Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Alcala de Henares and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,909 in Alcala de Henares, rent and utilities included – about $11,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

92

Cost of Living Index in Alcala de Henares
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Alcala de Henares Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Alcala de Henares

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,909

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,909 in Alcala de Henares versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Alcala de Henares $1,909
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,723 in Alcala de Henares versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Alcala de Henares $2,723
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Alcala de Henares versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Alcala de Henares $3,537
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Alcala de Henares is roughly 104% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Alcala de Henares is 40% above, Chiang Mai is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.95 €15.19

$2.24 ฿75.6

656.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 €59.0

$19.00 ฿641

246.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.11 €9.96

$5.55 ฿187

100.18%

Cappuccino

$2.66 €2.39

$1.67 ฿56.5

59.28%

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

$3.22 €2.88

$0.64 ฿21.55

403.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 €1.74

$0.31 ฿10.31

529.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.86 €3.46

$2.36 ฿79.6

63.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.88 €4.37

$3.66 ฿124

33.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 €1.08

$1.95 ฿65.8

-37.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 €1.40

$1.44 ฿48.48

8.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.71 €1.53

$1.33 ฿45.04

28.57%

Eggs

$2.88 €2.58

$2.28 ฿77.1

26.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$22.52 €20.18

$16.45 ฿555

36.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.16 €8.21

$2.78 ฿93.9

229.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.66 €15.82

$9.31 ฿314

89.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.79 €2.50

$2.35 ฿79.4

18.72%

Banana (1kg)

$2.38 €2.13

$0.97 ฿32.80

145.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 €1.96

$1.60 ฿53.9

36.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.60 €2.33

$1.50 ฿50.6

73.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.28 ฿43.12

67.19%

Onion (1kg)

$2.16 €1.93

$1.10 ฿37.19

96.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 €1.35

$0.71 ฿23.82

112.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 €0.67

$0.49 ฿16.37

53.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.06 €5.43

$4.14 ฿140

46.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.80 €6.99

$17.52 ฿591

-55.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 €1.06

$1.61 ฿54.5

-26.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.78 ฿94.0

-23.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.87 ฿29.31

68.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.73 €40.98

$54.1 ฿1,826

-15.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.70 €3.32

$1.16 ฿39.06

218.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 €1.73

$0.53 ฿17.80

264.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.94 €20.56

$2.42 ฿81.8

847.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 €1.54

$1.45 ฿48.90

18.62%

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

$32.8K €29.4K

$21.1K ฿710.7K

55.75%

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

$30.6K €27.4K

$26.9K ฿909.3K

13.60%

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

$188 €169

$62.2 ฿2,098

202.88%

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

$19.42 €17.40

$12.17 ฿411

59.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.79 €27.59

$20.12 ฿679

53.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.53 €37.21

$37.31 ฿1,259

11.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.27 €7.41

$3.77 ฿127

119.36%

Cinema Ticket

$9.49 €8.50

$6.49 ฿219

46.22%

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

$182 €163

$736 ฿24.8K

-75.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,892 €5,280

$14.8K ฿498.3K

-60.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.7 €66.0

$53.4 ฿1,801

38.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.88 €32.15

$24.64 ฿831

45.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.1 €69.1

$91.5 ฿3,087

-15.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.7 €85.7

$71.9 ฿2,428

32.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$983 €881

$482 ฿16.3K

103.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$854 €765

$309 ฿10.4K

176.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,791 €1,605

$1,006 ฿33.9K

78.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,156 €1,036

$633 ฿21.4K

82.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,266 €3,823

$2,363 ฿79.8K

80.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,423 €3,068

$1,589 ฿53.6K

115.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,741 €1,560

$590 ฿19.9K

195.18%

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 Alcala de Henares: 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

Alcala de Henares

$854 44.7%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 63.8% $545

Groceries & Markets

Alcala de Henares

$314 16.4%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 25.3% $80

Eating Out

Alcala de Henares

$251 13.1%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 69% $173

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Alcala de Henares

$239 12.5%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 60.4% $144

Clothing & Footwear

Alcala de Henares

$127 6.7%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 14.5% $18

Getting Around

Alcala de Henares

$65 3.4%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 5.5% $3.6

Sport & Entertainment

Alcala de Henares

$61 3.2%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 16.9% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $983 in Alcala de Henares and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Alcala de Henares pays about 3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $66 in Alcala de Henares vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $314 vs $234 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Alcala de Henares

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

03:09 3:09 AM

09:09 9:09 AM

6 h ahead of Alcala de Henares

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

199,184

127,240

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Alcala de Henares Chiang Mai 9,660 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Alcala de Henares
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

Alcala de Henares vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,909 in Alcala de Henares and $936 in Chiang Mai, so Chiang Mai is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Alcala de Henares is about 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: $983 in Alcala de Henares versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $182 in Alcala de Henares versus $736 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 34% higher in Alcala de Henares. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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, Alcala de Henares and Chiang Mai are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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