Living in Bangkok is very different to visiting as a tourist. When you’ve got only a couple of weeks in the country and a bunch of hard earned cash burning a hole in your pocket, Bangkok can seem very very cheap. When you’re living in Bangkok and you don’t have a huge income, it’s easy to spend money without realising it. Bangkok is certainly much cheaper than Hong Kong or Singapore, but you still need to keep an eye on your budget to get the best value out of the city.

The golden rule is – the more you can live like the Thais, the more you can save. If you speak Thai, you will save yourself a lot of money – and a lot of grief! – right there. This isn’t usually the case for most people that move to Bangkok to begin with, so the following is for complete newbies arriving in Bangkok

Rent
There are many cheap places to live in Thailand – but Bangkok is not one of them. As the capital city of the country and one of the major financial hubs of South East Asia, Bangkok is actually quite expensive if you want a Western style apartment with all mod cons like airconditioning, and if you want to be located near a Skytrain or underground MRT station. (Trust me, you definitely want to be located near one of these unless you want to spend a lot of your life stuck in traffic – see What You Need To Know About Bangkok Traffic if you need further persuasion).

Where can you find these rooms to rent? See my list of Where To Find An Apartment In Bangkok – but it might help to read the following first so you’ve got a better idea of what your money will get you.

Basic Rooms: 5000 – 10,000 Baht
You can rent a very basic room in Bangkok for around 5000 – 10,000 Baht a month – it will probably be about 30 square metres, have its own bathroom with shower and toilet and have some furniture of varying quality for bed, table, chairs. It should have a fridge and fan and a kitchen sink, but will not necessarily have hot plates for cooking. (You can buy a plug-in hot plate for around 1500 Baht).

It may have an airconditioner, although you have to check the air con unit’s age, as it might be so inefficient as to rack up huge electricity charges without actually cooling the room. There are some definite bargains to be had in this price bracket if you willing to look hard enough, but often rooms at this price have not been well cared for – you really need to check and test everything to make sure you’re happy with it. (see the checklist below).

You also need to be aware of the environment of where cheap rooms are located i.e. do the neighbours seem friendly and polite, is there 24 hour security on the building and are there sufficient exits in terms of fire escapes.

The room will probably be a taxi ride away from the nearest Skytrain or MRT stop. This means getting to and from home can be hard work at times, especially when it rains. See Where To Rent In Bangkok for an idea about different Bangkok districts. These rooms are much more likely to be in the newly opening city suburbs like Lad Prao. Getting the feel for the local neighbourhood is also important – you need to feel safe where you are and feel confident of getting to and from your prospective home without getting lost.

Better Rooms: 10,000 – 15,000 Baht
When you pay between 10,000 to 15,000 Baht, you can find some good quality studio apartments – also around 30 square metres – in central areas of Bangkok like Thong Lor and other districts of Sukhumvit, the main artery road of the city. These apartments are usually within walking distance of the Skytrain or MRT. Often these apartments are serviced, meaning a maid will come and clean once a week, either inclusive in the price or for a set monthly fee. There are also usually English speaking staff that work in the Admin section of the apartments and can help you with paying bills and if there are any problems with your apartment (leaking pipes, non-flushing toilet etc).

The quality of decoration and furniture should be better, fridges, freezers and air-con will be standard, (although there might still be no kitchen hot plates), and televisions and wifi may well be provided. (Wifi is often free or has a nominal fee of around 500 baht a month; tenants usually have to sort out and pay for their own Cable TV package which starts around 1500 Baht a month if you want English language channels).

Be aware that internet access in Thailand is notoriously sporadic – connections can slow to a crawl at different times of the day, so if you think you’ll be using your internet connection frequently

Best Cheap Rooms: 15,000 to 25,000 Baht
When you pay between 15,000 to 25,000 you can find good quality one and two bedroom apartments that are anywhere between 50 to 80 square metres. Above 25,000, there is a huge variety of accommodation in Bangkok – if you can afford to spend around 35,000 a month (roughly $1000 US) then you can live extremely well.

Bills
Electricity, water, cable TV and internet are the main utilities you will need to pay in Bangkok. You will also need to work out a source of drinking water, as it’s not safe to drink Bangkok water from the tap. Some apartments have a purified water dispenser that is usually very cheap – alternatively you can use a service like Sprinkle which delivers watercooler-sized bottles of water to your door each week, also for very little cost.

Electricity is your most important bill – some apartments charge the government rate per unit, but many add on their own surcharge. If you’re paying more than 5 baht a unit, it will get expensive. Similarly, if you run your aircon all day (and it’s an old unit) it will get very expensive. If you keep electric use on a leash, it should be 2000 to 3000 baht a month,

Water (as in shower/washing water) is usually a couple hundred baht a month.

