How Chiang Mai and Bali (Canggu) compare on cost, visas, working hours, weather, internet and safety. Every figure comes from our city guides and tools, checked and dated there.
The short answer
Chiang Mai Pick it for faster internet and a lower US travel advisory level.
Bali (Canggu) Pick it for more comfortable months.
Everyday costsEven
We can't compare them yet: Bali (Canggu) isn't costed in the budget calculator yet.
The visaEven
Different tests, so they don't line up neatly. Chiang Mai: Destination Thailand Visa (DTV), about $14,890 in savings (THB 500,000). Bali (Canggu): E33G remote worker visa, $5,000 a month.
A London 9 to 5Even
A late finish in both: 15:00 to 23:00 in Chiang Mai, 16:00 to 00:00 in Bali (Canggu).
A New York 9 to 5Even
A night shift in both: 20:00 to 04:00 in Chiang Mai, 21:00 to 05:00 in Bali (Canggu).
WeatherBali (Canggu)
Bali (Canggu) has more comfortable months. Comfortable months on our best-time rule: 5 in Chiang Mai, 8 in Bali (Canggu). Both are comfortable in July, October and November.
InternetChiang Mai
Chiang Mai is faster. Typical download speed: 258 Mbps in Chiang Mai, 51 Mbps in Bali (Canggu), from each guide.
SafetyChiang Mai
Chiang Mai. The US State Department puts Thailand at level 1 and Indonesia at level 2.
Side by side
Measure
Chiang Mai
Bali (Canggu)
Country
Thailand
Indonesia
Language
Thai
Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia)
Currency
Thai baht (THB)
Indonesian rupiah (IDR)
Plugs
Type C and O, 230V
Type C and F, 230V
Time zone
UTC+7 today
UTC+8 today
A month's basics
$516 to $794 (£388 to £596)
Not costed yet
Remote work visa
Destination Thailand Visa (DTV)
E33G remote worker visa
Income needed
About $14,890 in savings (THB 500,000)
$5,000 a month
Without a visa
British and American passports: 30 days, down from 60 on 15 September 2026
British passports: 30-day visa on arrival, extendable once. American: 30-day visa on arrival or e-visa, extendable once
Tax residency
180 days in a calendar year, on foreign income you bring in
More than 183 days in 12 months. Since 9 December 2025 (PER-23/PJ/2025) a stay permit valid for more than 183 days, such as the E33G, can count as intending to stay, so you can be resident with fewer days. No official source confirms a tax exemption
Download speed
258 Mbps
51 Mbps
Comfortable months
January, July, October, November and December
April, May, June, July, August, September, October and November
US travel advice
Level 1: normal precautions
Level 2: increased caution
Meetups
1 regular group still running
1 regular group still running
Dollars and pounds at today's exchange rate. Download speeds are the typical figure from each guide, which says where it comes from: some are for the city, some for the whole country, so treat a small gap as no gap.
The visas
Chiang Mai
Destination Thailand Visa (DTV)
Income needed
About $14,890 in savings (THB 500,000); in pounds, about £11,190 in savings
How long
Five years, 180 days a visit, extendable once by 180
What it leads to
Nowhere: no residence and no citizenship
Without a visa
British and American passports: 30 days, down from 60 on 15 September 2026
The catch. Since 31 August 2026 you need a criminal record certificate, and you must apply in a country where you are a citizen or permanent resident, so a border run no longer works.
The average high in °C each month, coloured by the rule on our best-time page: green is a high of 20 to 32°C with under 150mm of rain; red is a high of 38°C or more or under 12°C, 250mm of rain or more, or 33°C or more with 150mm of rain or more. Hover over a month for its rain.
The US level is for the whole country, as the State Department sets it, and some countries have stricter advice for particular regions.
Who each one suits
From each city guide, word for word.
Chiang Mai
It suits
Remote workers who want a cheap, calm base with a ready-made community of people doing the same thing, and who can plan the year around it: here from October to January, gone or indoors from late February to April. It suits anyone who signs a long lease rather than paying short-let rates, and who holds the 500,000 baht in savings the DTV needs and can apply from their home country.
It doesn't suit
Anyone with asthma, young children or a job that cannot move in March: readings near 190 micrograms of PM2.5 are real, and in 2026 the city opened 2,004 clean-air rooms. Anyone who needs a metro or will not ride a scooter properly licensed, because the red trucks are dwindling. Anyone treating the DTV as a tax shelter: 180 days in a calendar year makes you tax resident, and foreign income from that year is taxed when you bring it in. And since 15 September 2026 you cannot drift in visa-free for two months to try it. It is 30 days now.
Remote employees of foreign companies earning USD 60,000 a year or more, who can get the E33G remote worker visa and want a big community of other remote workers. People who ride a scooter confidently and hold the licence for it, and who want surf, rice fields and yoga around a working week.
It doesn't suit
Anyone planning to freelance for Indonesian clients, sell anything locally, or make paid content on a tourist visa: immigration is patrolling Canggu, uses face recognition on social media, and deports. Anyone counting on a tax exemption no official source confirms. Anyone who will not ride but expects a Grab everywhere, because village councils run no-pickup zones in Canggu. And anyone who hates traffic: 622 people died on Bali's roads in 2024, most of them on motorbikes.
