Where this comparison is written from
Cards on the table: Bexpat relocates people to Thailand and only Thailand. We earn nothing from Vietnam, Bali, Malaysia, Portugal or Dubai, so we have no incentive to sell you any of them — except the obvious one of defending our own pick. That's why every country here gets its merits stated plainly, with data: if another destination fits you better by the end, you win. The criteria: cost of living, long-stay visas, tax, healthcare, infrastructure and community.
Cost of living: Vietnam takes the headline
No mystery here: Vietnam is the cheapest of the four. Rent, food and transport in Hanoi, Da Nang or Ho Chi Minh City generally run 10–25% below their Thai equivalent, and nobody who has lived in both disputes it. Bali sits in territory similar to the Thai islands (the "nice" villas of Canggu stopped being a bargain years ago), and Kuala Lumpur springs the surprise: rent is cheaper than Bangkok for an equivalent apartment, though the rest of the basket looks alike.
And Thailand? Living well — a decent apartment, eating out, health insurance — runs from 1.150 € a month in Chiang Mai to 1.550 € in Bangkok. The city-by-city breakdown is in our cost of living in Thailand post. The nuance that matters: the more Western your lifestyle (specialty coffee, gym, coworking, international school), the narrower the differences get across all four. The big gap is in local living; in expat living, it shrinks.
Winner: Vietnam, with Thailand and Malaysia tied just behind.
Long-stay visas: where the tie breaks
This is the criterion people check last and the one that breaks the most relocations, because it decides whether you live calmly or counting days:
- Thailand: the DTV — 5 years, multiple entries, 180 days per entry, around 13,000 € in provable savings and a fee of roughly 270 €. For remote workers, it currently has no rival in the region.
- Vietnam: still no digital nomad visa in 2026. The realistic route is the 90-day e-visa (multiple-entry, around $50) chained through renewals or border runs, or a business visa if someone sponsors you. A "golden visa" has been announced, but with no date and no portal: today it's a draft. Living in Vietnam for years means living 90 days at a time.
- Indonesia (Bali): does have a remote work visa, the E33G (remote worker KITAS): one year, renewable… requiring $60,000 in annual income, the highest bar in the region. For wealthier profiles there's also the Second Home visa, built around a hefty deposit.
- Malaysia: the DE Rantau nomad pass — 12 months, renewable once, on around $24,000 a year of income — and MM2H for settling properly, which since its relaunch asks for deposits from $150,000 in its standard tier and makes buying property compulsory.
Winner: Thailand, by a distance. A five-year visa changes the psychology of a move: you sign a one-year lease without glancing sideways at the calendar.
Tax: four systems that look nothing alike
This is where the most noise and the fewest facts circulate. In short, what happens to your money if you become a tax resident of each country:
- Thailand taxes on a remittance basis: as a resident (180+ days), you're taxed on the money you bring into the country, not on everything you earn worldwide. What stays outside isn't taxed there, and a reform is in the pipeline to further soften remittances made in the year the income is earned or the year after (not law yet — the rule in force is the 2024 one). The bracket-by-bracket detail is in our taxes in Thailand post.
- Vietnam taxes residents on worldwide income (183+ days), with brackets up to 35% and no special regime for foreigners. Most remote workers live in e-visa cycles precisely to stay under that line.
- Indonesia also taxes residents on worldwide income, up to 35%, and the E33G doesn't exempt you: on a one-year KITAS you'll normally cross 183 days. There is a temporary exemption for certain qualified profiles, with conditions and paperwork attached.
- Malaysia is the surprise: foreign income that a resident brings into the country is exempt until 2036 — with conditions, such as having been taxed at source — while income generated in Malaysia is taxed normally. On paper, the best regime of the four; note that work performed from Malaysia counts as local income.
Winner on paper: Malaysia. Winner in practice: Thailand, because its regime comes with a five-year visa underneath — and a tax regime you can't legally stay in isn't worth much.
