Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Adelaide and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $925 a month against $2,640 in Adelaide, rent and utilities included – about $20,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Adelaide
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Adelaide Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Adelaide

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,640

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,640 in Adelaide versus $925 in Chiang Mai.

Adelaide $2,640
Chiang Mai $925

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,759 in Adelaide versus $1,414 in Chiang Mai.

Adelaide $3,759
Chiang Mai $1,414

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,878 in Adelaide versus $1,903 in Chiang Mai.

Adelaide $4,878
Chiang Mai $1,903

Living in Adelaide is roughly 185% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Adelaide is 95% above, Chiang Mai is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.10 A$24.61

$2.29 ฿76.5

646.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.5 A$116

$19.64 ฿656

309.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.64 A$16.75

$5.61 ฿188

107.49%

Cappuccino

$4.05 A$5.83

$1.66 ฿55.6

143.98%

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

$2.78 A$4.00

$0.70 ฿23.40

297.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 A$3.68

$0.31 ฿10.24

722.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.79 A$11.20

$2.41 ฿80.4

223.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.26 A$11.89

$3.71 ฿124

122.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.98 A$2.85

$1.95 ฿65.3

1.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$1.41 ฿47.03

97.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.24 A$3.23

$1.31 ฿43.62

70.99%

Eggs

$5.69 A$8.19

$2.18 ฿72.9

161.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 A$16.94

$16.65 ฿556

-29.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.20 A$13.24

$2.76 ฿92.2

233.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.97 A$27.29

$9.11 ฿304

108.23%

Apples (1kg)

$3.94 A$5.67

$2.39 ฿80.0

64.85%

Banana (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$1.03 ฿34.26

194.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.63 A$5.22

$1.63 ฿54.4

122.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.06 A$7.28

$1.50 ฿50.0

237.33%

Potato (1kg)

$3.20 A$4.60

$1.29 ฿43.13

148.06%

Onion (1kg)

$2.47 A$3.56

$1.11 ฿37.03

122.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.49 A$3.58

$0.72 ฿24.08

245.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.31 A$3.33

$0.53 ฿17.59

335.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.26 A$65.1

$4.31 ฿144

950.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.93 A$20.05

$17.95 ฿600

-22.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.52 A$7.94

$1.58 ฿52.9

249.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.91 A$8.51

$2.84 ฿95.0

108.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.20 A$4.61

$0.86 ฿28.86

272.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$83.6 A$120

$53.3 ฿1,780

56.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.53 A$5.07

$1.21 ฿40.29

191.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.98 A$2.85

$0.57 ฿18.99

247.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.11 A$44.77

$2.35 ฿78.6

1223.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 A$2.03

$1.44 ฿47.96

-2.08%

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

$29.3K A$42.2K

$20.7K ฿692.8K

41.48%

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

$25.7K A$36.9K

$26.8K ฿895.7K

-4.20%

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

$192 A$276

$62.3 ฿2,083

207.93%

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

$25.71 A$36.99

$12.11 ฿405

112.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.7 A$81.6

$19.94 ฿666

184.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 A$90.6

$37.07 ฿1,239

69.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.06 A$20.24

$3.78 ฿126

271.96%

Cinema Ticket

$17.14 A$24.67

$6.50 ฿217

163.69%

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

$2,072 A$2,982

$793 ฿26.5K

161.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.3K A$20.5K

$14.8K ฿494.9K

-3.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.3 A$101

$53.7 ฿1,796

30.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.9 A$78.9

$24.62 ฿823

122.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 A$165

$90.9 ฿3,036

26.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$135 A$195

$71.1 ฿2,378

90.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,466

$455 ฿15.2K

276.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,278 A$1,839

$298 ฿9,954

329.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,431 A$3,498

$908 ฿30.4K

167.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,833 A$2,637

$554 ฿18.5K

230.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$10.1K A$14.5K

$1,931 ฿64.5K

423.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,880 A$9,901

$1,445 ฿48.3K

376.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,830 A$5,511

$591 ฿19.7K

548.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.92

5.57

6.28%

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

Last update for Adelaide: October 19, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Adelaide

$1.3K 48.4%

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2% 76.7% $980

Groceries & Markets

Adelaide

$415 15.7%

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5% 43.2% $179

Eating Out

Adelaide

$297 11.3%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5% 73.6% $219

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Adelaide

$274 10.4%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2% 65.6% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Adelaide

$169 6.4%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7% 35.9% $61

Getting Around

Adelaide

$110 4.2%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 44.7% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Adelaide

$97 3.7%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 48.5% $47

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,713 in Adelaide and $455 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Adelaide pays 548% 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: $81.0 in Adelaide vs $20.00 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $415 vs $235 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Adelaide

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

06:23 6:23 AM

02:53 2:53 AM

3 h 30 min behind Adelaide

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,245,011

127,240

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Adelaide Chiang Mai 7,290 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Adelaide
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

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

Adelaide and Chiang Mai differ by about 185% in total monthly costs ($2,640 vs $925 including rent). Chiang Mai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 548% higher in Adelaide, 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: $1,713 in Adelaide versus $455 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,072 in Adelaide versus $793 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 76% higher in Adelaide. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $925 in Chiang Mai versus $2,640 in Adelaide, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Adelaide. 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, Adelaide 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 185% less than in Adelaide. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.