Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al Kut and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Al Kut: $660 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Al Kut
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Al Kut Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Al Kut

🇮🇶 Iraq

$660

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $660 per month in Al Kut vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Al Kut $660
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,016 per month in Al Kut vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Al Kut $1,016
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $1,372 per month in Al Kut vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Al Kut $1,372
Chiang Mai $1,979

Al Kut is about 29% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Al Kut and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Al Kut 52% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.05 IQD 6,122

$2.24 ฿75.7

80.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.78 IQD 28.4K

$19.00 ฿642

-1.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.05 IQD 9,139

$5.55 ฿188

9.01%

Cappuccino

$2.51 IQD 3,795

$1.67 ฿56.6

50.30%

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

$0.39 IQD 583

$0.64 ฿21.56

-39.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 IQD 342

$0.31 ฿10.32

-25.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.84 IQD 4,294

$2.36 ฿79.6

20.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 IQD 4,030

$3.66 ฿124

-27.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 IQD 1,543

$1.95 ฿65.8

-47.69%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 IQD 1,097

$1.44 ฿48.51

-49.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.49 IQD 2,246

$1.33 ฿45.07

12.03%

Eggs

$1.60 IQD 2,411

$2.28 ฿77.1

-29.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.85 IQD 5,821

$16.45 ฿556

-76.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.58 IQD 5,410

$2.78 ฿94.0

28.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.64 IQD 17.6K

$9.31 ฿314

25.03%

Apples (1kg)

$0.91 IQD 1,376

$2.35 ฿79.5

-61.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.00 IQD 1,511

$0.97 ฿32.82

3.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.85 IQD 1,289

$1.60 ฿53.9

-46.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 IQD 951

$1.50 ฿50.7

-58.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.55 IQD 837

$1.28 ฿43.15

-57.03%

Onion (1kg)

$0.57 IQD 864

$1.10 ฿37.22

-48.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.56 IQD 849

$0.71 ฿23.84

-21.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 IQD 768

$0.49 ฿16.38

4.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.71 IQD 2,577

$4.14 ฿140

-58.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.61 IQD 14.5K

$17.52 ฿592

-45.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 IQD 2,055

$1.61 ฿54.5

-15.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 IQD 2,918

$2.78 ฿94.0

-30.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.33 IQD 493

$0.87 ฿29.33

-62.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.88 IQD 2,848

$1.16 ฿39.08

62.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.14 IQD 1,720

$0.53 ฿17.82

115.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.53 IQD 8,349

$2.42 ฿81.8

128.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.50 IQD 754

$1.45 ฿48.93

-65.52%

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

$14.1K IQD 21.3M

$21.1K ฿711.2K

-33.16%

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

$15.4K IQD 23.3M

$26.9K ฿909.8K

-42.86%

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

$86.2 IQD 130.3K

$62.2 ฿2,100

38.67%

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

$13.28 IQD 20.1K

$12.17 ฿411

9.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.34 IQD 44.3K

$20.12 ฿680

45.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.82 IQD 55.6K

$37.31 ฿1,260

-1.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$9.35 IQD 14.1K

$6.49 ฿219

44.07%

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

$138 IQD 208.6K

$736 ฿24.9K

-81.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,820 IQD 4.3M

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-80.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$20.90 IQD 31.6K

$53.4 ฿1,802

-60.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.07 IQD 34.9K

$24.64 ฿832

-6.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$58.9 IQD 88.9K

$91.5 ฿3,089

-35.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$37.09 IQD 56.0K

$71.9 ฿2,429

-48.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$183 IQD 275.9K

$482 ฿16.3K

-62.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$149 IQD 224.5K

$309 ฿10.4K

-51.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$370 IQD 559.1K

$1,006 ฿34.0K

-63.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$320 IQD 483.8K

$633 ฿21.4K

-49.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$846 IQD 1.3M

$2,363 ฿79.8K

-64.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$502 IQD 758.8K

$1,589 ฿53.7K

-68.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

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 Kut: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Al Kut

$152 23.1%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 53.9% $82

Accommodation & Living

Al Kut

$149 22.5%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 108% $160

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al Kut

$129 19.5%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 26.7% $34

Eating Out

Al Kut

$103 15.6%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 24.5% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Al Kut

$63 9.5%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 72.6% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Al Kut

$56 8.4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 9.4% $5.2

Getting Around

Al Kut

$8.9 * 1.4%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 591% $52

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $183 in Al Kut versus $482 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 $19 in Al Kut versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $152 vs $234 – making Al Kut the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇶 Al Kut

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

09:25 9:25 AM

13:25 1:25 PM

4 h ahead of Al Kut

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

422,793

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 = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to IQD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Al Kut Chiang Mai 5,480 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Monthly costs with rent: $660 in Al Kut, $936 in Chiang Mai – roughly 42% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $990 per month in Al Kut and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Al Kut, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $183 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

Kindergarten costs $138 per month in Al Kut and $736 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $660 in Al Kut and $936 in Chiang Mai. That’s a gap of about 42%.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $660 in Al Kut and $936 in Chiang Mai, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

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