Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chiang Rai vs. Phuket Cost of Living Summary
Chiang Rai is 27.7% cheaper than Phuket.
- Restaurants
-
pay 35.2% less in Chiang Rai
- Groceries
-
pay 23.5% less in Chiang Rai
- Transportation
-
pay 3.9% less in Chiang Rai
- Housing
-
pay 47.7% less in Chiang Rai
- Childcare
-
pay 21.6% less in Chiang Rai
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 35.8% less in Chiang Rai
- Clothing
-
pay 26.0% less in Chiang Rai
Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, clothing, groceries, and childcare are lower in Chiang Rai.
Chiang Rai vs. Phuket Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chiang Rai instead of Phuket, you would:
pay 35.2% less for restaurants
|
Phuket
|
Chiang Rai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$6.20
THB197.34
|
$2.02
THB64.14
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.99
THB286.15
|
$5.58
THB177.61
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.71
THB22.64
|
$0.62
THB19.73
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.38
THB11.99
|
$0.29
THB9.28
|
|
Phuket vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of restaurants
pay 23.5% less for groceries
|
Phuket
|
Chiang Rai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.82
THB57.79
|
$1.58
THB50.32
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.53
THB271.44
|
$8.37
THB266.20
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.15
THB259.16
|
$6.70
THB213.21
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.28
THB72.52
|
$1.94
THB61.67
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.84
THB58.58
|
$1.36
THB43.32
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.51
THB48.04
|
$1.18
THB37.48
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.90
THB28.66
|
$0.47
THB14.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.08
THB34.46
|
$0.77
THB24.62
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.98
THB31.18
|
$0.42
THB13.43
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.73
THB23.11
|
$0.64
THB20.48
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.63
THB20.07
|
$0.52
THB16.41
|
|
Phuket vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of groceries
pay 3.9% less for transportation
|
Phuket
|
Chiang Rai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.04
THB160.21
|
$4.83
THB153.73
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$23.45
THB745.94
|
$23.26
THB740.04
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,911.74
THB888,051.71
|
$20,468.61
THB651,237.92
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.30
THB327.59
|
$11.94
THB379.89
|
|
Phuket vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of transportation
pay 47.7% less for housing
|
Phuket
|
Chiang Rai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$19.53
THB621.46
|
$14.34
THB456.11
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$645.31
THB20,531.45
|
$268.78
THB8,551.61
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$489.32
THB15,568.31
|
$259.73
THB8,263.81
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$93.36
THB2,970.28
|
$38.14
THB1,213.40
|
|
Phuket vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of housing
pay 21.6% less for childcare
|
Phuket
|
Chiang Rai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$623.36
THB19,833.15
|
$644.81
THB20,515.64
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$14,508.83
THB461,619.12
|
$7,753.26
THB246,681.03
|
|
Phuket vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of childcare
pay 35.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
Phuket
|
Chiang Rai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.17
THB69.07
|
$1.86
THB59.20
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.03
THB96.31
|
$1.28
THB40.70
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.34
THB138.14
|
$3.72
THB118.41
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$57.81
THB1,839.25
|
$37.22
THB1,184.07
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$8.68
THB276.28
|
$3.72
THB118.41
|
|
Phuket vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 26.0% less for clothing
|
Phuket
|
Chiang Rai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$66.46
THB2,114.41
|
$62.03
THB1,973.45
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$29.92
THB952.02
|
$19.90
THB633.15
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$117.41
THB3,735.46
|
$72.88
THB2,318.80
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$90.82
THB2,889.69
|
$67.19
THB2,137.90
|
|
Phuket vs. Chiang Rai - 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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