What it costs to live in Bangkok

Rent

Rent is the line that decides your budget, and distance from Asok decides the rent. Across the 49 homes in our rents-from-real-tours table, the residents who chose and negotiated their own homes paid a median of about 19,000 baht a month. Half paid 20,000 or less.

• Lean, 12,000 baht: the tours found one-beds from 8,000 in Lat Phrao and about 9,200 by MRT Rama 9, and a three-bed house in Lat Krabang for about 11,400. Expect a longer ride into town.
• Comfortable, 20,000 baht: a 30–45m² one-bed with a pool and gym in Phra Khanong, On Nut, Punnawithi or Ari, where the tours found 15,000 to 20,000.
• Easy, 35,000 baht: a newer one-bed in Phrom Phong, Thonglor or Chidlom, where listings ran from 25,000 to 40,000.

Asking rents move. Residents in the tours knocked 5,000 baht or more off by offering a longer lease, so budget at the asking price and treat a discount as a bonus.

Electricity, water, internet

Electricity: the air conditioning bill

In Bangkok the Metropolitan Electricity Authority bills homes on a sliding scale: 3 baht a unit (kWh) up to 200 units, then 4.16 baht up to 400 and 4.36 beyond, plus a fuel charge of 16.23 satang a unit from September to December 2026, a small monthly service fee and 7% VAT. One air conditioner running eight hours a night uses roughly 240 units a month.

The catch: many condos resell electricity above the state rate, and bills climb from March to May, the hot season. Ask the current tenant for a recent bill before you sign.

Water

The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority charges homes 8.50 baht a cubic metre for the first 30, with a 45-baht minimum, plus VAT. One person uses roughly 5 to 12 cubic metres a month. Condos often resell water at 18 to 35 baht a cubic metre, which is why the budget allows 200 to 400 baht.

Internet and mobile

Home fibre runs from about 530 baht a month for 300 Mbps to 750 for 1 Gbps on AIS 3BB's 12-month plans, including VAT, and some condos include it in the rent. A 30-day prepaid SIM with unlimited data at 10 Mbps costs about 480 baht on True. The budget assumes both.

Groceries and eating out

Eat what Thai people eat and food is cheap; eat what you ate at home and it isn't. A made-to-order street dish such as pad kra pao with rice now costs 50 to 60 baht, after prices rose by 5 to 10 baht in April and May 2026. A meal at a mid-range restaurant is typically 250 to 500 baht a head.

Thai staples are good value at the supermarket: 5kg of jasmine rice for 235 baht and ten eggs for 77 at Big C. Imported food carries a premium: 250g of Anchor cheddar slices is 159 baht at Lotus's, about the price of 20 eggs.

• Lean, 8,000 baht: two street meals a day and basic groceries.
• Comfortable, 13,000 baht: street lunches, a supermarket shop each week and a restaurant dinner two or three times a week.
• Easy, 22,000 baht: imported groceries from Tops or Villa Market when you want them, and restaurants most evenings.

Transport

The BTS Skytrain costs 17 to 47 baht a trip in the central section and the MRT Blue line 17 to 44. Each system charges its own fare, so changing lines means paying twice. Taxi meters start at 35 baht, and a 5km trip in light traffic is usually 60 to 80. Grab and Bolt show the fare before you book, and it climbs when demand does, at rush hour and in the rain.

Living near a station keeps transport at 1,500 to 2,500 baht a month. Live off the rail lines, or take Grab most days, and allow 4,000 or more. The getting-around guide has every fare and pass.

Health insurance

Insurance is the line that grows with you. Private hospitals are excellent and priced to match, and a few days on a ward after an accident can pass 200,000 baht. Estimated premiums a year, in baht, for a healthy applicant on two Pacific Cross plans, a Thai insurer popular with foreigners:

Divide by 12 for the monthly cost: the mid-range plan works out at about 2,700 baht a month in your thirties or forties. A plan with a large deductible costs far less.

AXA's EasyCare Visa, built for retirement visas, is quoted at roughly 1,300 to 6,200 baht a year under 41 and 6,500 to 14,600 at 56 to 60, but you pay the first 100,000 to 300,000 baht of each claim yourself.

The budgets assume a basic plan (lean), a mid-range plan in your thirties or forties (comfortable) and fuller cover (easy). Over 60, add 3,000 baht a month or more to any tier.

The healthcare and insurance guide compares the plans, age limits and hospital prices.

Gym and visa fees

A 30-day pass at Jetts, the 24-hour chain, is 2,500 baht with no contract, or 3,000 at its full-service clubs. Contract memberships work out cheaper. The lean budget leaves the gym out; a run in the park costs nothing.

Visa fees are small next to rent, spread across a year:

• Destination Thailand Visa (DTV): 10,000 baht for five years, plus 1,900 for an extension.
• Retirement (Non-O): 2,000 baht for the visa, then 1,900 for each yearly extension.
• Visa exemption: free for 30 days, with one 30-day extension for 1,900.

The budgets allow 300 baht a month. Trips out of the country to start a new stay cost more than the fees; the visa guide explains which route needs them.

What moves the total

• Area. The same money buys roughly twice the floor space three or four BTS stops out from Asok.
• Air conditioning. Working from home with it on all day can add 1,500 baht a month to the electricity bill, more in April.
• Imported food and drink. Cheese, wine and Western brands cost as much as at home, or more. Thai staples don't.
• Your age. Insurance premiums rise every few years, steeply after 60.
• Lease length. A one- or two-year lease is the easiest discount you'll get on rent.
• School fees. For families, international school fees are usually the biggest line of all, and they aren't covered here.

Couples and families

A couple sharing a one-bedroom splits the rent and most bills; food, transport, insurance and the gym roughly double. Applied to the comfortable budget, that comes to about one and a half times the single figure: roughly 75,000 to 80,000 baht a month. Children add school fees, a bigger home and insurance, and the range is too wide for one number. The Move Planner builds a budget for your household.