Cost of living comparison

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

compared to

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chiang Mai vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Chiang Mai is 8.2% more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 15.4% less in Chiang Mai
Groceries: pay 5.8% less in Chiang Mai
Transportation: pay 57.0% more in Chiang Mai
Housing: pay 23.6% less in Chiang Mai
Childcare: pay 66.1% more in Chiang Mai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.3% less in Chiang Mai
Clothing: pay 5.7% less in Chiang Mai

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

Chiang Mai vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 15.4% less for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Chiang Mai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.54 MYR19.32	$1.75 THB57.28	-61.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.54 MYR19.32	$7.28 THB238.68	+60.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 MYR3.59	$0.65 THB21.40	-22.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 MYR2.27	$0.33 THB10.87	-37.9%
Average			-15.4%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.8% less for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Chiang Mai
Bread 1 loaf	$0.95 MYR4.03	$1.47 THB48.05	+54.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.58 MYR32.22	$7.16 THB234.62	-5.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.22 MYR30.69	$5.98 THB196.11	-17.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.36 MYR10.02	$2.02 THB66.18	-14.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.94 MYR8.23	$1.25 THB40.94	-35.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.24 MYR5.27	$1.19 THB38.87	-4.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR2.94	$0.52 THB16.93	-25.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.25 MYR5.32	$0.57 THB18.68	-54.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 MYR2.66	$0.68 THB22.37	+9.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.47 MYR1.98	$0.60 THB19.76	+29.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 MYR2.18	$0.51 THB16.78	-0.1%
Average			-5.8%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of groceries

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pay 57.0% more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Chiang Mai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.77 MYR7.54	$4.46 THB146.29	+151.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.36 MYR48.30	$23.30 THB763.78	+105.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,478.71 MYR159,378.19	$21,118.56 THB692,171.99	-43.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.22 MYR43.47	$11.72 THB384.27	+14.7%
Average			+57.0%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of transportation

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pay 23.6% less for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Chiang Mai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.27 MYR107.44	$18.20 THB596.46	-28.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$536.30 MYR2,280.60	$388.93 THB12,747.51	-27.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$371.69 MYR1,580.61	$233.89 THB7,665.84	-37.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$50.02 MYR212.73	$49.06 THB1,608.05	-1.9%
Average			-23.6%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of housing

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pay 66.1% more for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Chiang Mai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$250.80 MYR1,066.55	$461.21 THB15,116.40	+83.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,920.55 MYR37,934.64	$13,232.91 THB433,715.65	+48.3%
Average			+66.1%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Chiang Mai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.09 MYR17.39	$2.26 THB73.99	-44.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.92 MYR12.41	$1.79 THB58.54	-38.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.09 MYR17.39	$4.37 THB143.21	+6.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.75 MYR190.29	$34.96 THB1,145.90	-21.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.77 MYR20.28	$5.83 THB190.94	+22.1%
Average			-15.3%

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

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pay 5.7% less for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Chiang Mai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.74 MYR245.53	$55.83 THB1,829.88	-3.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.00 MYR148.84	$30.29 THB992.91	-13.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.75 MYR326.39	$81.56 THB2,673.22	+6.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$73.25 MYR311.51	$64.08 THB2,100.38	-12.5%
Average			-5.7%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Chiang Mai - 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: June 2025

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