Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al-Qurain and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,444 in Al-Qurain, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

66

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

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Al-Qurain

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,444

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,444 per month in Al-Qurain vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Al-Qurain $1,444
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $2,407 per month in Al-Qurain vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Al-Qurain $2,407
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $3,371 per month in Al-Qurain vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Al-Qurain $3,371
Chiang Mai $1,979

Al-Qurain costs about 54% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Al-Qurain sits 6% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.68 KWD 3.91

$2.24 ฿75.6

466.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.9 KWD 20.02

$19.00 ฿641

241.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.98 KWD 2.77

$5.55 ฿187

61.80%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.26 KWD 1.00

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.75 KWD 1.46

Cappuccino

$5.15 KWD 1.59

$1.67 ฿56.5

208.38%

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

$0.70 KWD 0.22

$0.64 ฿21.54

9.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 KWD 0.09

$0.31 ฿10.31

-6.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 KWD 0.49

$1.95 ฿65.7

-18.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 KWD 0.45

$1.44 ฿48.46

1.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 KWD 0.60

$1.33 ฿45.03

45.86%

Eggs

$2.05 KWD 0.63

$2.28 ฿77.1

-10.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.38 KWD 1.35

$16.45 ฿555

-73.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.71 KWD 2.07

$2.78 ฿93.9

141.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.08 KWD 3.11

$9.31 ฿314

8.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.42 KWD 0.75

$2.35 ฿79.4

2.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 KWD 0.60

$0.97 ฿32.79

100.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 KWD 0.58

$1.60 ฿53.9

16.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 KWD 0.46

$1.50 ฿50.6

-1.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.31 KWD 0.40

$1.28 ฿43.11

2.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 KWD 0.44

$1.10 ฿37.18

29.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.36 KWD 0.73

$0.71 ฿23.82

232.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 KWD 0.17

$0.49 ฿16.36

10.20%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.24 KWD 1.00

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 KWD 0.32

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 KWD 0.42

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.68 KWD 0.82

$4.14 ฿140

-35.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.9

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 KWD 0.26

$0.87 ฿29.30

-2.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.89 KWD 1.51

$1.16 ฿39.04

321.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.19 KWD 0.98

$0.53 ฿17.80

501.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.11 KWD 4.96

$2.42 ฿81.7

565.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.36 KWD 0.11

$1.45 ฿48.88

-75.17%

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

$23.4K KWD 7,227

$21.1K ฿710.5K

11.35%

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

$20.0K KWD 6,169

$26.9K ฿909.0K

-25.71%

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

$64.2 KWD 19.78

$62.2 ฿2,098

3.25%

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

$22.45 KWD 6.92

$12.17 ฿411

84.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.56 KWD 9.11

$20.12 ฿679

46.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$106 KWD 32.72

$37.31 ฿1,259

184.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$13.00 KWD 4.01

$6.49 ฿219

100.31%

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

$498 KWD 154

$736 ฿24.8K

-32.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,315 KWD 2,871

$14.8K ฿498.2K

-36.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.72 KWD 11.63

$53.4 ฿1,801

-29.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.32 KWD 12.12

$24.64 ฿831

59.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.7 KWD 30.43

$91.5 ฿3,087

7.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.1 KWD 27.77

$71.9 ฿2,427

25.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$745 KWD 230

$482 ฿16.3K

54.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$673 KWD 207

$309 ฿10.4K

117.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,643 KWD 506

$1,006 ฿33.9K

63.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,476 KWD 455

$633 ฿21.4K

133.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,483 KWD 1,382

$590 ฿19.9K

660.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.53

5.57

17.24%

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

Last update for Al-Qurain: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Al-Qurain

$673 46.6%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 54.1% $364

Eating Out

Al-Qurain

$194 13.4%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 60% $116

Groceries & Markets

Al-Qurain

$185 12.8%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 26.9% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Al-Qurain

$132 9.2%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 62% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Al-Qurain

$120 8.3%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 9.2% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al-Qurain

$116 8.1%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 18.7% $22

Getting Around

Al-Qurain

$24 * 1.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 153% $37

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $745 in Al-Qurain 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.

Salaries in Al-Qurain are about 7.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $65 in Al-Qurain versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $185 in Al-Qurain vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so Al-Qurain wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇰🇼 Al-Qurain

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

01:20 1:20 AM

05:20 5:20 AM

4 h ahead of Al-Qurain

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,458

127,240

💱 Currency

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 KWD = 3.24 USD

1 KWD = 2.91 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to KWD – Kuwaiti Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇼 Kuwaiti Dinar (د.ك)

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.24 USD). 1 EUR = 0.344 KWD (1 KWD = 2.91 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to KWD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Al-Qurain Chiang Mai 5,260 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Yes – Al-Qurain is pricier by about 54%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,165 per month in Al-Qurain 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 Chiang Mai, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $482 there versus $745 in Al-Qurain.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $65 in Al-Qurain and $19 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 21% cheaper in Al-Qurain – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,444 in Al-Qurain and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $936 in Chiang Mai to $1,444 in Al-Qurain. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Al-Qurain makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.