 THB13,018.78	$536.30 MYR2,371.77	+37.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$233.89 THB7,828.97	$371.69 MYR1,643.80	+58.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$49.06 THB1,642.27	$50.02 MYR221.23	+2.0%
Average			+34.4%

Chiang Mai vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

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pay 39.1% less for childcare

	Chiang Mai	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$461.21 THB15,438.08	$250.80 MYR1,109.18	-45.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,232.91 THB442,945.10	$8,920.55 MYR39,451.14	-32.6%
Average			-39.1%

Chiang Mai vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

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pay 29.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Chiang Mai	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.26 THB75.57	$4.09 MYR18.08	+81.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.79 THB59.79	$2.92 MYR12.91	+63.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.37 THB146.26	$4.09 MYR18.08	-6.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.96 THB1,170.29	$44.75 MYR197.89	+28.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.83 THB195.01	$4.77 MYR21.10	-18.1%
Average			+29.6%

Chiang Mai vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.8% more for clothing

	Chiang Mai	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.83 THB1,868.82	$57.74 MYR255.35	+3.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$30.29 THB1,014.04	$35.00 MYR154.79	+15.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.56 THB2,730.10	$76.75 MYR339.44	-5.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$64.08 THB2,145.08	$73.25 MYR323.97	+14.3%
Average			+6.8%

Chiang Mai vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: April 2025

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