Do you have a monthly budget of THB50,000 (US$1,350) to live in Bangkok and wondering what kind of lifestyle you can live with this amount?
In reality, you can live a comfortable life with that much. You can rent a condo in downtown Bangkok, eat out every day, and travel regularly throughout Thailand.
But if you want to rent a big house in the city or eat out at fancy restaurants often, THB50,000 won’t be enough.
In this guide, you’re going to find out how much you need to pay when living in Bangkok and give you a great idea on what kind of lifestyle you are going to get with this 50k/month budget.
Let’s dive in.
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Contents
Rent
With THB50,000 a month, you can spend around THB18,000 on renting a condo in downtown Bangkok along Sukhumvit Road next to BTS stations Asok, Thong Lor, or Ekammai.
When you live in a condo in these areas, it’s very convenient to get around. You can take the BTS to many places around Bangkok. The BTS and MRT system in Bangkok covers most parts of the city and is always expanding.
In addition, malls, supermarkets, cafes, parks, and more are a few BTS stops away from Asok, Thong Lor, and Ekkamai.
These condos are also modern, fully furnished, and come with TVs, wardrobes, sofas, ACs, and sometimes washing machines.
Amenities are also great. Most condos have convenient stores, food vendors, and laundry services inside. Swimming pools, gyms, community centers, and 24-hour security are also common amenities. Some may even offer rooftop gardens.
Also, many networking events, meetups, and clubs take place around these areas. Living here, you’ll be able to make friends easily.
The only downside to what I’ve said above is that condos can be a bit small for this price range, around 30 to 35 square meters.
If you need more space, you can look further down the BTS line near Onnut, Bang Chak, Udom Suk, or Bearing. There, you can get a 40- to 50-square-meter room. But it’s going to take an additional 15 to 20 minutes to get into the heart of the city from here.
Food
One of the best things about living in Bangkok is the food. No matter where you live, you have plenty of options, from Thai food to Western food to Japanese food to Mexican food to Spanish food and more.
And it’s all delicious and affordable. With a THB50,000 budget, you can spend around THB14,000 a month on food without a second thought.
In fact, for this amount, you’ll never have to cook your own food unless you want to.
You can eat at restaurants once a day almost every day for around THB300 whether it’s local or international food.
For other meals, you can eat from local vendors that sell noodles, fried rice, or khao mun gai, which costs around THB60 per meal, including drink.
Or you can use a food delivery service like Foodpanda or Grab for more variety of foods like Western cuisines, salads, and so on. This will cost you around THB100 to THB150 per meal. And you can get the food delivered within 15 minutes in some cases.
When it comes to coffee, you’ll pay between THB40 to THB80 per cup. For StarBucks, which is an expensive choice here, you’ll pay around THB150 a cup.
Of course, this doesn’t include eating at fancy restaurants or nice hotels, which will cost more than THB1,000 a meal.
Transportation
The cost of transportation in Bangkok is very cheap.
When living here, the BTS and MRT are going to be your main ways of getting around the city.
These cost around THB20 to THB70 per trip, on average. You can save some money by getting a monthly BTS pass. In total, expect to pay THB1,155 for 35 rides.
Taxis are also cheap. Most of the time, you’ll pay no more than THB140 for a 10-kilometer trip within the city. In addition to taxis, you can use a ride-hailing app such as Grab or Bolt. These apps are basically the same as Uber. And on a side note, Uber isn’t available in Thailand. These apps regularly offer promotions, making the cost similar to taxis.
In addition, you can take motorcycle taxis, which are the fastest way to navigate the city.
But since they’re not the safest way to get around, especially on main roads, we recommend you use them only on sois instead. If you have to get from a BTS station down a soi, it’ll cost around THB20 to THB40 for a 2-kilometer trip.
With everything combined, you’ll pay around THB2,000 for transportation per month.
If you’re on a tighter budget, you can take a bus. It’s the cheapest way to get around Bangkok and costs only THB15 to THB30, on average.
Healthcare
Your main healthcare expense will be for health insurance.
