Cost of living comparison

compared to

Chiang Mai vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Chiang Mai is 4.1% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 21.9% more in Chiang Mai
Groceries: pay 14.1% more in Chiang Mai
Transportation: pay 39.2% more in Chiang Mai
Housing: pay 5.9% less in Chiang Mai
Childcare: pay 21.9% less in Chiang Mai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.8% less in Chiang Mai
Clothing: pay 17.1% less in Chiang Mai

The cost of transportation, restaurants, and groceries in Chiang Mai are more expensive than in Beijing. Expenses including childcare, clothing, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chiang Mai instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 21.9% more for restaurants

	Beijing	Chiang Mai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$2.02 THB64.12	-52.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.69	$8.05 THB255.99	+64.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.39	$0.79 THB25.23	+65.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.17	$0.34 THB10.80	+10.6%
Average			+21.9%

Beijing vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.1% more for groceries

	Beijing	Chiang Mai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥12.07	$1.58 THB50.31	-7.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥52.80	$8.36 THB266.13	+12.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.96	$6.70 THB213.16	+0.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.56	$2.07 THB65.77	+16.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.83	$1.36 THB43.31	-11.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.95	$1.33 THB42.38	+35.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.44	$0.53 THB16.74	-31.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.66	$0.79 THB25.22	-1.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.26	$0.74 THB23.68	+23.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.46	$0.64 THB20.47	+84.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.92	$0.55 THB17.42	+32.7%
Average			+14.1%

Beijing vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of groceries

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pay 39.2% more for transportation

	Beijing	Chiang Mai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.77	$4.83 THB153.69	+14.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥223.02	$19.14 THB609.04	-39.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥128,857.25	$22,478.88 THB715,197.55	+23.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.71	$11.94 THB379.79	+158.0%
Average			+39.2%

Beijing vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of transportation

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pay 5.9% less for housing

	Beijing	Chiang Mai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥91.43	$19.34 THB615.25	+49.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,612.19	$440.41 THB14,012.16	-52.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,566.20	$249.32 THB7,932.45	-50.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥277.61	$51.23 THB1,630.04	+30.5%
Average			-5.9%

Beijing vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of housing

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pay 21.9% less for childcare

	Beijing	Chiang Mai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥5,025.17	$644.65 THB20,510.55	-9.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥164,328.40	$15,231.38 THB484,607.99	-34.5%
Average			-21.9%

Beijing vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Chiang Mai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.93	$2.25 THB71.52	+100.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.52	$1.90 THB60.60	-34.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$4.34 THB138.11	+3.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥408.91	$35.28 THB1,122.37	-39.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.47	$5.12 THB162.77	-39.2%
Average			-1.8%

Beijing vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 17.1% less for clothing

	Beijing	Chiang Mai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥440.46	$62.01 THB1,972.96	-0.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥257.16	$19.90 THB632.99	-45.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥577.91	$93.02 THB2,959.44	+13.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥746.11	$67.18 THB2,137.37	-36.3%
Average			-17.1%

Beijing vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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