Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Albacete and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,562 in Albacete, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Albacete
Learn more

Albacete Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Albacete

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,562

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,562 in Albacete versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Albacete $1,562
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,228 in Albacete versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Albacete $2,228
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,893 in Albacete versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Albacete $2,893
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Albacete is roughly 67% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Albacete is 15% above, Chiang Mai is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.56 €13.08

$2.24 ฿75.7

550.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.80 €42.94

$19.00 ฿642

151.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.33 €8.38

$5.55 ฿188

68.11%

Cappuccino

$2.09 €1.88

$1.67 ฿56.6

25.15%

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

$2.36 €2.12

$0.64 ฿21.56

268.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 €1.48

$0.31 ฿10.32

429.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.74 €2.46

$2.36 ฿79.6

16.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 €4.09

$3.66 ฿124

24.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.91 €0.82

$1.95 ฿65.8

-53.33%

White Bread (500g)

$0.75 €0.68

$1.44 ฿48.51

-47.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.33 ฿45.07

30.08%

Eggs

$2.95 €2.65

$2.28 ฿77.1

29.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.11 €14.47

$16.45 ฿556

-2.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.47 €4.91

$2.78 ฿94.0

96.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.39 €15.62

$9.31 ฿314

86.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.52 €2.26

$2.35 ฿79.5

7.23%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 €1.92

$0.97 ฿32.82

120.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.46 €2.21

$1.60 ฿53.9

53.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.51 €2.25

$1.50 ฿50.7

67.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 €2.07

$1.28 ฿43.15

80.47%

Onion (1kg)

$2.06 €1.85

$1.10 ฿37.22

87.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 €1.40

$0.71 ฿23.84

119.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 €0.51

$0.49 ฿16.38

16.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.82 €6.13

$4.14 ฿140

64.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.30 €4.76

$17.52 ฿592

-69.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 €1.09

$1.61 ฿54.5

-24.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.78 ฿94.0

-23.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.38 €1.24

$0.87 ฿29.33

58.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.51 €14.83

$54.1 ฿1,827

-69.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 €3.31

$1.16 ฿39.08

218.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 €1.38

$0.53 ฿17.82

188.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.69 €26.67

$2.42 ฿81.8

1126.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 €1.48

$1.45 ฿48.93

13.79%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

57.45%

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

$28.5K €25.6K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

5.80%

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

$184 €166

$62.2 ฿2,100

196.65%

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

$17.50 €15.72

$12.17 ฿411

43.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.04 €15.31

$20.12 ฿680

-15.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,260

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.41 €3.96

$3.77 ฿127

16.98%

Cinema Ticket

$9.04 €8.12

$6.49 ฿219

39.29%

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

$681 €612

$736 ฿24.9K

-7.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.8K €16.0K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

20.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$82.8 €74.4

$53.4 ฿1,802

55.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.11 €37.83

$24.64 ฿832

70.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.8 €78.9

$91.5 ฿3,089

-4.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 €100

$71.9 ฿2,429

54.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$936 €841

$482 ฿16.3K

94.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$682 €612

$309 ฿10.4K

120.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,239 €1,113

$1,006 ฿34.0K

23.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$948 €851

$633 ฿21.4K

49.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,312 €2,077

$2,363 ฿79.8K

-2.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,022 €1,816

$1,589 ฿53.7K

27.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,952 €1,754

$590 ฿19.9K

231.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.14

5.57

-43.63%

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

Last update for Albacete: October 27, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Albacete

$682 43.6%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 54.7% $373

Groceries & Markets

Albacete

$256 16.4%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 8.5% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Albacete

$219 14%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 56.9% $125

Eating Out

Albacete

$208 13.3%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 62.8% $131

Clothing & Footwear

Albacete

$146 9.3%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 25.5% $37

Getting Around

Albacete

$33 2.1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 84% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Albacete

$18 * 1.2%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 178% $32

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 $936 in Albacete and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Albacete pays about 3.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Albacete vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $256 vs $234 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Albacete

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

15:09 3:09 PM

21:09 9:09 PM

6 h ahead of Albacete

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

173,206

127,240

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Albacete Chiang Mai 9,600 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Albacete
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

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

Albacete and Chiang Mai differ by about 67% in total monthly costs ($1,562 vs $936 including rent). Chiang Mai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Albacete is about 3.3 times higher, 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: $936 in Albacete versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Chiang Mai – a meal for two runs $19 versus $48 in Albacete. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,562 per month in Albacete versus $936 in Chiang Mai – a 67% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Chiang Mai is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Albacete 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.

It comes down to priorities – Chiang Mai wins on affordability, Albacete on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.