Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al-Buraimi and Chiang Mai

For one person, living costs are similar in Al-Buraimi and in Chiang Mai: $916 and $938 a month, rent and utilities included.

45

Cost of Living Index in Al-Buraimi
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Al-Buraimi Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Al-Buraimi

🇴🇲 Oman

$916

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $916 in Al-Buraimi versus $938 in Chiang Mai.

Al-Buraimi $916
Chiang Mai $938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,357 in Al-Buraimi versus $1,426 in Chiang Mai.

Al-Buraimi $1,357
Chiang Mai $1,426

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,797 in Al-Buraimi versus $1,914 in Chiang Mai.

Al-Buraimi $1,797
Chiang Mai $1,914

Living in Al-Buraimi costs roughly 2% less than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Al-Buraimi 32% lower, Chiang Mai 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.27 OMR 2.03

$2.26 ฿75.4

133.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.14 OMR 5.06

$19.18 ฿641

-31.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.82 OMR 3.01

$5.59 ฿187

39.89%

Cappuccino

$5.02 OMR 1.93

$1.72 ฿57.6

191.86%

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

$0.91 OMR 0.35

$0.64 ฿21.54

42.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 OMR 0.10

$0.33 ฿11.18

-18.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.89 OMR 4.96

$2.36 ฿78.7

446.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.20 OMR 5.08

$3.90 ฿130

238.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.26 OMR 0.87

$2.05 ฿68.6

10.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.20 OMR 0.46

$1.40 ฿46.70

-14.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 OMR 0.61

$1.28 ฿42.89

23.44%

Eggs

$2.99 OMR 1.15

$2.25 ฿75.3

32.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.33 OMR 2.44

$16.94 ฿566

-62.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.79 OMR 2.23

$2.74 ฿91.6

111.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 OMR 3.58

$9.36 ฿313

-0.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.07 OMR 0.80

$2.40 ฿80.3

-13.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.83 OMR 0.70

$1.01 ฿33.92

81.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.06 OMR 0.79

$1.61 ฿53.9

27.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 OMR 0.51

$1.52 ฿50.7

-13.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 OMR 0.46

$1.28 ฿42.90

-6.25%

Onion (1kg)

$0.98 OMR 0.38

$1.11 ฿37.22

-11.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.91 OMR 0.35

$0.72 ฿24.09

26.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 OMR 0.27

$0.52 ฿17.54

34.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.23 OMR 2.01

$4.33 ฿145

20.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.32 OMR 5.90

$17.73 ฿593

-13.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.82 OMR 2.24

$1.63 ฿54.4

257.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.15 OMR 3.91

$2.85 ฿95.3

256.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 ฿28.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.94 OMR 14.99

$53.9 ฿1,801

-27.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 OMR 1.26

$1.17 ฿39.18

180.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 OMR 0.51

$0.57 ฿19.00

133.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.57 OMR 2.92

$2.37 ฿79.2

219.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.60 OMR 0.23

$1.45 ฿48.32

-58.62%

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

$25.2K OMR 9,711

$20.5K ฿684.3K

23.20%

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

$22.7K OMR 8,734

$26.5K ฿886.1K

-14.44%

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

$77.5 OMR 29.84

$62.3 ฿2,083

24.34%

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

$30.24 OMR 11.64

$12.27 ฿410

146.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.7 OMR 27.23

$19.97 ฿668

254.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.9 OMR 24.62

$37.91 ฿1,267

68.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.76 ฿126

Cinema Ticket

$7.67 OMR 2.95

$6.71 ฿224

14.31%

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

$260 OMR 100

$797 ฿26.6K

-67.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K OMR 4,036

$14.8K ฿495.7K

-29.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.8 OMR 21.86

$53.3 ฿1,780

6.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.55 OMR 16.77

$25.05 ฿837

73.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.9 OMR 35.01

$91.6 ฿3,062

-0.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.7 OMR 34.13

$73.5 ฿2,455

20.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$464 ฿15.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$305 ฿10.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$915 ฿30.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$552 ฿18.5K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,912 ฿63.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,438 ฿48.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,620 OMR 1,394

$595 ฿19.9K

508.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

5.57

-5.75%

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

Last update for Al-Buraimi: October 13, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Al-Buraimi

$262 28.7%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 9.3% $24

Eating Out

Al-Buraimi

$221 24.2%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 64.3% $142

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al-Buraimi

$178 19.5%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 47% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Al-Buraimi

$126 13.7%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 13.1% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Al-Buraimi

$79 8.7%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 35.2% $28

Getting Around

Al-Buraimi

$49 * 5.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 25.5% $12

Accommodation & Living

Al-Buraimi

- * 0%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5%

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

Cost Breakdown

Al-Buraimi pays 508% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $13.00 in Al-Buraimi vs $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Groceries flip the comparison at $262 vs $238, with Chiang Mai cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇴🇲 Al-Buraimi

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

07:44 7:44 AM

10:44 10:44 AM

3 h ahead of Al-Buraimi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

73,670

127,240

💱 Currency

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.31 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to OMR – Omani Rial Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇴🇲 Omani Rial (ر.ع.)

Omani Rial exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.433 OMR (1 OMR = 2.31 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 OMR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Al-Buraimi Chiang Mai 4,490 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Al-Buraimi
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

Al-Buraimi vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Al-Buraimi is cheaper overall, especially in transport. The 2% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 508% higher in Al-Buraimi, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

A monthly transit pass in Al-Buraimi runs roughly 38% less than in Chiang Mai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $260 in Al-Buraimi versus $797 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $916 in Al-Buraimi versus $938 in Chiang Mai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Al-Buraimi but tight or insufficient in Chiang Mai. The gap between the two cities makes Al-Buraimi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Al-Buraimi is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Chiang Mai, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Al-Buraimi 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 Al-Buraimi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 2% less than in Chiang Mai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.