Cable TV is around 1500 Baht a month. Wifi 500 Baht a month from the building, or you can get your own wired connection installed using True or TOT. Installation is typically 1500 Baht and then 700 Baht per month thereafter. You will also need to activate the phone line for the internet connection which is another couple of hundred baht.

• Electricity 2000 – 3000
• Water 200
• Phone 200
• Cable TV 1500
• Internet – 500 – 700

You can see that bills can stack up to around 4000 to 5000 a month on top of rent. Obviously not having cable TV and being frugal with electricity use can halve this.

Whatever your budget for your apartment in Bangkok, here’s a checklist of things to look out for in any apartment you go to view (more suggestions are welcome – please leave a comment below)

• Air conditioner
• Water pressure of shower
• Whether the shower gives hot water
• Kitchen area – are there hot plates, crockery, kettle
• Is the bed mattress firm and non lumpy
• Is there a fan?
• Where does the sun come from? If the sun is shining direct on the apartment it can make it uncomfortably hot
• Is there maid service to clean the room and if so, what price?
• Where is the nearest laundry
• Is there a water dispenser
• Do the admin staff speak any English? If not, who do you speak to to get a problem fixed?
• See the separate post Bangkok Apartment Checklist for more ideas about what to look out for.
• If you do like the apartment you’ve found, be sure to get a copy of the lease (in English!). Here’s more info on what to expect from a Bangkok Apartment lease contract.

Food
Bangkok is actually one of the gourmet cities of the world – it’s not just Thai cuisine, but virtually every cuisine you can think of. Foreign food has one thing in common though – it’s a lot more expensive than Thai food. There are numerous Western style supermarkets in Bangkok packed with great food, beer and wine – and it’s all available at a price. Similarly, foreign restaurants – whether it’s French, Mexican, Indian or from anywhere else – can be quite expensive. On the other hand, you can get great pizza delivered to your door for under 400 Baht.

If you’re happy to eat at street stalls and night markets, you can get buy on 20 to 50 Baht per meal. This is not necessarily the best way to maintain a healthy diet longterm. Fresh fruit (bananas, papaya, watermelon) are also readily available from street sellers and very cheap. You can eat Western food at a chain cafe Au Bon Pain for around 100 Baht a sandwich and 70 Baht for a cafe latte. (Starbucks, by comparison, charges 90 Baht for a medium latte and 70 to 100 baht for food items).

You’ll need groceries eventually so you should budget 500 to 1000 Baht a week for things like milk, cereal, eggs, orange juice etc, depending on how frugal you wish to be.

Transport
You’ll probably spend 1000 baht a month using the Skytrain and MRT if you are going to and from work, and probably the same again on taxicabs if you are out in the evenings a lot. Taxis are cheap and plentiful (fare starts at 35 Baht) but being stuck in traffic cranks up the cost. Personally I prefer to walk whenever possible

Booze
If you like going out on the town, you’ll quickly find Bangkok a very expensive place. You can pick up Heineken beers for 35 Baht a small bottle in 7-11 – even cheaper if you go for Thai domestic brands like Leo or Cheers – but when you’re out in a bar, it will be minimum 70 baht for the same – sometimes 100 Baht in trendier spots – and around 150 for a pint, sometimes as much as 220 Baht a pint for premium imports like Guinness. 220 Baht is nearly London prices for a pint. A few beers and a cheap meal can easily add up to 600 – 700 Baht a night. Wine in Thailand is heavily taxed and even dreadful plonk costs around 500 Baht a bottle from supermarkets.

Putting It All Together
8000 Baht for a basic room
4000 for bills
8000 baht a month for food (eating out and groceries)
2000 Transport
3000 for going out once a week
Total: 25000 Baht a month

You would really have to watch your spending to keep within this amount, but it’s certainly doable. There are many English teachers in Bangkok earning 35 to 45000 Baht who still manage to save and travel.

Obviously, there are endless variables as everyone’s priorities are different. You can also see how the numbers scale – if you were to rent a more luxury apartment, that easily adds another 10,000 to 20,000 onto your costs – and if going out is important, that will jack up the budget too. Eating is one area that if you like Thai food a lot you save a fortune – for most Western palettes however, after the initial novelty wears off, there is a craving for other cuisines. (Eating the same of anything gets dull however good it is).

So now you have an idea of what the costs of Bangkok living are, here’s Where To Find Bangkok Apartments To Rent

Here is a list of links to Bangkok Serviced Apartments that you can book direct online. These Serviced Apartments are a good choice for when you first arrive in Bangkok in order to get your bearings. Most of the Serviced Apartments quote a daily and weekly rate – their monthly rates are likely to be substantially cheaper but are only available on request.

