Cost of living comparison
compared to
Thailand vs. Chiang Mai Cost of Living Summary
Thailand is 2.4% more expensive than Chiang Mai.
- Restaurants
-
pay 4.6% more in Thailand
- Groceries
-
pay 4.0% more in Thailand
- Transportation
-
pay 23.6% more in Thailand
- Housing
-
pay 3.7% more in Thailand
- Childcare
-
pay 35.7% less in Thailand
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.7% more in Thailand
- Clothing
-
pay 2.2% more in Thailand
The cost of transportation, entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, housing, and clothing in Thailand are more expensive than in Chiang Mai.
Thailand vs. Chiang Mai Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Thailand instead of Chiang Mai, you would:
pay 4.6% more for restaurants
|
Chiang Mai
|
Thailand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$2.02
THB63.37
|
$2.67
THB84.02
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.05
THB253.00
|
$6.99
THB219.93
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.79
THB24.93
|
$0.73
THB23.10
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.34
THB10.68
|
$0.36
THB11.32
|
|
Chiang Mai vs. Thailand - Cost of restaurants
pay 4.0% more for groceries
|
Chiang Mai
|
Thailand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.58
THB49.72
|
$1.41
THB44.29
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.36
THB263.02
|
$7.88
THB247.88
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.70
THB210.67
|
$7.17
THB225.32
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.07
THB65.00
|
$2.07
THB65.09
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.36
THB42.80
|
$1.41
THB44.40
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.33
THB41.89
|
$1.33
THB41.77
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.53
THB16.55
|
$0.59
THB18.64
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.79
THB24.92
|
$0.90
THB28.24
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.74
THB23.41
|
$0.75
THB23.68
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.64
THB20.23
|
$0.71
THB22.39
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.55
THB17.21
|
$0.62
THB19.40
|
|
Chiang Mai vs. Thailand - Cost of groceries
pay 23.6% more for transportation
|
Chiang Mai
|
Thailand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.83
THB151.89
|
$4.83
THB151.95
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$19.14
THB601.92
|
$28.12
THB884.22
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$22,478.88
THB706,834.44
|
$30,471.21
THB958,148.24
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$11.94
THB375.35
|
$10.53
THB331.09
|
|
Chiang Mai vs. Thailand - Cost of transportation
pay 3.7% more for housing
|
Chiang Mai
|
Thailand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$19.34
THB608.06
|
$18.52
THB582.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$440.41
THB13,848.31
|
$414.60
THB13,036.92
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$249.32
THB7,839.70
|
$266.86
THB8,391.23
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$51.23
THB1,610.98
|
$60.46
THB1,901.13
|
|
Chiang Mai vs. Thailand - Cost of housing
pay 35.7% less for childcare
|
Chiang Mai
|
Thailand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$644.65
THB20,270.71
|
$359.13
THB11,292.60
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,231.38
THB478,941.26
|
$11,104.31
THB349,168.15
|
|
Chiang Mai vs. Thailand - Cost of childcare
pay 14.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Chiang Mai
|
Thailand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.25
THB70.68
|
$2.15
THB67.74
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.90
THB59.89
|
$1.97
THB61.97
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.34
THB136.49
|
$4.31
THB135.66
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$35.28
THB1,109.24
|
$53.45
THB1,680.82
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$5.12
THB160.87
|
$6.32
THB198.64
|
|
Chiang Mai vs. Thailand - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.2% more for clothing
|
Chiang Mai
|
Thailand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$62.01
THB1,949.89
|
$37.08
THB1,165.97
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$19.90
THB625.59
|
$29.48
THB926.97
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$93.02
THB2,924.83
|
$91.15
THB2,866.15
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$67.18
THB2,112.38
|
$69.13
THB2,173.61
|
|
Chiang Mai vs. Thailand - Cost of clothing
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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