Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aberdeen and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $2,264 in Aberdeen, rent and utilities included – about $15,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

111

Cost of Living Index in Aberdeen
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Aberdeen Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Aberdeen

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,264

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Aberdeen 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 Aberdeen and in Chiang Mai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,264 per month in Aberdeen vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Aberdeen $2,264
Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $3,528 per month in Aberdeen vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Aberdeen $3,528
Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $4,792 per month in Aberdeen vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Aberdeen $4,792
Chiang Mai $1,914

Aberdeen costs about 141% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Aberdeen sits 68% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 30% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.95 £14.96

$2.26 ฿75.4

782.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$94.0 £70.5

$19.18 ฿641

389.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.04

$5.59 ฿187

91.59%

Cappuccino

$4.59 £3.44

$1.72 ฿57.6

166.86%

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

$2.71 £2.03

$0.64 ฿21.54

323.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 £1.59

$0.33 ฿11.18

542.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.15 £5.37

$2.36 ฿78.7

202.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.79 £5.84

$3.90 ฿130

99.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 £1.12

$2.05 ฿68.6

-27.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.40 ฿46.70

22.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.28 ฿42.89

53.12%

Eggs

$4.36 £3.27

$2.25 ฿75.3

93.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.81 £6.61

$16.94 ฿566

-47.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.10 £9.08

$2.74 ฿91.6

341.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.59 £12.44

$9.36 ฿313

77.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 £2.14

$2.40 ฿80.3

18.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.01 ฿33.92

36.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.80 £2.10

$1.61 ฿53.9

73.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.66 £2.75

$1.52 ฿50.7

140.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.28

$1.28 ฿42.90

32.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 £1.13

$1.11 ฿37.22

35.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 £0.94

$0.72 ฿24.09

73.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 £1.22

$0.52 ฿17.54

211.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.97 £16.48

$4.33 ฿145

407.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.20 £8.40

$17.73 ฿593

-36.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.64 £1.98

$1.63 ฿54.4

61.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 £2.30

$2.85 ฿95.3

7.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.70 £2.02

$0.85 ฿28.31

217.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$120 £90.1

$53.9 ฿1,801

122.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.88 £2.91

$1.17 ฿39.18

231.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.45 £1.84

$0.57 ฿19.00

329.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.17 £18.13

$2.37 ฿79.2

919.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.45 ฿48.32

46.90%

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

$37.5K £28.1K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

82.94%

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

$40.2K £30.2K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

51.60%

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

$400 £300

$62.3 ฿2,083

542.03%

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

$28.11 £21.09

$12.27 ฿410

129.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.10 £31.58

$19.97 ฿668

110.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.5 £40.15

$37.91 ฿1,267

41.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.06 £16.55

$3.76 ฿126

486.70%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 £8.43

$6.71 ฿224

67.36%

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

$1,770 £1,328

$797 ฿26.6K

122.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.2K £17.4K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

56.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.3 £72.3

$53.3 ฿1,780

80.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.95 £36.73

$25.05 ฿837

95.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 £76.7

$91.6 ฿3,062

11.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 £84.1

$73.5 ฿2,455

52.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$833 £625

$464 ฿15.5K

79.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 £579

$305 ฿10.2K

153.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,573 £1,180

$915 ฿30.6K

71.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,611 £1,208

$552 ฿18.5K

191.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,281 £1,712

$1,912 ฿63.9K

19.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,390 £2,544

$1,438 ฿48.1K

135.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,625 £2,719

$595 ฿19.9K

508.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

5.57

-8.26%

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

Last update for Aberdeen: 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

Aberdeen

$771 34.1%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 60.5% $467

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aberdeen

$470 20.8%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 79.9% $376

Groceries & Markets

Aberdeen

$320 14.1%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 25.7% $82

Eating Out

Aberdeen

$317 14%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 75.1% $238

Clothing & Footwear

Aberdeen

$162 7.2%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 32.3% $52

Getting Around

Aberdeen

$147 6.5%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 58.3% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Aberdeen

$76 3.4%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 32.4% $25

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $833 in Aberdeen versus $464 in Chiang Mai. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 509% higher in Aberdeen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $94.0 in Aberdeen versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $320 vs $238 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Aberdeen

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

15:24 3:24 PM

21:24 9:24 PM

6 h ahead of Aberdeen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

229,060

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Aberdeen Chiang Mai 8,910 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Aberdeen
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

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

Aberdeen costs about 141% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,396 per month in Aberdeen and $1,408 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chiang Mai, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,264 in Aberdeen and $938 in Chiang Mai. That's a gap of about 141%.

Public transport costs about 123% less in Chiang Mai. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Chiang Mai, where all-in costs run around $938, than in Aberdeen at $2,264. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Aberdeen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $938 versus $2,264 in Aberdeen. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Aberdeen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.