I have listed the general location of each Serviced Apartment and the nearest Skytrain or MRT station where applicable. Location is a major consideration for choosing a Bangkok apartment, especially its proximity to the public transport network. Bangkok traffic is still a major issue.. For more info about location, see Where to Rent in Bangkok.

It’s wise to avoid making a long term commitment until you have seen the specific Apartment you will be staying in and have a first hand idea of the level of service and amenities. Each Apartment Booking page also has reviews written by previous guests which are worth checking.

Park 9 Living Near Suvarnabhumi Airport No Skytrain / MRT nearby
Floraville Pattanakarn No Skytrain / MRT nearby

Cape House Lang Suan Skytrain: Chitlom
Riverine Place River side No Skytrain / MRT nearby
Regent Silom Silom Skytrain: Saladaeng MRT: Silom
Royal Suite Rama 9 Skytrain: Ekkamai (10 min taxi ride). Near Bangkok Hospital
Amanta Ratchada Ratchadapisek MRT: Thailand Cultural Centre
Unico Grande – Asoke, Sukhumvit Soi 21 Skytrain: Asoke MRT: Sukhumvit
Sala Daeng Colonnade Saladaeng Skytrain: Saladaeng MRT: Silom
Pantip Court South Sathorn Road MRT: Silom or Lumphini
Omni Tower Sukhumvit Soi 4 (Soi Nana) Skytrain: Nana
Grand President Sukhumvit Soi 11 Skytrain: Nana
Royal President Sukhumvit Soi 15 Skytrain: Asoke
President Park Sukhumvit Soi 24 Skytrain: Phrom Phong
JS Tower Sukhumvit 50 – 54 Skytrain: On Nut (20 mins walk)
Varindavan Park Ekkamai. Skytrain: Ekkamai / Prakanong

I’ve written up two articles on my other website Travelhappy that can help you with finding cheap apartments in Bangkok:
Finding long term accommodation in Bangkok – this gives an overview of the different apartments I looked at when trying to find a place under 20,000 Baht a month. I list websites, prices and pros and cons of the different places I looked at.
Using Facebook and Craigslist to find Bangkok Apartments – this describes the way these social networking sites make it easier to find Bangkok accommodation

If you just want to start browsing, here’s the sources I found most useful

• 9Apartment.com – this site has stacks of cheap rentals – it’s in Thai and English – the link goes direct to the English version

• MrRoomFinder.com – this is another great site to find cheap apartments in Bangkok
• MrRoomFinder’s webmaster, Aitch, spends a lot of time on the Ajarn.com forums, which is also worth keeping an eye on for cheap places to rent. Ajarn.com is a forum for English teachers in Thailand – they have a subforum dedicated to Bangkok apartment rentals.
• Bangkok Craigslist – lots of estate agents post their rentals here – you won’t find many super cheap rentals however
• ThaiVisa Thailand House Rentals – lots of listings for Bangkok from this very well established Thailand site – probably not quite as useful as the Accommodation forum
• Facebook Thailand Marketplace – lots of listings but for the whole country so need to skim
• BK Magazine (a free weekly listings magazine for Bangkok) has an excellent website where its Classfieds section lists all Bangkok apartment ads online
• Bangkok Post newspaper (daily English language paper in Thailand) – lots of listings in the paper version but not online – tend to be for apartments 15,000 Baht and up
• The Nation newspaper (daily English language paper in Thailand)

– the websites for both these newspapers are not much good for apartment hunting, but the daily Classifieds section is worth checking at least every couple of days.

• 1) Does the AC work? Is it noisy?
• 2) Does the hot water in the shower work? How is the water pressure?
• 3) Does the toilet flush properly?
• 4) What are the cooking facilities like? Many Bangkok apartments only have 1 or 2 hotplate rings for cooking and a microwave and sink. No oven or dishwasher.
• 5) Is there a phone line installed? Is it easy to reconnect?
• 6) Can the internet be installed? An increasing number of apartments have access to wifi, but this is not to be taken for granted.
• 7) Is the apartment secure? Are there good locks on doors and windows? Is it visible to passersby?
• 8) Do the apartment staff speak good English and are they available at regular hours? What do you do in case of emergency (eg. water leak at 3am)? Try and get clarity about exactly how much you need to pay for the rent, deposit, electricity per unit, and water – plus check about the phone line and internet access.
• 9) What is the surrounding area like? Are there building works nearby? Are there any schools nearby? (Thai teachers are fond of megaphones in the early morning – not fun). Are there lots of dogs around? If you can, try and view a place several times at different times of the day – or at least visit the outside. Bangkok is an incredibly noisy place so you should bear that in mind.
• 10) What are local amenities like? Is there a supermarket in walking distance? A Skytrain or MRT station? How long does it take to walk to them? Is there a laundry service nearby?