You can set aside around THB3,500 a month for a mid-tier private health insurance plan that covers you in full for hospitalizations at one of the private hospitals in Bangkok like Ramkhamhaeng Hospital, Bangkok Christian Hospital, or Saint Louise Hospital.
These private hospitals are common choices for middle-class families in Thailand.
Quality of treatment, doctors’ expertise, facilities, and services at these hospitals are some of the best in all of Thailand.
But keep in mind that this health insurance cost is only for one person around 40 years old. This price can go up or down depending on your age, insurance coverage options, and more.
If you want to pay for healthcare out of pocket, you can expect to pay around THB1,500 to THB2,000 for a doctor’s visit.
For hospitalizations, you’ll pay around THB20,000 to THB30,000 per night at the aforementioned hospitals.
Read more: Health Insurance in Thailand: What You Need to Know as an Expat
For exercise, you can use the gym or swimming pool in your condo.
Social Life
One of the best things about living in Bangkok is the socializing opportunities.
The size of the expat community in Bangkok is among the biggest in Asia, making it easy to meet people from all walks of life, no matter if you’re a digital nomad, business owner, or retiree.
There are even specific groups for dads in Bangkok.
Because of this, there are tons of socializing activities, social clubs, and networking events that you can join in Bangkok. You will have a much easier time meeting other expats (or Thais) with similar interests. This is a perk you can’t find in most other places in Thailand.
Many of these social clubs and events take place at restaurants, night markets, or bars. They’re free to join but you need to pay for your own food and drinks. Thai will cost you around THB300 to THB400, on average.
If an event takes place at a nice hotel, then it’s going to be more expensive. Expect to pay around THB1,000 to THB1,500.
With a THB50,000 per month budget, this allows you to party, join clubs, or meet new people at social events a few times per month, which in total should cost around THB2,000.
Travel
Thailand is one of the most popular countries to travel to, and you can use THB5,000 of your THB50,000-a-month budget to travel within the country.
With this budget, you can visit places near Bangkok, such as Chon Buri, Nakhon Nayok, Rayong, and Kanchanaburi and stay at standard resorts for around THB1,200 a night for a few days a month.
If you want to travel to provinces further away, such as Phuket, Krabi, or Chiang Mai, then you can do so once every two months. A round-trip plane ticket from Bangkok to these provinces costs about THB2,000 to THB3,000. In total, a four-day trip to these places will be about THB10,000.
If you have to fly back home once a year, a round-trip ticket to Europe or North America costs around THB30,000, on average.
Going this route, you’d have THB30,000 left in your travel budget every year, allowing you to travel domestically three to five times a year, depending on where you go as mentioned above.
Fixed Expenses
Below are some of the fixed expenses that come with living in Thailand. No matter where you live in the country, these expenses are roughly the same.
Electricity
Electricity will be the main utility cost you incur. The cost of electricity in Thailand is around THB4.5 per kWh.
Assuming you turn on your AC every day, your electric bill should be around THB2,000 a month. But the cost could be more or less depending on the size of your condo, your preferred temperature, how old the AC unit is, and how often you turn it on.
Water
Water, on the other hand, is extremely cheap in Bangkok. You won’t pay more than THB150 a month. Many expats who live alone sometimes pay less than THB100 a month for water.
Internet
To stay connected, you can get an Internet package from True or AIS for only around THB650 a month. The package comes with Internet, phone, and TV service and normally includes:
- A router with unlimited home Internet
- A free SIM card with 5G of Internet that gets you 10GB of data every month
- A cable box that comes with a standard cable package
As a plus, the Internet in Thailand, especially in Bangkok, is fast and stable. In fact, you can watch 4k videos without interruption.
Visas
The cost for a Thai visa depends on what kind of visa you have.
The most popular options are long-term visas such as retirement visas, business visas, or marriage visas.
With visa fees and related costs combined, including documents, photos, and so on, this will cost you around THB6,000 a year, or around THB500 a month.
