Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aberystwyth and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $2,460 in Aberystwyth, rent and utilities included – about $18,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

119

Cost of Living Index in Aberystwyth
Learn more

Aberystwyth Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Aberystwyth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,460

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,460 per month in Aberystwyth vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Aberystwyth $2,460
Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $3,322 per month in Aberystwyth vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Aberystwyth $3,322
Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $4,185 per month in Aberystwyth vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Aberystwyth $4,185
Chiang Mai $1,914

Aberystwyth costs about 162% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Aberystwyth sits 82% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 30% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.92 £14.95

$2.26 ฿75.4

781.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.2 £54.9

$19.18 ฿641

281.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.37 £7.03

$5.59 ฿187

67.62%

Cappuccino

$3.74 £2.80

$1.72 ฿57.6

117.44%

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

$2.37 £1.78

$0.64 ฿21.54

270.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 £1.06

$0.33 ฿11.18

330.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.85 £3.64

$2.36 ฿78.7

105.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 £3.29

$3.90 ฿130

12.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 £1.30

$2.05 ฿68.6

-15.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.28 £0.96

$1.40 ฿46.70

-8.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.28 ฿42.89

34.37%

Eggs

$4.22 £3.16

$2.25 ฿75.3

87.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.13 £9.85

$16.94 ฿566

-22.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.82 £8.12

$2.74 ฿91.6

294.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.36 £10.02

$9.36 ฿313

42.74%

Apples (1kg)

$3.64 £2.73

$2.40 ฿80.3

51.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 £1.36

$1.01 ฿33.92

79.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.35 £1.77

$1.61 ฿53.9

45.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.17 £2.37

$1.52 ฿50.7

108.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.28 ฿42.90

18.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.11 ฿37.22

51.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.06 £0.79

$0.72 ฿24.09

47.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 £0.89

$0.52 ฿17.54

128.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.30 £17.48

$4.33 ฿145

438.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.10 £7.58

$17.73 ฿593

-43.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.77 £2.08

$1.63 ฿54.4

69.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 £2.26

$2.85 ฿95.3

5.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.40 £4.05

$0.85 ฿28.31

535.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.3 £73.0

$53.9 ฿1,801

80.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.05 £3.04

$1.17 ฿39.18

246.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.51 £1.88

$0.57 ฿19.00

340.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.71 £19.29

$2.37 ฿79.2

984.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.89 £1.42

$1.45 ฿48.32

30.34%

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

$38.5K £28.9K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

88.11%

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

$41.0K £30.8K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

54.77%

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

$480 £360

$62.3 ฿2,083

669.58%

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

$16.70 £12.53

$12.27 ฿410

36.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.00 £27.76

$19.97 ฿668

85.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.30 £30.24

$37.91 ฿1,267

6.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.76 ฿126

Cinema Ticket

$9.85 £7.39

$6.71 ฿224

46.80%

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

$1,062 £796

$797 ฿26.6K

33.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.2K £16.7K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

49.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.6 £53.7

$53.3 ฿1,780

34.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.63 £29.73

$25.05 ฿837

58.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £79.2

$91.6 ฿3,062

15.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.6 £74.7

$73.5 ฿2,455

35.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$967 £725

$464 ฿15.5K

108.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,000 £750

$305 ฿10.2K

228.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,567 £1,176

$915 ฿30.6K

71.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,261 £946

$552 ฿18.5K

128.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,108 £3,832

$1,912 ฿63.9K

167.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,907 £2,931

$1,438 ฿48.1K

171.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.54

5.57

-0.54%

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

Last update for Aberystwyth: October 11, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Aberystwyth

$1,000 40.7%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 69.5% $695

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aberystwyth

$533 21.7%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 82.3% $439

Groceries & Markets

Aberystwyth

$308 12.5%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 22.8% $70

Eating Out

Aberystwyth

$281 11.4%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 71.8% $202

Clothing & Footwear

Aberystwyth

$142 5.8%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 23.1% $33

Getting Around

Aberystwyth

$136 5.5%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 54.8% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Aberystwyth

$60 2.4%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 14.4% $8.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $967 in Aberystwyth 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $73.0 in Aberystwyth versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $308 vs $238 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Aberystwyth

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

18:35 6:35 PM

00:35 12:35 AM

6 h ahead of Aberystwyth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,040

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 19, 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 19, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Aberystwyth Chiang Mai 9,210 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Aberystwyth
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

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

Yes – Aberystwyth is pricier by about 162%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,690 per month in Aberystwyth 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.

Public transport costs about 81% less in Chiang Mai. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $1,062 per month in Aberystwyth and $797 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Chiang Mai, where all-in costs run around $938, than in Aberystwyth at $2,460. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Aberystwyth it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Chiang Mai – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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, Aberystwyth makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.