• Apartments in Bangkok usually lease on a minimum 12 month period. You cannot break the contract without losing your total deposit. You can ask for a “diplomat” clause to be inserted into the contract to let you exit after six months with one month’s notice, but this will still lose you 1 month’s deposit. It is not a given that a diplomat clause will be offered.
• Bangkok serviced apartments offer the flexibility of month by month leasing but are more expensive in terms of monthly rent and also utility pricing. However, they offer a great start to Bangkok living – cleaning, bedlinen changing and kitchen utensils are included in the price, so you’re ready to go as soon as you move in.
• Bangkok apartments are usually furnished, but do doublecheck that is the case
• Bangkok apartment landlords, whether leased or serviced, expect two months rent as a deposit and one month in advance. The last month of the lease is typically paid from the deposit.
• Monthly utilities to consider are electricity, water, UBC (satellite TV), phone landline, high speed internet. Depending on usage, these can be 5000 Baht a month added to your basic rental cost. If you rent in a condo, the condo administration office should be able to handle payment of all your bills for you. Check this before leasing, otherwise you could have some tedious bill paying to do yourself (especially if you don’t speak Thai).
• You may also want to consider getting a cleaner that visits a couple times a week. This can be a couple of thousand a month, or less if you can bargain down.
• Never sign up to a lease or make any sort of commitment without inspecting the apartment in person first. Take a checklist with you to ensure that you remember to look at everything.

Unless you’re mega rich, your choice of apartment in Bangkok is likely to be determined mainly by price.

Bangkok apartment rentals are good value compared to Europe and America, but they are still not particularly cheap. The average monthly price for an upmarket, well located 2 bedroom Bangkok apartment with access to a swimming pool, gym and public transport networks is around 40,000 to 60,000 Baht. ($1300 to $ 1800 US). You get a lot for your money, but the base price is still quite high. You also need to consider the additional monthly expense of utilities (see below).

There is a burgeoning market for Bangkok apartments around 30,000 baht a month and you’ll find this is the starting point for most apartment rentals shown in Bangkok real estate agent windows. Below that price bracket, it gets difficult for the agents to make a decent commission to rent apartment

There are plenty of apartments available in Bangkok that rent for less than 30,000 Baht a month, but it is not so easy to locate them. Bangkok landlords are only now getting savvy to using the internet to promote their apartments – and even when they do have a website, it is often poorly designed and lacking in vital information. Cheap Bangkok apartments still require phoning around from classified ads and arranging viewings if you are keen to find a bargain. If you are specifically interested in cheap Bangkok apartments, please read my Travelhappy article Finding Cheap Long Term Accommodation In Bangkok.

Bangkok’s traffic situation has greatly improved since the advent of the Skytrain and MRT at the beginning of the 21st century. However, the streets still regularly gridlock, so if you live somewhere that requires a taxi journey to move around, be prepared for unpredictable delays on a regular basis.

The best way to see all of Bangkok’s Skytrain and MRT stops is to get a good Bangkok map like the Bangkok Groovy Map. This clearly shows all the station stops and Bangkok’s points of interests, including landmarks, restaurants, shopping complexes and more, all in one easy to digest fold out map. I’ve tried a lot of Bangkok maps and this is definitely the best one I’ve found so far.

Once you’ve got a grasp of the different areas of Bangkok and how they are related to one another, you can start looking for Bangkok apartments with a much better idea about location.

The most popular – and most expensive – area for foriegners to rent apartments in Bangkok is Sukhumvit, the 5th Avenue of Bangkok. Sukhumvit is Bangkok’s longest street with over 100 substreets – or sois – branching off it. There is a huge amount of rental apartments located around here with hundreds more being built, mainly in the mid to luxury range.

Sukhumvit is the entertainment centre of Bangkok, while Silom towards the river is the business district. Both are well served by the Sky train and the MRT, Bangkok’s underground railway. These two public transport networks form an interconnecting circle around Bangkok’s central districts. There are increasing apartment rental opportunities available around each of the Skytrain and MRT stations, especially the MRT as it only opened a couple of years ago. These apartments tend to be cheaper than Sukhumvit and although still pay a premium for being located near a public transport station, prices can be a lot more affordable with the convenience of easy transport.

Bangkok Apartment Terms of Lease – What To Expect

Bangkok Apartment Checklist

Where to find Bangkok Apartment Listings

Where to rent in Bangkok

What you need to know about Bangkok traffic