Cost of living comparison

compared to

Penang vs. Chiang Mai Cost of Living Summary

Penang is 8.0% cheaper than Chiang Mai.

Restaurants: pay 5.5% more in Penang
Groceries: pay 1.8% more in Penang
Transportation: pay 19.1% less in Penang
Housing: pay 9.6% less in Penang
Childcare: pay 61.0% less in Penang
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.2% more in Penang
Clothing: pay 2.5% less in Penang

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

Penang vs. Chiang Mai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Penang instead of Chiang Mai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 5.5% more for restaurants

	Chiang Mai	Penang
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.02 THB66.36	$3.55 MYR14.01	+76.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.05 THB264.92	$4.27 MYR16.81	-47.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.79 THB26.11	$0.70 MYR2.75	-12.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.34 THB11.18	$0.36 MYR1.40	+4.7%
Average			+5.5%

Chiang Mai vs. Penang - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.8% more for groceries

	Chiang Mai	Penang
Bread 1 loaf	$1.58 THB52.07	$1.06 MYR4.17	-33.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.36 THB275.42	$7.89 MYR31.11	-5.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.70 THB220.60	$7.04 MYR27.75	+5.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.07 THB68.06	$2.08 MYR8.20	+0.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.36 THB44.82	$2.20 MYR8.69	+61.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.33 THB43.86	$1.06 MYR4.18	-20.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.53 THB17.33	$0.70 MYR2.75	+32.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.79 THB26.10	$1.13 MYR4.45	+42.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 THB24.51	$0.65 MYR2.57	-12.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 THB21.19	$0.37 MYR1.47	-42.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.55 THB18.02	$0.50 MYR1.97	-8.9%
Average			+1.8%

Chiang Mai vs. Penang - Cost of groceries

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pay 19.1% less for transportation

	Chiang Mai	Penang
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.83 THB159.05	$1.84 MYR7.25	-61.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$19.14 THB630.29	$17.77 MYR70.06	-7.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,478.88 THB740K	$33,767.77 MYR133K	+50.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.94 THB393.05	$5.07 MYR19.99	-57.5%
Average			-19.1%

Chiang Mai vs. Penang - Cost of transportation

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pay 9.6% less for housing

	Chiang Mai	Penang
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$19.34 THB636.72	$30.78 MYR121.32	+59.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$440.41 THB14,501.07	$325.83 MYR1,284.39	-26.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$249.32 THB8,209.23	$196.68 MYR775.30	-21.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$51.23 THB1,686.92	$25.46 MYR100.35	-50.3%
Average			-9.6%

Chiang Mai vs. Penang - Cost of housing

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pay 61.0% less for childcare

	Chiang Mai	Penang
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$644.65 THB21,226.19	$239.34 MYR943.44	-62.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,231.38 THB502K	$6,250.00 MYR24,636.88	-59.0%
Average			-61.0%

Chiang Mai vs. Penang - Cost of childcare

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pay 29.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Chiang Mai	Penang
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 THB74.02	$4.27 MYR16.81	+89.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.90 THB62.71	$2.91 MYR11.48	+52.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.34 THB142.93	$4.38 MYR17.28	+1.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$35.28 THB1,161.53	$32.94 MYR129.84	-6.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.12 THB168.45	$5.57 MYR21.95	+8.9%
Average			+29.2%

Chiang Mai vs. Penang - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.5% less for clothing

	Chiang Mai	Penang
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.01 THB2,041.80	$55.09 MYR217.18	-11.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$19.90 THB655.08	$29.03 MYR114.43	+45.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$93.02 THB3,062.70	$71.09 MYR280.23	-23.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$67.18 THB2,211.95	$53.02 MYR209.00	-21.1%
Average			-2.5%

Chiang Mai vs. Penang - 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 2026

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