What is the currency of Thailand?

The Thai baht — symbol ฿, ISO code THB — divided into 100 satang. Notes come in ฿20, ฿50, ฿100, ฿500, and ฿1,000; coins in ฿1, ฿2, ฿5, and ฿10 plus small satang pieces. As of mid-2026, $1 buys roughly ฿32–33.

How much is $100 US in Thailand?

About ฿3,200–3,300 at mid-2026 rates — enough for 2–3 days of comfortable budget travel: that covers a guesthouse night, three street-food or local-restaurant meals, local transport, and a massage, with change left over. At mid-range pace it's roughly one full day.

Is $100 a lot of money in Thailand?

It goes a long way: ฿3,200+ exceeds a typical Thai daily wage several times over and covers a full backpacker day three times. For travelers, $100/day funds solid mid-range travel — private hotel room, restaurant meals, taxis, and a paid activity — everywhere except the priciest islands.

Can I use US dollars in Thailand?

No — Thailand is not a dollar-circulating economy. Apart from some visa fees at land borders and the odd tourist-trap price tag, everything is quoted and paid in baht. Exchange your dollars (clean $100 bills get the best rate) or withdraw baht from ATMs.

Do I need to carry cash in Thailand?

Yes — carry ฿1,000–2,000 per day in small notes. Cards work at hotels, malls, and chain restaurants, but street food, markets, tuk-tuks, songthaews, small shops, laundries, and most temple entry fees are cash-only. Officially, immigration can also ask arriving visitors to show ฿10,000 per person in funds, though this is rarely checked.

What's the cheapest way to get baht?

Two options tie: (1) ATM withdrawals with a no-foreign-fee travel card (Wise, Revolut, Charles Schwab) — withdraw the ฿20,000–30,000 maximum so the flat ฿220 machine fee stays under 1%; (2) exchanging clean US$100 bills at a SuperRich or similar city exchange booth. Avoid airport counters, hotels, and buying baht at home — all cost 3–5% more.

Specialist Guide

Thailand Currency: The Thai Baht

Baht, ATMs, and the exchange traps to skip.

฿33 ≈ $1 (2026)
The ฿220 ATM fee workaround
Where (and where not) to exchange
Real prices in baht and dollars

Easyfirst-timersplanners

Thailand's Currency in 30 Seconds

Thailand's currency is the Thai baht (sign: ฿, code: THB), divided into 100 satang. As of mid-2026, one US dollar buys roughly ฿32–33. Thailand is still a cash-first country outside hotels and malls — street food, taxis, markets, and temple entry are cash-only — but every tourist area is dense with ATMs (which charge a flat ฿220 fee per foreign withdrawal) and exchange booths. The practical formula: pay by card where cards are accepted (always choosing to be charged in baht, never dollars), withdraw large amounts infrequently from ATMs, and keep a day or two of small notes on you. This guide covers the notes and coins, what things actually cost, and every exchange trap worth knowing.

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Key Facts (2026)

Exchange rate: $1 ≈ ฿32–33

The baht has traded between ฿31 and ฿37 to the dollar over the past five years. Quick mental math: ฿100 ≈ $3, ฿1,000 ≈ $30. €1 ≈ ฿35–38; £1 ≈ ฿41–44.

ATM fee: ฿220 flat, every withdrawal

Every Thai bank charges foreign cards a flat ฿220 (~$6.50) per withdrawal, regardless of amount — so withdraw the maximum (usually ฿20,000–30,000) rather than making small pulls. A Wise, Revolut, or Charles Schwab card avoids your own bank's fees on top.

Always pay in baht, never in dollars

When a card terminal or ATM offers to charge you in your home currency (Dynamic Currency Conversion), decline it — the built-in markup is 3–8%. Choose THB every time.

Cash still rules the street

Street food (฿40–80 a meal), songthaews, tuk-tuks, market stalls, laundry, and most temple fees are cash-only. Keep ฿1,000–2,000 in small notes per day; big notes (฿1,000) are hard to break at street stalls.

Proof of funds: officially ฿10,000 per person

Immigration can technically ask visa-exempt arrivals for proof of ฿10,000 per person (฿20,000 per family). It's rarely checked — but having access to it (cash or a bank app) is the letter of the rule.

Thai Baht Notes and Coins

Banknotes come in five denominations, each with its own color: ฿20 (green), ฿50 (blue), ฿100 (red), ฿500 (purple), and ฿1,000 (brown/grey). All carry the image of the King — which matters practically: Thai law treats defacing or stepping on money as an insult to the monarchy, so never stamp on a dropped note to stop it blowing away.

Coins run ฿1, ฿2, ฿5, and ฿10, plus 25- and 50-satang pieces you'll mostly meet as supermarket change. The workhorses of daily spending are ฿20s, ฿100s, and ฿10 coins — ATMs dispense ฿1,000s, so break them at 7-Elevens, supermarkets, or malls early and hoard the small stuff for street food and transport.

What Things Cost in Baht (July 2026)

Item	Baht	US dollars
Street food meal	฿40–80	$1.20–2.45
Local restaurant meal	฿100–250	$3–8
Bottle of water (7-Eleven)	฿10–15	$0.30–0.45
Local beer (bar)	฿60–180	$1.80–5.50
BTS/MRT ride (Bangkok)	฿17–62	$0.50–1.90
Grab ride, 15 minutes	฿100–200	$3–6
Thai massage (1 hour)	฿250–400	$8–12
Budget hotel night	฿500–1,500	$15–46

Prices verified July 2026, consistent with our full Thailand travel costs index — see /thailand-travel-costs for daily budgets by region and travel style.

Where to Exchange Money in Thailand (and Where Not To)

The best rates in the country come from dedicated exchange chains — SuperRich (the green and orange ones), Vasu, and SIA Money Exchange in Bangkok — which routinely beat banks by 1–2% and airport counters by 3–5%. Bring clean, undamaged notes: torn or heavily-worn foreign bills are refused, and US $100 bills often get a slightly better rate than small denominations.

Skip exchanging at home before you fly — US and European banks give notably worse THB rates than you'll get in Thailand. Exchange ฿2,000–3,000 worth at the airport for the taxi and first meal, then do your real exchanging in the city. Hotels are the worst rates of all; airport counters are second-worst.

The zero-exchange alternative most travelers land on: pay by card where possible and pull baht from ATMs with a no-fee travel card (Wise, Revolut, Schwab). Even after the ฿220 machine fee, a ฿25,000 withdrawal costs under 1% all-in — competitive with the best cash rates, without carrying thousands of dollars through airports.

Cards, Mobile Payments & Tipping

Visa and Mastercard work at hotels, malls, chain restaurants, supermarkets, and most tour operators; American Express is patchier. Thailand's own QR payment system (PromptPay) is everywhere — but it needs a Thai bank account, so as a visitor you'll watch locals scan while you pay cash. Contactless acceptance is growing fast in Bangkok; assume nothing outside the cities.

Tipping is appreciated but not expected: round up taxi fares, leave ฿20–50 at casual restaurants, 5–10% at nicer ones if no service charge is already added (check the bill — many add 10%), and ฿50–100 per day for hotel housekeeping or a helpful driver. Nobody will chase you for a tip; nobody refuses one either.

The two-rule summary: (1) charge in baht, never your home currency; (2) withdraw big, rarely — the ฿220 ATM fee is fixed whether you take ฿1,000 or ฿25,000.

Money sorted? Budget the rest of the trip:

Thailand Trip Costs (Full Index)Thailand Budget Travel Guide Thailand Travel Tips Cost of Living in Thailand