How much money you need to live in Thailand – Monthly spend for every budget level
Thailand is obviously one of the most popular countries for travelers, but also for millions of people who fall in love with Thailand and can’t bring themselves to leave. From backpackers making a budget last as long as possible, to successful entrepreneurs and business owners looking to maximize their lifestyle for every dollar spent.
But why Thailand? For many reasons of course, but maybe the biggest is just how comfortable, and how much value you receive on almost every budget. We always say, Thailand is not that cheap, but it can be cheap.
Budget categories
Before going in to more detail, let’s look at the main budget categories. They’re all estimates – some may value higher quality food than rent, but you can do your own calculations based on the examples below.
Minimum budget – $800 to $1,200 per month
In our opinion, $800 is the very lowest budget you can comfortably live on. You may be able to live cheaper with certain living arrangements, but living independently, this is what your monthly expenditure would look like:
Food and water – $300 per month / $10 per day
Eating 3 local Thai meals per day. Minimal foreign food. Bigger guys may need more food than this.
Accommodation – $150-$200 per month
Very location dependant. You can indeed rent an older Thai studio room/apartment in Bangkok for this price. Moving out of the city, or to cheaper cities such as Chiang Mai would give you better, and more options.
Utility bills (Water/Internet/Sim/Electricity) – $80 per month
Metered water bills are always minimal and the internet prices vary slightly depending on the speed you want, but the main thing here is how much you pay for electricity. This price assumes you use a single air conditioning unit most days for some of the day, and night time, and you pay directly to PEA (Provincial Electricity Authority).
Entertainment – $150 per month
Limited entertainment budget. Split the $150 per month over the week or save it for the weekends. Cinema tickets are cheap, parks are free, one or two beers won’t set you back too much, but you’re not going to be poppin’ bottles at any of the clubs on Soi 11.
Health – $50 per month
Spread over a year, $50 per month should cover small clinic or doctor visits, and get you out-patient only health insurance cover – obviously very dependent on your current health and age.
Transport – $75
Ideally walk or use bicycles, use a few taxis, or if already purchased, fuel and scooter costs fit within your budget.
Maid – $0
At this budget, you’re cleaning everything yourself.
Low budget – $1,200 – $2,000 per month
A common range for expats in Thailand, especially towards the $2,000 mark. This budget can be comfortable anywhere in Thailand, but set your expectations lower if you want to live in Bangkok, Phuket or Koh Samui.
Food and water – $600 per month / $20 per day
This gives you approximately 700 baht per day for food. A cheap Thai dish is 50 baht, an expensive Thai dish is 150 baht. Foreign food is 150-350 baht per meal depending how you eat. You’ll eat well, but it won’t be steak for dinner every day.
Accommodation – $400-$600 per month
$400 (14,000 baht) will get you a small but modern condo most places in Bangkok, $600 pretty much rents you a condo in any location – though maybe not directly next to a BTS station. In a good location you’re looking at a studio or one bedroom condo between 25m2-30m2, a little larger the further you travel away from areas such as Silom or Thong Lor.
If you’re living in a smaller city such as Chiang Mai, you won’t have much trouble finding a two bedroom condo or a small house in a gated village in this budget.
Utility bills (Water/Internet/Sim/Electricity) – $120 per month
Very similar to the minimum budget option, except with faster home internet, more mobile data allowance, and more air conditioner usage for comfort and the increased size of your house or condo.
Entertainment – $300 per month
You have a little more spending power for a few beers with friends on an evening, maybe a massage, a day at the zoo, or visit a waterfall. Alternatively save up for the weekend and maybe pop one of those bottles? Not the Grey Goose though.
Health – $100 per month
Totalling $1,200 or 40,000 baht per year, you should be able to afford better in-patient health insurance, and depending on your age, maybe out-patient too. You’ll have a bit more flexibility to get a full health checkup done each year which costs between 5,000 and 13,000 baht.
Transport – $150
Increased transport budget means you can take one or two taxis every day (though maybe not on islands such as Phuket where they’re a rip-off), or you can rent a scooter monthly in this budget. The monthly rent for a scooter is approx 4,000 baht / $110.
Maid – $80
You can afford to have a maid come clean your house or condo once per week for a cost of $20 / 650 baht per time.
Mid budget – $2,000 – $3,500 per month
In this mid budget, you’re starting to feel the effects of luxury in Thailand – because you won’t be getting close to anything like this lifestyle in London or Los Angeles.
Food and water – $1,250 per month / $40 per day
This gives you approximately 1400 baht per day for food, that’s close to 1,500 baht per day. You can eat out at most restaurants three times per day, Thai or foreign food and probably have some change.
Accommodation – $1,000 – $1,750 per month
This is 35,000 – 60,000 baht per month. In this range, the location is quite important. In Phuket, Bangkok and Koh Samui, you will still find 1 bedroom condos in prime locations, but moving away from prime locations you can afford a very big house, a pool villa, or a 100m2 condo.
If you’re outside of large cities and tourist/expat hotspots, you can even struggle to find something for 60,000 baht.
Utility bills (Water/Internet/Sim/Electricity) – $200 per month
Fastest internet, unlimited mobile data, all day air-conditioner usage in a smaller condo, fair air-conditioner usage in a house.
