Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aalst and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $2,067 in Aalst, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in Aalst
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Aalst Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Aalst

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,067

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Aalst and in Chiang Mai

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Aalst and in Chiang Mai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,067 in Aalst versus $938 in Chiang Mai.

Aalst $2,067
Chiang Mai $938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,086 in Aalst versus $1,426 in Chiang Mai.

Aalst $3,086
Chiang Mai $1,426

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,105 in Aalst versus $1,914 in Chiang Mai.

Aalst $4,105
Chiang Mai $1,914

Living in Aalst is roughly 120% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Aalst is 53% above, Chiang Mai is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.53 €20.04

$2.26 ฿75.4

896.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 €94.0

$19.18 ฿641

450.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.43 €11.95

$5.59 ฿187

140.25%

Cappuccino

$4.43 €3.94

$1.72 ฿57.6

157.56%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 €3.23

$0.64 ฿21.54

467.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 €2.82

$0.33 ฿11.18

860.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.55 €4.94

$2.36 ฿78.7

135.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 €4.92

$3.90 ฿130

41.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.16

$2.05 ฿68.6

-36.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.81 €2.50

$1.40 ฿46.70

100.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 €1.89

$1.28 ฿42.89

66.41%

Eggs

$3.83 €3.41

$2.25 ฿75.3

70.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.39 €15.47

$16.94 ฿566

2.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.87 €10.55

$2.74 ฿91.6

333.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.29 €19.83

$9.36 ฿313

138.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 €2.66

$2.40 ฿80.3

24.58%

Banana (1kg)

$2.43 €2.16

$1.01 ฿33.92

140.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.67 €2.37

$1.61 ฿53.9

65.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.23 €2.87

$1.52 ฿50.7

112.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 €2.20

$1.28 ฿42.90

92.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 €1.73

$1.11 ฿37.22

75.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.37

$0.72 ฿24.09

113.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 €0.93

$0.52 ฿17.54

101.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.93 €11.50

$4.33 ฿145

198.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.74 €7.77

$17.73 ฿593

-50.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 €1.53

$1.63 ฿54.4

5.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 €1.85

$2.85 ฿95.3

-27.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.09 €2.75

$0.85 ฿28.31

263.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.9 ฿1,801

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.86 €2.55

$1.17 ฿39.18

144.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.35 €2.09

$0.57 ฿19.00

312.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.40 €35.93

$2.37 ฿79.2

1604.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 €1.88

$1.45 ฿48.32

46.21%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$34.7K €30.8K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

69.30%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$32.8K €29.2K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

23.76%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$203 €180

$62.3 ฿2,083

225.36%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$21.94 €19.51

$12.27 ฿410

78.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.8 €45.21

$19.97 ฿668

154.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.21 €32.21

$37.91 ฿1,267

-4.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.03 €18.71

$3.76 ฿126

459.31%

Cinema Ticket

$15.18 €13.50

$6.71 ฿224

126.23%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,605 €1,428

$797 ฿26.6K

101.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$33.7K €30.0K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

127.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 €101

$53.3 ฿1,780

112.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.17 €41.07

$25.05 ฿837

84.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €90.6

$91.6 ฿3,062

11.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 €145

$73.5 ฿2,455

122.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$911 €810

$464 ฿15.5K

96.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$808 €718

$305 ฿10.2K

165.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,384 €1,232

$915 ฿30.6K

51.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,104 €982

$552 ฿18.5K

99.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 €3,702

$1,912 ฿63.9K

117.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,890 €2,571

$1,438 ฿48.1K

100.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,782 €2,475

$595 ฿19.9K

367.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

5.57

-37.88%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Aalst: October 12, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Aalst

$807 39.1%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 62.3% $503

Groceries & Markets

Aalst

$360 17.4%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 33.9% $122

Eating Out

Aalst

$340 16.4%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 76.7% $261

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aalst

$276 13.3%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 65.7% $181

Clothing & Footwear

Aalst

$191 9.2%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 42.7% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Aalst

$67 3.2%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 22.9% $15

Getting Around

Aalst

$27 * 1.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 128% $34

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $911 in Aalst and $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Aalst pays 367% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $106 in Aalst vs $19.00 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $238 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Aalst

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

02:20 2:20 AM

07:20 7:20 AM

5 h ahead of Aalst

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,271

127,240

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Aalst Chiang Mai 8,730 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Aalst
Chiang Mai

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Aalst vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Aalst and Chiang Mai differ by about 120% in total monthly costs ($2,067 vs $938 including rent). Chiang Mai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 367% higher in Aalst, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $911 in Aalst versus $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 51% higher in Aalst. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,067 per month in Aalst versus $938 in Chiang Mai – a 120% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $938 in Chiang Mai versus $2,067 in Aalst, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Aalst. The gap between the two cities makes Chiang Mai the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Aalst and Chiang Mai are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Chiang Mai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 120% less than in Aalst. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.