Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Amparai and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Amparai: $502 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Amparai
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Amparai Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Amparai

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$502

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $502 in Amparai versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Amparai $502
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $814 in Amparai versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Amparai $814
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,126 in Amparai versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Amparai $1,126
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Amparai costs roughly 46% less than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Amparai 63% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.79 LKR 1,261

$2.24 ฿75.7

69.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.61 LKR 8,183

$19.00 ฿642

29.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.42 LKR 2,467

$5.55 ฿188

33.69%

Cappuccino

$2.48 LKR 824

$1.67 ฿56.6

48.50%

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

$0.67 LKR 221

$0.64 ฿21.56

4.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 90.4

$0.31 ฿10.32

-12.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.25 LKR 749

$2.36 ฿79.6

-4.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.94 LKR 978

$3.66 ฿124

-19.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 LKR 544

$1.95 ฿65.8

-15.90%

White Bread (500g)

$0.53 LKR 176

$1.44 ฿48.51

-63.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 LKR 269

$1.33 ฿45.07

-39.10%

Eggs

$1.72 LKR 573

$2.28 ฿77.1

-24.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.94 LKR 4,636

$16.45 ฿556

-15.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.01 LKR 1,666

$2.78 ฿94.0

80.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.61 LKR 2,529

$9.31 ฿314

-18.26%

Apples (1kg)

$6.65 LKR 2,210

$2.35 ฿79.5

182.98%

Banana (1kg)

$0.86 LKR 287

$0.97 ฿32.82

-11.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.30 LKR 1,429

$1.60 ฿53.9

168.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.27 LKR 422

$1.50 ฿50.7

-15.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.05 LKR 349

$1.28 ฿43.15

-17.97%

Onion (1kg)

$0.83 LKR 276

$1.10 ฿37.22

-24.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.94 LKR 314

$0.71 ฿23.84

32.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.42 LKR 139

$0.49 ฿16.38

-14.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.34 LKR 3,439

$4.14 ฿140

149.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.93 LKR 4,298

$17.52 ฿592

-26.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 LKR 653

$1.61 ฿54.5

21.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 LKR 973

$2.78 ฿94.0

5.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.33

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.37 LKR 125

$1.16 ฿39.08

-68.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.37 LKR 124

$0.53 ฿17.82

-30.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.94 LKR 313

$2.42 ฿81.8

-61.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 LKR 447

$1.45 ฿48.93

-7.59%

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

$44.5K LKR 14.8M

$21.1K ฿711.2K

111.12%

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

$41.2K LKR 13.7M

$26.9K ฿909.8K

52.88%

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

$59.7 LKR 19.8K

$62.2 ฿2,100

-4.02%

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

$4.23 LKR 1,407

$12.17 ฿411

-65.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.72 LKR 6,887

$20.12 ฿680

2.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,260

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$1.84 LKR 610

$6.49 ฿219

-71.65%

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

$37.07 LKR 12.3K

$736 ฿24.9K

-94.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,226 LKR 407.8K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-91.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.05 LKR 6,002

$53.4 ฿1,802

-66.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.88 LKR 5,611

$24.64 ฿832

-31.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.5 LKR 25.8K

$91.5 ฿3,089

-15.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.12 LKR 14.0K

$71.9 ฿2,429

-41.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿34.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$91.8 LKR 30.5K

$590 ฿19.9K

-84.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

5.57

127.83%

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

Last update for Amparai: 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

Amparai

$239 47.5%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 1.8% $4.2

Eating Out

Amparai

$103 20.6%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 24.9% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Amparai

$85 16.9%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 11.6% $9.8

Clothing & Footwear

Amparai

$70 13.9%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 56.2% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Amparai

$3.7 * 0.7%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 1270% $47

Getting Around

Amparai

$2.2 * 0.5%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 2639% $59

Accommodation & Living

Amparai

- * 0%

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

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

Cost Breakdown

Chiang Mai pays about 6.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $25 in Amparai vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $239 vs $234 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Amparai

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

03:44 3:44 AM

05:14 5:14 AM

1 h 30 min ahead of Amparai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

110,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Amparai Chiang Mai 2,270 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Amparai
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

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

Amparai is about 46% cheaper overall, especially in transport, leisure, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 84% lower in Amparai. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Dining out is cheaper in Chiang Mai – a meal for two runs $19 versus $25 in Amparai. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Childcare runs $37 in Amparai versus $736 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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.

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