Entertainment – $600 per month
With 20,000 baht spread over a month, you can splash out a bit on the weekends, maybe pop one of those Grey Goose bottles, or keep it chill, go on a tour each week, rent a pool villa somewhere, take a big bike trip – you have some flexibility to have fun.
Health – $200 per month
Totalling $2400 or 85,000 baht per year, most will be able to afford in-patient health insurance including dental and vision coverage – some will come with complimentary yearly health checkups.
Transport – $400
You could have a scooter and a car on finance at this price – or rent them monthly. Not a Mercedes but something new. Alternatively take taxis all day every day – you can probably afford “premium” or “SUV” Grab at this budget.
Maid – $175
You could afford to have a maid come to clean a smaller apartment or house twice per week (assuming it costs 750 baht per time). One per week for a bigger house.
High budget – $3,500 – $7,500 per month
Pretty much ballin’ at this point. Individuals won’t need to spend $7,500 per month on general expenses, but who are we to judge?
Food and water – $2500 per month / $66 per day
You can eat whatever you want, you could hire a full time cook and still eat whatever you want. You’re still a little short of eating at MICHELIN Star restaurants every day.
Accommodation – $1,000 – $1,700 per month
This is 35,000 – 60,000 baht per month. In this range, the location is quite important. In Phuket, Bangkok and Koh Samui, you will still find 1 bedroom condos in prime locations, but moving away from prime locations you can afford a very big house, a pool villa, or a 100m2 condo.
If you’re outside of large cities and tourist/expat hotspots, you can even struggle to find something for 60,000 baht.
Utility bills (Water/Internet/Sim/Electricity) – $400 per month
Fastest internet, unlimited mobile data and you could leave an air-conditioner running 24/7 if you really wanted to.
Entertainment – $1500 per month
If you don’t need to work, you could entertain yourself with tours every single day – at this point you’re going to need to figure out how to spend $1500 on entertainment by yourselves.
Health – $400 per month
Totalling $4800 or 170,000 baht per year, you’ll have the best healthcare coverage available locally, all inclusive of vision, dental and health checkups.
Transport – $1000
A nice bike and car or a truck on finance, alternatively rent a big bike and truck monthly.
Maid – $400
At $400 you could afford a full time maid.
Luxury budget – $7,500 – $15,000 per month
To spend this much money, you’ll need to rent something substantial.
Food and water – $3000 per month / $100 per day
Full time cook or two, eat anything you want.
Accommodation – $3000 – $7000 per month
This is 105,000 – 250,000 baht per month. There are not many limiting factors in this range. You can find penthouses, huge villas, compounds. If you give a property agent this budget, they should be able to get creative.
Utility bills (Water/Internet/Sim/Electricity) – $800 per month
The best of everything – but the majority of the cost will go to air conditioning a large property and running your swimming pool pump.
Entertainment – $3000 per month
Have fun.
Health – $750 per month
We haven’t seen any health insurance policies at this price, but you’ll certainly get the best coverage.
Transport – $2500
Certainly not a supercar – because taxes price them out of this range in Thailand, but you’ll be driving a nice BMW or Benz.
Maid – $1000
You’ll probably need one or two live in maids to help keep your castle clean.
Elite budget – $15,000 per month
A penthouse anywhere you want – the rest you’ll have to get creative with.
Money saving tips
ATMs – ATM fees are over 200 THB (>$6) for every withdrawal. If you’re also getting a bad exchange rate on top of the fees, it’s going to add up quickly. Open a Thai bank account as soon as you’re able and use your card in stores (only accepted in malls and some larger stores).
Exchange rates – When receiving Thai Baht, make sure you’re receiving an exchange rate close to the rate you can find on xe.com. If you’re using an ATM, decline the exchange rate provided by the ATM and let your bank handle it. Make sure your bank provides a good mid-market rate and doesn’t charge fees for foreign withdrawals.
Open a Thai bank account as soon as possible and use services such as Wise.
Tipping – Tipping is a personal choice for most, but you should be aware that tipping is not compulsory in Thailand the way it is in the US. It is still appreciated, so if you received good service, feel free – but otherwise you don’t need to tip every day, at every restaurant and vendor.
Negotiating – There’s a misconception, especially amongst backpackers that prices can be negotiated in every store and market. This is only true for touristy areas. In any normal market or store, the price is the price and you will look a bit silly. However where Thais do LOVE some negotiation, is when buying goods second hand, especially motorcycles and cars, and when renting and purchasing property. When property and goods are listed you can almost guarantee 10% has been added to the price in expectation of the buyer/renter negotiating. So if the condo you want to rent is listed for 30,000 THB pm, you could start the conversation around 25,000 and expect to settle at 26 or 27,000. If they’re not willing to budge on price, then look for a shorter lease, or 1 month deposit instead of the standard 2.
Utility bills – This is a tip that belongs in the accommodation section, however it’s important to know how some landlords are making a little extra cash from you which they don’t deserve. Water and electricity run on meters which are checked every month. When you rent a property long term, especially on a lease of 12 months, you should be paying these bills directly to the electricity and water providers. Electricity costs 4.5-5.5 THB per unit, but some landlords will bill you directly for 7-9 THB.
Food and drink – Food and drink is another example of Thailand being so accommodating to various budgets. Groceries and restaurants are almost always cheaper when eating food that’s produced locally. Noticeably, real dairy based products, beef and any meat that is not chicken or pork, high quality baked goods, imported alcohol (alcohol is already expensive),