If you don’t qualify for one of these long-term visas, other popular options include:
- LTR visa: This costs THB50,000 (THB417 per month) for a 10-year stay in Thailand. This is the cheapest option but comes with many requirements.
- Education visa: You can get an education visa from a Thai language school. In total, this costs around THB42,000 (THB3,500 per month) a year. The cost includes THB30,000 for a 12-month Thai course and THB12,000 for visa and extension fees.*
- Multi-entry tourist visa: This costs THB33,000 (THB3,667 per month) for a maximum stay of 270 days in Thailand. This cost includes the application fee, three visa extensions, and two trips out of Thailand. However, this option lets you stay in Thailand for a maximum of 270 days.*
- Thailand Privilege Card: This is like an elite visa, securing you at least 15 years in Thailand. The cheapest Thailand Privilege Card is THB2,500,000 (THB13,889 per month).
*Note that you can only get an education visa or multiple-entry tourist visa for a few times only. After that, immigration officers may deny you a new visa.
Miscellaneous Expenses
Another benefit of living in Bangkok is that many miscellaneous expenses can be affordable.
While the cost of clothes, cosmetics, and supplements might not be different from your home country, haircuts, cleaning services, and laundry are much cheaper.
For example:
- You can get a quality haircut for just THB200 to THB400.
- You can hire a maid to clean your condo and wash your dishes once a week for just THB500 to THB1,000 per month.
- You can pay for laundry service for THB600 a month.
For all of these costs combined, this will come out to around THB2,000 a month, on average.
Cost Summary
Here’s a cost breakdown of all the costs I’ve covered so far:
| Expense | Cost (THB) |
| Rent | 18,000 |
| Food | 14,000 |
| Transportation | 2,000 |
| Health | 3,500 |
| Utilities | 3,000 |
| Social Activities | 2,000 |
| Visa | 500 |
| Travel | 5,000 |
| Misc. | 2,000 |
| Total | 50,000 |
Lifestyle with a THB50,000 Monthly Budget
To summarize, with a monthly budget of THB50,000, you can live a comfortable life in Bangkok.
- You can rent a newer condo right in downtown Bangkok that lets you get around the city easily and access everything you need within a few BTS stops.
- You can eat out regularly at any restaurant once per day, almost every day. For other meals, you can eat from local vendors, street food, convenient stores, or order them from food delivery apps.
- You can get a health insurance plan (such as Luma Health) that covers hospitalizations at standard private hospitals, in full.
- You can socialize four to five times a month and make new friends.
- You can turn on your AC in your place whenever you want.
- You still have some budget left over to travel in Thailand through budget airlines and stay in a standard hotel at THB1,500 per night.
Trade-offs
- If you can’t get a long-term visa like the LTR visa, retirement visa, business visa, or marriage visa, you can’t rent a condo in downtown Bangkok. Instead, you have to stay in areas such as Onnut, Bearing, or Bang Chak, which take 15 to 20 minutes to get downtown.
- If you want to fly home once a year, you can travel in Thailand three to five times a year instead of every month.
- If you want to buy a standard Japanese car such as Toyota Vios or Honda City, it’s going to cost you around THB18,000 to THB20,000 a month, including the cost of the car, maintenance, fuel, insurance, and taxes. In that case, you’ll need to live in Bangkok’s suburbs, limit your eating out at restaurants to only one to two times per week, and travel once every quarter.
- If you want to raise a family in Thailand, this budget isn’t sufficient unless you rent a townhouse in the suburbs, cook at home regularly, and send your kids to a Thai government school.
Read more: The Real Cost of Owning a Car in Thailand
Now, on to You
To sum up, you can live a comfortable life in Bangkok with THB50,000 a month.
In fact, we have seen many people spend less than that to live in Bangkok. Many people can live here for just THB35,000 a month. However, there are also those who spend more than THB100,000 a month as well.
When it comes to the cost of living, there’s no right number. It depends more on the lifestyle you need.
Also, there are cheaper alternatives to Bangkok that offer a similar lifestyle at a lower cost. You can find out more from this article.
