Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Alton and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,607 in Alton, rent and utilities included – about $20,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Alton
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Alton Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Alton

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,607

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,607 per month in Alton vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Alton $2,607
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,875 per month in Alton vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Alton $3,875
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $5,143 per month in Alton vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Alton $5,143
Chiang Mai $1,979

Alton costs about 179% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Alton sits 92% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$27.13 £20.42

$2.24 ฿75.7

1111.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$105 £78.7

$19.00 ฿642

450.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.75 £8.09

$5.55 ฿188

93.69%

Cappuccino

$5.69 £4.28

$1.67 ฿56.6

240.72%

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

$3.03 £2.28

$0.64 ฿21.56

373.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.66

$0.31 ฿10.32

609.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.07 £6.83

$2.36 ฿79.6

284.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.96 £5.99

$3.66 ฿124

117.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 £1.37

$1.95 ฿65.8

-7.18%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 £1.52

$1.44 ฿48.51

40.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 £1.89

$1.33 ฿45.07

88.72%

Eggs

$3.39 £2.55

$2.28 ฿77.1

48.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.77 £9.61

$16.45 ฿556

-22.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.86 £8.18

$2.78 ฿94.0

290.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.24 £12.98

$9.31 ฿314

85.18%

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 £2.36

$2.35 ฿79.5

33.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 £1.07

$0.97 ฿32.82

46.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.99 £2.25

$1.60 ฿53.9

86.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.40 £2.56

$1.50 ฿50.7

126.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.28 ฿43.15

31.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.81 £1.36

$1.10 ฿37.22

64.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 £1.11

$0.71 ฿23.84

107.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 £1.39

$0.49 ฿16.38

277.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.77 £17.89

$4.14 ฿140

474.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.50 £7.90

$17.52 ฿592

-40.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 £1.77

$1.61 ฿54.5

45.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.74 £2.06

$2.78 ฿94.0

-1.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.49 £2.62

$0.87 ฿29.33

301.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.0 £73.8

$54.1 ฿1,827

81.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.46 £4.11

$1.16 ฿39.08

370.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.39 £2.55

$0.53 ฿17.82

539.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.69 £19.33

$2.42 ฿81.8

961.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.10 £1.58

$1.45 ฿48.93

44.83%

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

$38.2K £28.8K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

81.60%

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

$40.2K £30.2K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

49.08%

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

$369 £278

$62.2 ฿2,100

494.26%

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

$18.30 £13.77

$12.17 ฿411

50.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 £30.54

$20.12 ฿680

101.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.16 £34.74

$37.31 ฿1,260

23.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$17.88 £13.45

$6.49 ฿219

175.50%

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

$2,877 £2,165

$736 ฿24.9K

290.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.7K £26.9K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

141.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$117 £87.9

$53.4 ฿1,802

118.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.5 £41.04

$24.64 ฿832

121.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £96.6

$91.5 ฿3,089

40.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$165 £124

$71.9 ฿2,429

129.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,246 £938

$482 ฿16.3K

158.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,019 £767

$309 ฿10.4K

230.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,098 £1,579

$1,006 ฿34.0K

108.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,683 £1,267

$633 ฿21.4K

165.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,091 £3,832

$2,363 ฿79.8K

115.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,807 £2,865

$1,589 ฿53.7K

139.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

5.57

-14.90%

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

Last update for Alton: October 24, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Alton

$1K 39.1%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 69.7% $711

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Alton

$428 16.4%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 77.9% $334

Eating Out

Alton

$400 15.3%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 80.6% $322

Groceries & Markets

Alton

$334 12.8%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 29.9% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Alton

$209 8%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 48% $100

Getting Around

Alton

$134 5.2%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 54.3% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Alton

$82 3.1%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 38.6% $32

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,246 in Alton 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 $105 in Alton versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $334 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Alton

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

16:07 4:07 PM

23:07 11:07 PM

7 h ahead of Alton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,816

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 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 GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Alton Chiang Mai 9,060 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Alton
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $2,607 in Alton, $936 in Chiang Mai – roughly 179% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,911 per month in Alton 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 $1,246 in Alton.

Public transport costs about 45% less in Chiang Mai. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $2,877 per month in Alton and $736 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,607 in Alton and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

For expats, Chiang Mai is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and the 179% gap matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.