Chiang Mai vs Surabaya - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Chiang Mai	Surabaya
🚶 Cost of living one person	$727	$551
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1970	$1391
🏠 One person rent	$315	$222
🏘️ Family rent	$547	$373
🍽️ Food expenses	$250	$219
🚐 Transport expenses	$85	$49.4
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$505	$360
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	3 km	16 km
🎓 Higher education	56	75
😀 Quality of life	65	68
🏙️ Population	1.2M	3.01M

The cost of living in Chiang Mai is 32% more expensive than in Surabaya. Cities ranked 6954th and 8275th ($727 vs $551) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 19th and 14th in Thailand and Indonesia, respectively. Check Thailand vs Indonesia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.7 months in Chiang Mai compared to 0.7 months in Surabaya. Chiang Mai ranked 3rd best city to live in Thailand vs Surabaya ranked 1st in Indonesia, while ranked 5236th and 4631st among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Chiang Mai vs Surabaya infographic

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/chiang-mai/surabaya.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Chiang Mai vs Surabaya infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/chiang-mai/surabaya" target="_blank">Chiang Mai vs Surabaya - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Chiang Mai vs Surabaya

Prices for goods and services in Chiang Mai and Surabaya are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Chiang Mai	Surabaya
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$2.01	$1.65
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$19.1	$13.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$7.95	$3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.25	$2.41
☕ Cappuccino	$1.88	$1.74
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.79	$0.69
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$395	$230
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$221	$138
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$703	$410
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$405	$251
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$40.8	$46.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$62.9	$70.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$19.1	$19.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	5.15%	7.45%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2210	$2226
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1552	$1338
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.92	$0.48
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$19.1	$8.97
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$11.8	$4.26
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.27	$0.83
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.74	$1.37
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.56	$1.45
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.19	$0.95
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.05	$1.41
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.7	$9.51
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.99	$3.24
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.98	$8.17
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.92	$2.46
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.15	$1.54
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.72	$2.25
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.63	$1.63
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.41	$1.32
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.2	$1.9
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.34	$0.29
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.4	$1.2
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$18.4	$30
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.77	$1.79
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4.33	$2.41
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$1.24	$2.58
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.42	$2.04
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.29	$0.77
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.5	$0.68
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$34.8	$21.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$5.07	$2.98
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$18.9	$12
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.65	$3.27
👖 Brand Jeans	$61.4	$61
👟 Brand Sneakers	$92.4	$76.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$643	$185
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$15195	$9160

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Chiang Mai

Distance	City	Cost of living
86 km or 53 mi	Pai	$667
153 km or 95 mi	Chiang Rai	$603
255 km or 158 mi	Hpa-an	$581
258 km or 160 mi	Phitsanulok	$558
294 km or 183 mi	Mawlamyine	$567
306 km or 190 mi	Taunggyi	$534
308 km or 191 mi	Bago	$571
317 km or 197 mi	Naypyidaw	$594
353 km or 219 mi	Luang Prabang	$1261
363 km or 226 mi	Nakhon Sawan	$680
365 km or 227 mi	Vang Vieng	$1181
373 km or 232 mi	Yangon	$614
392 km or 244 mi	Vientiane	$1152
404 km or 251 mi	Jinghong	$577
426 km or 265 mi	Udon Thani	$578
466 km or 289 mi	Mandalay	$540
485 km or 301 mi	Khon Kaen	$590
489 km or 304 mi	Pu'er	$599
503 km or 313 mi	Pathein	$666
537 km or 334 mi	Nakhon Ratchasima	$588
545 km or 339 mi	Monywa	$519
551 km or 342 mi	Tha Khlong	$675
561 km or 349 mi	Rangsit	$635
564 km or 351 mi	Nakhon Pathom	$623
566 km or 352 mi	Pak Kret	$736
571 km or 355 mi	Nonthaburi	$737
578 km or 359 mi	Lincang	$601
584 km or 363 mi	Bangkok	$958
597 km or 371 mi	Pu Chao Saming Phrai	$774
597 km or 371 mi	Lat Luang	$774
634 km or 394 mi	Thakhek	$1139
641 km or 398 mi	Sa Pa	$529
656 km or 407 mi	Sittwe	$558
666 km or 414 mi	Chaophraya Surasak	$770
667 km or 415 mi	Laem Chabang	$779
681 km or 423 mi	Pattaya	$812
685 km or 426 mi	Nong Prue	$787
699 km or 435 mi	Hua Hin	$724
704 km or 438 mi	Baoshan	$607
707 km or 439 mi	Vinh	$560

Cities near Surabaya

Distance	City	Cost of living
42 km or 26 mi	Mojokerto	$413
48 km or 30 mi	Pasuruan	$457
73 km or 45 mi	Batu	$409
77 km or 48 mi	Probolinggo	$470
83 km or 51 mi	Malang	$384
102 km or 63 mi	Kediri	$447
115 km or 71 mi	Blitar	$440
141 km or 87 mi	Madiun	$456
215 km or 133 mi	Surakarta	$409
247 km or 153 mi	Salatiga	$422
258 km or 160 mi	Semarang	$488
269 km or 167 mi	Yogyakarta	$445
286 km or 177 mi	Bali	$1134
311 km or 194 mi	Ubud	$834
315 km or 196 mi	Denpasar	$489
340 km or 211 mi	Pekalongan	$471
400 km or 249 mi	Tegal	$482
401 km or 249 mi	Mataram	$402
414 km or 257 mi	Cilacap	$478
464 km or 288 mi	Banjar	$488
464 km or 288 mi	Cirebon	$523
476 km or 296 mi	Banjarbaru	$449
481 km or 299 mi	Banjarmasin	$459
501 km or 311 mi	Tasikmalaya	$367
572 km or 355 mi	Bandung	$534
575 km or 357 mi	Palangka Raya	$470
576 km or 358 mi	Cimahi	$490
642 km or 399 mi	Sukabumi	$561
644 km or 400 mi	Bekasi	$555
659 km or 410 mi	Bogor	$480
660 km or 410 mi	Depok	$400
661 km or 411 mi	Jakarta	$699
672 km or 418 mi	Bima	$588
673 km or 418 mi	South Tangerang	$567
685 km or 425 mi	Tangerang	$665
738 km or 459 mi	Serang	$517
756 km or 470 mi	Cilegon	$511
774 km or 481 mi	Makassar	$523
820 km or 510 mi	Balikpapan	$598
842 km or 523 mi	Parepare	$502