Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al Kufah and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Al Kufah: $703 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in Al Kufah
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Al Kufah Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Al Kufah

🇮🇶 Iraq

$703

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $703 in Al Kufah versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Al Kufah $703
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,050 in Al Kufah versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Al Kufah $1,050
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,397 in Al Kufah versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Al Kufah $1,397
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Al Kufah costs roughly 25% less than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Al Kufah 48% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.74 IQD 7,162

$2.24 ฿75.7

111.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.90 IQD 39.1K

$19.00 ฿642

36.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.63 IQD 10.0K

$5.55 ฿188

19.46%

Cappuccino

$2.82 IQD 4,258

$1.67 ฿56.6

68.86%

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

$0.38 IQD 579

$0.64 ฿21.56

-40.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.20 IQD 302

$0.31 ฿10.32

-35.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.21 IQD 4,844

$2.36 ฿79.6

36.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.24 IQD 4,897

$3.66 ฿124

-11.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.96 IQD 1,451

$1.95 ฿65.8

-50.77%

White Bread (500g)

$0.69 IQD 1,041

$1.44 ฿48.51

-52.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.32 IQD 1,989

$1.33 ฿45.07

-0.75%

Eggs

$1.70 IQD 2,574

$2.28 ฿77.1

-25.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.02 IQD 3,046

$16.45 ฿556

-87.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.99 IQD 6,032

$2.78 ฿94.0

43.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.85 IQD 11.9K

$9.31 ฿314

-15.68%

Apples (1kg)

$0.63 IQD 954

$2.35 ฿79.5

-73.19%

Banana (1kg)

$0.96 IQD 1,449

$0.97 ฿32.82

-1.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.56 IQD 848

$1.60 ฿53.9

-65.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.49 IQD 736

$1.50 ฿50.7

-67.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.43 IQD 650

$1.28 ฿43.15

-66.41%

Onion (1kg)

$0.33 IQD 499

$1.10 ฿37.22

-70.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.19 IQD 284

$0.71 ฿23.84

-73.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 IQD 776

$0.49 ฿16.38

4.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.53 IQD 2,319

$4.14 ฿140

-63.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.59 IQD 17.5K

$17.52 ฿592

-33.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.00 IQD 3,017

$1.61 ฿54.5

24.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 IQD 2,972

$2.78 ฿94.0

-29.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.32 IQD 480

$0.87 ฿29.33

-63.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.95 IQD 2,954

$1.16 ฿39.08

68.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.34 IQD 2,031

$0.53 ฿17.82

152.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.52 IQD 9,849

$2.42 ฿81.8

169.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.49 IQD 733

$1.45 ฿48.93

-66.21%

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

$16.6K IQD 25.0M

$21.1K ฿711.2K

-21.39%

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

$16.8K IQD 25.4M

$26.9K ฿909.8K

-37.65%

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

$188 IQD 283.3K

$62.2 ฿2,100

201.61%

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

$19.15 IQD 28.9K

$12.17 ฿411

57.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.76 IQD 29.9K

$20.12 ฿680

-1.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.05 IQD 22.7K

$37.31 ฿1,260

-59.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$9.64 IQD 14.6K

$6.49 ฿219

48.54%

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

$69.3 IQD 104.8K

$736 ฿24.9K

-90.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,161 IQD 3.3M

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-85.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$10.13 IQD 15.3K

$53.4 ฿1,802

-81.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.46 IQD 44.5K

$24.64 ฿832

19.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$20.07 IQD 30.3K

$91.5 ฿3,089

-78.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$34.57 IQD 52.2K

$71.9 ฿2,429

-51.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$208 IQD 313.5K

$482 ฿16.3K

-56.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$135 IQD 204.6K

$309 ฿10.4K

-56.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$371 IQD 561.3K

$1,006 ฿34.0K

-63.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 IQD 466.6K

$633 ฿21.4K

-51.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,244 IQD 1.9M

$2,363 ฿79.8K

-47.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$495 IQD 748.2K

$1,589 ฿53.7K

-68.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$902 IQD 1.4M

$590 ฿19.9K

53.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.12

5.57

-26.03%

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

Last update for Al Kufah: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al Kufah

$226 32.2%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 58.3% $132

Groceries & Markets

Al Kufah

$138 19.6%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 70.2% $97

Accommodation & Living

Al Kufah

$135 19.3%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 128% $174

Eating Out

Al Kufah

$116 16.6%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 33.4% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Al Kufah

$42 6%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 156% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Al Kufah

$34 4.9%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 46.5% $16

Getting Around

Al Kufah

$10 * 1.4%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 517% $51

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 $208 in Al Kufah and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Al Kufah pays 53% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $26 in Al Kufah vs $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries flip the comparison at $138 vs $234, with Al Kufah cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇶 Al Kufah

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

00:38 12:38 AM

04:38 4:38 AM

4 h ahead of Al Kufah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

230,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to IQD – Iraqi Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇶 Iraqi Dinar (ع.د)

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,682 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to IQD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Al Kufah Chiang Mai 5,620 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Al Kufah is about 25% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 53% higher in Al Kufah, 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: $208 in Al Kufah versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 70% higher in Chiang Mai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $703 per month in Al Kufah versus $936 in Chiang Mai – Al Kufah is about 25% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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.