How Ubud and Chiang Mai 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
Ubud Doesn't win on any measure here. See who it suits, below.
Chiang Mai Pick it for lower everyday costs, faster internet and a lower US travel advisory level.
Everyday costsChiang Mai
Chiang Mai is cheaper: Ubud costs more even before transport. What we have checked of rent, a coworking desk, weekday lunches and getting around comes to $899 to $1,340 (£675 to £1,000) a month in Ubud, against $516 to $794 (£388 to £596) in Chiang Mai.
The visaEven
Different tests, so they don't line up neatly. Ubud: E33G remote worker visa, $5,000 a month. Chiang Mai: Destination Thailand Visa (DTV), about $14,890 in savings (THB 500,000).
A London 9 to 5Even
A late finish in both: 16:00 to 00:00 in Ubud, 15:00 to 23:00 in Chiang Mai.
A New York 9 to 5Even
A night shift in both: 21:00 to 05:00 in Ubud, 20:00 to 04:00 in Chiang Mai.
WeatherEven
Comfortable months on our best-time rule: 6 in Ubud, 5 in Chiang Mai. Ubud's months are rated on rain alone, because its nearest weather station is some way off, so we don't call this one. Both are comfortable in July and October.
InternetChiang Mai
Chiang Mai is faster. Typical download speed: 47 Mbps in Ubud, 258 Mbps in Chiang Mai, from each guide.
SafetyChiang Mai
Chiang Mai. The US State Department puts Indonesia at level 2 and Thailand at level 1.
Side by side
Measure
Ubud
Chiang Mai
Country
Indonesia
Thailand
Language
Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia)
Thai
Currency
Indonesian rupiah (IDR)
Thai baht (THB)
Plugs
Type C and F, 230V
Type C and O, 230V
Time zone
UTC+8 today
UTC+7 today
A month's basics
$899 to $1,340 (£675 to £1,000), with transport missing
$516 to $794 (£388 to £596)
Remote work visa
E33G remote worker visa
Destination Thailand Visa (DTV)
Income needed
$5,000 a month
About $14,890 in savings (THB 500,000)
Without a visa
British passports: 30-day visa on arrival, extendable once. American: 30-day visa on arrival or e-visa, extendable once
British and American passports: 30 days, down from 60 on 15 September 2026
Tax residency
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
180 days in a calendar year, on foreign income you bring in
Download speed
47 Mbps
258 Mbps
Comfortable months
May, June, July, August, September and October
January, July, October, November and December
US travel advice
Level 2: increased caution
Level 1: normal precautions
Meetups
None we could confirm
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.
What a month costs
Rent, a coworking desk, a cheap lunch on each of 22 working days, and getting around: the same four costs our budget calculator uses. The rent figures aren't always the same kind of figure (some are furnished one-beds, some are averages across every size of flat), so read the note under each.
Ubud
$899 to $1,340£675 to £1,000 a month
Rent
$849 to $1,150Coliving room with private bathroom and coworking included (Outpost, Nyuh Kuning to Penestanan), plus 15% tax and service. No checked rent for a flat. USD 849 to 1,149
A desk
$39 to $150Coworking monthly, from a May 2025 travel blog, not checked with the operators. Already included if you take the coliving room. IDR 700,000 to 2,700,000
Weekday lunches
$11 to $37Warung lunch: tipat cantok IDR 9,000 in Mas to nasi campur up to IDR 30,000 at Warung Rama (listing site), IDR 9,000 to 30,000 each, 22 working days
Getting around
No checked figureNo checked monthly transport cost: one bus line to Kuta at IDR 4,400 a trip, no pass, and no figure for scooter hire or ride-hailing
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.
Ubud's nearest weather station is some way off, so its months are coloured on rain alone: green under 100mm, red from 250mm.
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.
Ubud
It suits
Remote employees of foreign companies earning USD 60,000 a year or more, who can get the E33G and want a quiet, green base with yoga, walking and cheap warung food rather than a beach or nightlife. It suits people who will work from a cowork rather than their villa. If a coliving room from about USD 850 to 1,150 a month plus 15 per cent looks like fair value for a desk and a ready-made community, Ubud makes the first month easy.
It doesn't suit
Anyone who won't ride a scooter: Ubud shrinks to the walkable centre plus one bus line, and Bali capped online taxi drivers in 2025. Anyone who needs fast internet: Indonesia's fixed average is about 47 Mbps, 117th in the world. Anyone coming for December to February, when it rains on most days, about 388mm on average in January. Anyone on an E33G who assumed under 183 days meant no Indonesian tax. Unmarried couples, since the new criminal code lets close family report sex outside marriage. Anyone who needs Adderall or Vyvanse, which are illegal. And anyone expecting a big nomad scene: we could not confirm a single meetup running in 2026.
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.
