Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Thailand

Chiang Rai vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Chiang Rai is 41.8% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 28.1% less in Chiang Rai
Groceries: pay 10.6% less in Chiang Rai
Transportation: pay 4.7% less in Chiang Rai
Housing: pay 67.2% less in Chiang Rai
Childcare: pay 45.9% less in Chiang Rai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 42.1% less in Chiang Rai
Clothing: pay 18.2% less in Chiang Rai

Expenses including housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, clothing, and groceries are lower in Chiang Rai.

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Chiang Rai vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chiang Rai instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 28.1% less for restaurants

	Shanghai	Chiang Rai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$2.23 THB74.12	-50.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$5.35 THB177.89	+2.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$0.62 THB20.75	+4.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.28 THB9.29	-24.5%
Average			-28.1%

Shanghai vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.6% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Chiang Rai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$1.42 THB47.35	-27.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$8.32 THB276.85	-3.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$7.60 THB252.83	+10.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$1.86 THB61.77	+9.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$1.26 THB41.84	-14.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$1.10 THB36.71	+11.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.37 THB12.33	-51.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.72 THB23.82	-20.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.40 THB13.45	-47.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.57 THB19.05	+60.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.49 THB16.38	+13.7%
Average			-10.6%

Shanghai vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.7% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Chiang Rai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$5.04 THB167.54	+1.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$22.28 THB741.19	-25.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$20,795.89 THB692K	+7.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$5.59 THB185.79	-1.5%
Average			-4.7%

Shanghai vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of transportation

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pay 67.2% less for housing

	Shanghai	Chiang Rai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$13.73 THB456.82	+30.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$230.24 THB7,658.97	-77.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$153.49 THB5,105.98	-73.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$47.59 THB1,583.05	+8.0%
Average			-67.2%

Shanghai vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of housing

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pay 45.9% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Chiang Rai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$781.39 THB25,993.20	-44.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$14,653.84 THB487K	-47.1%
Average			-45.9%

Shanghai vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of childcare

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pay 42.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Chiang Rai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$1.63 THB54.35	+36.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$1.34 THB44.47	-60.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$3.86 THB128.47	+3.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$35.65 THB1,185.91	-45.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$2.97 THB98.83	-66.8%
Average			-42.1%

Shanghai vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.2% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Chiang Rai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$54.22 THB1,803.53	-0.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$24.82 THB825.63	-33.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$74.27 THB2,470.64	-1.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$72.04 THB2,396.33	-31.9%
Average			-18.2%

Shanghai vs. Chiang Rai - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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