Cost of living comparison

compared to

Chiang Mai vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Chiang Mai is 33.1% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 7.6% less in Chiang Mai
Groceries: pay 15.8% less in Chiang Mai
Transportation: pay 88.0% more in Chiang Mai
Housing: pay 23.2% less in Chiang Mai
Childcare: pay 2.8 times more in Chiang Mai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.4% more in Chiang Mai
Clothing: pay 10.8% more in Chiang Mai

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

Chiang Mai vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 7.6% less for restaurants

	Manila	Chiang Mai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.03	$2.02 THB64.12	-66.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱253.60	$8.05 THB255.99	+87.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.27	$0.79 THB25.23	-18.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.69	$0.34 THB10.80	-32.6%
Average			-7.6%

Manila vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 15.8% less for groceries

	Manila	Chiang Mai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.64	$1.58 THB50.31	+18.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.12	$8.36 THB266.13	+95.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱431.63	$6.70 THB213.16	-8.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.51	$2.07 THB65.77	-6.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.63	$1.36 THB43.31	-40.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.37	$1.33 THB42.38	-12.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.49	$0.53 THB16.74	-36.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.51	$0.79 THB25.22	-51.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.36	$0.74 THB23.68	-27.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱68.98	$0.64 THB20.47	-45.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.04	$0.55 THB17.42	-60.2%
Average			-15.8%

Manila vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of groceries

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pay 88.0% more for transportation

	Manila	Chiang Mai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱246.46	$4.83 THB153.69	+15.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱811.51	$19.14 THB609.04	+39.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,491,141.28	$22,478.88 THB715,197.55	-11.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.44	$11.94 THB379.79	+308.2%
Average			+88.0%

Manila vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of transportation

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pay 23.2% less for housing

	Manila	Chiang Mai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,598.07	$19.34 THB615.25	-28.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,246.98	$440.41 THB14,012.16	-14.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,843.72	$249.32 THB7,932.45	-1.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,925.44	$51.23 THB1,630.04	-49.0%
Average			-23.2%

Manila vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of housing

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pay 2.8 times more for childcare

	Manila	Chiang Mai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,171.41	$644.65 THB20,510.55	+365.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,004,491.60	$15,231.38 THB484,607.99	-10.6%
Average			+177.3%

Manila vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Chiang Mai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.22	$2.25 THB71.52	+53.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.56	$1.90 THB60.60	-26.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱192.73	$4.34 THB138.11	+32.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,484.39	$35.28 THB1,122.37	-16.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱441.26	$5.12 THB162.77	-31.6%
Average			+2.4%

Manila vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.8% more for clothing

	Manila	Chiang Mai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,902.69	$62.01 THB1,972.96	+26.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,751.10	$19.90 THB632.99	-33.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,767.52	$93.02 THB2,959.44	+15.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,930.32	$67.18 THB2,137.37	+35.2%
Average			+10.8%

Manila 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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