Updated: January, 2023
Westerners moving to Bangkok, Thailand often want to know what is the rental cost of an average apartment in Bangkok. That is actually not an easy question to answer as there are all types of apartment for all types of budget, depending on how much you want to spend on rent and where you want to live.
For a breakdown of each apartment rental type though, and the average cost you can expect to pay, read on.
Do remember, though, most apartments in Bangkok are rented fully-furnished.
7,000 Baht Per Month or Less – For 7,000 baht per month (usually that low if you sign a 6-12 month contract) or approximately $205 or less, there are varies options for renting an apartment in Bangkok, Thailand.
Between 4,000 to 7,000 baht per month ($118-$205) will rent you a one room ‘apartment’ in a Thai-style building. The buildings are usually clean and well taken care of, and some have security too. However, your ‘apartment’ will usually be a one-room box with a Thai-style bathroom.
A Thai-style bathroom is one where the shower head is not separated from the rest of the bathroom. This means it wets the entire bathroom, including toilet and sink, when you shower under it and you will be paddling for a couple of hours afterwards every time you go into the bathroom, until the water has time to drain.
Personally, I couldn’t live with a Thai-style bathroom for longer than a couple of days as I just find them annoying, but a lot of westerners in Bangkok do.
Related: What is the cost of living in Bangkok, Thailand for a couple?
The room will usually have a refrigerator but will often not have cooking facilities. If so, you can do what the Thais do and buy a small gas grill (like a camping stove), which they use to cook basic dishes outside on the balcony.
These rooms are available in either downtown Bangkok or out in the suburbs. The further into the suburbs you get, the cheaper the price.
These rental apartments in Bangkok always come fully furnished.
7,000 baht per month can also get you a 4-room townhouse in what the Thais call a ‘moobaan’, a sub-division, if you are willing to live out in the boonies, a long way from downtown Bangkok.
These are usually unfurnished though, so you will have to spend a few hundred or a few thousand dollars outfitting the place – which is fine, if you plan on being in Bangkok long-term or permanently.
8,000-12,000 Baht Per Month – For 8,000-12,000 baht per month ($235-$350), you are looking at a much nicer lifestyle. Depending on the area you live in, you can rent either a one or two bedroom apartment, with kitchen and usually western-style bathroom.
8,000 baht per month will get you a one bedroom apartment at the far end of the sky train, around 20 minutes from downtown Bangkok, but with shops, markets, shopping malls, movie theaters etc close by.
Meanwhile, 12,000 will get you a one to two bedroom apartment in a lovely building, close to a sky train route, with a kitchen, western style bathroom and probably a swimming pool and gym somewhere in the building.
These are all in the suburbs though, as there is little in this price range in downtown Bangkok, unless again, you are happy enough living in a one-room box.
Related: What is included in a rental apartment in Bangkok, Thailand
Not that living in Bangkok’s suburbs is bad, as I have done that for 20 years and, honestly, I wouldn’t live anywhere else.
I currently pay 11,000 baht a month ($320) and, for that amount, have a large one-bedroom apartment in a serviced apartment building in the north of Bangkok, with a skytrain station right at the bottom of the soi.
This means, it comes with cable TV, twice weekly maid service, and 24-hour security guards, and is a two-to-three block walk to malls, markets, hundreds of shops, even more restaurants and cafes, movie theaters and a bowling alley.
A serviced apartment of this caliber in downtown Bangkok though would be between 35,000-50,000 baht a month ($1,015-$1,460), so you can see the difference in rent, depending on location.
8,000-12,000 baht per month will also rent you a larger town house in the suburbs of Bangkok and, for around 12,000 to 15,000, some of them are even furnished.
13,000-25,000 Baht Per Month – If you can afford this type of rent, you are really getting into the ‘nice’ apartment range.
For between 13,000-25,000 baht per month ($380-$730), you can move into a one bedroom apartment in downtown Bangkok, close to all the shopping malls, upscale restaurants and bars, as well as next to/down the street from the sky train or underground lines.
25,000 baht may even get you a two-bedroom apartment, if you look carefully enough.
These will all be in western-style buildings with nice bathrooms, kitchen facilities and laundry facilities, as well as cable TV and internet access.
26,000-60,000 Baht Per Month – 23,000-60,000 baht per month ($755-$1,750) is getting into the truly luxurious realm with enormous western-style apartment buildings right in the center of downtown Bangkok. These apartment buildings have upscale restaurants, nice shops, travel agents, gyms, swimming pools and are ideally located for anywhere you want to go.
The apartments themselves are large, fashionably decorated and furnished and often with stupendous views.
Above 60,000 Baht Per Month – If you can afford above 60,000 baht per month ($1,750 and up) for rent in Bangkok, you will really be living in style.
Likely in a two to three bedroom high-rise apartment in one of the best areas of downtown Bangkok.
Related: How to easily and quickly rent an apartment in Bangkok, Thailand
Don’t forget, although many of these prices seem low compared to western countries, salaries are much lower in Bangkok too.
With average Thai salaries being in the 10,000-15,000 baht per month range ($295-$445), and an average English teacher making 45,000 baht per month ($1,310), unless you are a true expat working for an international company on 200,000 baht a month or more ($5,800), you are more than likely going to be looking in the 5,000-18,000 baht range.
The more you prefer a more modern and larger place to live, the more you will have to spend.
That does mean, however, that you should still be able to afford a clean, safe and comfortable aparement in a good area of Bangkok.
Your Bangkok apartment will also be close to a skytrain or underground station and close to shops, malls, and markets.