The table, country by country
| Country | Realistic long-stay visa | Resident taxation | Cost vs Thailand | Healthcare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | DTV: 5 years, 180 days per entry | Remittance basis: what enters the country | Baseline: 1.150–1.550 €/month | Excellent (Bangkok private) |
| Vietnam | None: 90-day e-visa on repeat | Worldwide income, up to 35% | 10–25% cheaper | Decent; complex cases go abroad |
| Bali (Indonesia) | E33G: 1 year, needs $60,000/year | Worldwide income, up to 35% | Similar to the Thai islands | Limited beyond the basics |
| Malaysia | DE Rantau: 12+12 months · MM2H with deposit | Foreign income exempt until 2036* | Similar; KL rent cheaper | Excellent (KL, Penang) |
| Portugal | D8 and EU residency | IFICI: 20% for qualified profiles only; standard up to 48% | More expensive | European public + private |
| Dubai (UAE) | Tied to a job, business or investment | 0% personal income tax | Considerably more expensive | Excellent and pricey |
* With conditions (e.g. the income was taxed at source); work performed from Malaysia counts as local income.
Healthcare and infrastructure: Thailand and Malaysia pull ahead
Thai private healthcare is a global medical tourism destination: Bangkok's big hospitals operate at the level of Europe's best with smaller bills, and every expat city has solid private care. Malaysia plays in that same league — Kuala Lumpur and Penang, with English as the hospital language — and is the serious rival on this criterion. Vietnam has good everyday medicine at low prices, but complex cases frequently end up on a plane to Bangkok or Singapore. And Bali is the thinnest: for anything serious, the plan is Jakarta or Singapore.
Digitally, all four pass: fast, cheap fibre and inexpensive data SIMs. Daily life separates them more: Canggu's traffic and the scooter as Bali's only real option, versus a metro that in Bangkok or KL solves your life without a car.
Winner: a Thailand–Malaysia tie, with one point in Thailand's favour: its hospital network also covers the smaller expat cities.
Community: where you'll find your people
Thailand has been Southeast Asia's expat capital for decades: a veteran community of every age and budget, with Chiang Mai and Bangkok as historic nomad hubs and a social life that doesn't depend on a single scene. Bali's is huge but different: very young, concentrated in Canggu and Ubud and highly rotational — intense if that's what you're after, exhausting if you want to put down roots. Vietnam is growing fast (Da Nang above all) but remains the smallest. And Malaysia holds the quiet advantage: English is spoken everywhere, which smooths daily life… paired with a calmer, more scattered expat scene.
Winner: Thailand for depth; Bali, if your priority is the pure nomad scene.
What about Portugal or Dubai?
They always come up, because they're the other two routes for people relocating over tax. In short: the Portuguese NHR from all those YouTube videos no longer exists for new residents — it closed in 2024, and its replacement (IFICI, the "NHR 2.0") reserves the 20% rate for qualified profiles in specific sectors; everyone else pays the standard regime, which reaches 48%. In exchange, you get Europe, the EU and the Atlantic. Dubai is the other extreme: 0% personal income tax, no tricks… with a high cost of living, 45 °C summers and residency tied to a job, a business or an investment. For high earners who prioritise absolute zero, Dubai beats everyone; as a life, it's a completely different proposition. Both are legitimate alternatives — and neither is ours.
Our conclusion: why Thailand, and only Thailand
Score the six criteria and every country wins something: Vietnam on cost, Malaysia on paper tax, Bali on scene, Dubai on zero. Thailand doesn't win them all — it wins the combination: the region's only serious, attainable long-stay visa, remittance-based taxation, first-rate healthcare, a reasonable cost of living and the deepest community. That sum is what makes a relocation last years, not months.
That's why Bexpat does Thailand and only Thailand: we'd rather know everything about one country than a little about six. If your destination is Lisbon or Dubai, this comparison is all yours, but we're not your agency — and we'd rather tell you that straight. If it's Thailand, start with the visa test and the guides to the five cities.
Frequently asked questions
Is Vietnam cheaper than Thailand?
Yes, generally 10–25% cheaper. In Thailand, living well runs from 1.150 € (Chiang Mai) to 1.550 € (Bangkok) a month. The more Western your lifestyle, the narrower the gap — and Vietnam has no comparable long-stay visa.
Which country has the best visa for remote workers?
Thailand, with the DTV: 5 years, 180 days per entry and around 13,000 € in savings. Vietnam has no nomad visa (90-day e-visa); Indonesia's E33G asks for $60,000 a year; Malaysia's DE Rantau lasts 12 months, renewable once.
Why does Bexpat only do Thailand?
Because no neighbour matches the combination of the DTV, remittance-based taxation, healthcare, cost and community, and doing one country lets us do it well. If your destination is Portugal, Dubai or Bali, this comparison still serves you — but we're not your agency.