Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Antigua Guatemala and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $1,267 in Antigua Guatemala, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Antigua Guatemala
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Antigua Guatemala Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Antigua Guatemala

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,267

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,267 in Antigua Guatemala versus $938 in Chiang Mai.

Antigua Guatemala $1,267
Chiang Mai $938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,106 in Antigua Guatemala versus $1,426 in Chiang Mai.

Antigua Guatemala $2,106
Chiang Mai $1,426

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,945 in Antigua Guatemala versus $1,914 in Chiang Mai.

Antigua Guatemala $2,945
Chiang Mai $1,914

Living in Antigua Guatemala is roughly 35% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Antigua Guatemala 6% lower, Chiang Mai 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.60 Q 50.4

$2.26 ฿75.4

192.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$51.4 Q 393

$19.18 ฿641

168.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.91 Q 60.5

$5.59 ฿187

41.50%

Cappuccino

$3.24 Q 24.80

$1.72 ฿57.6

88.37%

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

$1.16 Q 8.84

$0.64 ฿21.54

81.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.92 Q 7.00

$0.33 ฿11.18

178.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 Q 24.35

$2.36 ฿78.7

34.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.67 Q 35.68

$3.90 ฿130

19.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.10 Q 16.02

$2.05 ฿68.6

2.44%

White Bread (500g)

$3.14 Q 24.00

$1.40 ฿46.70

124.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.96 Q 15.00

$1.28 ฿42.89

53.12%

Eggs

$2.32 Q 17.74

$2.25 ฿75.3

3.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.42 Q 41.44

$16.94 ฿566

-68.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.21 Q 70.4

$2.74 ฿91.6

236.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.21 Q 78.0

$9.36 ฿313

9.08%

Apples (1kg)

$3.86 Q 29.55

$2.40 ฿80.3

60.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 Q 12.57

$1.01 ฿33.92

62.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.81 Q 21.50

$1.61 ฿53.9

74.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 Q 12.66

$1.52 ฿50.7

9.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 Q 11.24

$1.28 ฿42.90

14.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 Q 13.23

$1.11 ฿37.22

55.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 Q 5.31

$0.72 ฿24.09

-4.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 Q 9.29

$0.52 ฿17.54

132.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.84 Q 29.36

$4.33 ฿145

-11.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.69 Q 58.8

$17.73 ฿593

-56.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 Q 13.67

$1.63 ฿54.4

9.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 Q 20.76

$2.85 ฿95.3

-4.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.58 Q 19.76

$0.85 ฿28.31

203.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.9 ฿1,801

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.69 Q 35.84

$1.17 ฿39.18

300.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.57 ฿19.00

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.63 Q 81.2

$2.37 ฿79.2

348.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 Q 10.16

$1.45 ฿48.32

-8.28%

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

$22.7K Q 173.6K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

10.92%

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

$21.8K Q 166.8K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

-17.72%

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

$57.4 Q 439

$62.3 ฿2,083

-7.93%

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

$29.74 Q 227

$12.27 ฿410

142.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.70 Q 349

$19.97 ฿668

128.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.50 Q 317

$37.91 ฿1,267

9.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.20 Q 216

$3.76 ฿126

650.00%

Cinema Ticket

$6.39 Q 48.83

$6.71 ฿224

-4.77%

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

$346 Q 2,645

$797 ฿26.6K

-56.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,755 Q 51.6K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

-54.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.31 Q 339

$53.3 ฿1,780

-16.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.03 Q 367

$25.05 ฿837

91.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.1 Q 704

$91.6 ฿3,062

0.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.0 Q 611

$73.5 ฿2,455

8.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$865 Q 6,610

$464 ฿15.5K

86.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$531 Q 4,059

$305 ฿10.2K

74.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,864 Q 14.3K

$915 ฿30.6K

103.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,180 Q 9,024

$552 ฿18.5K

113.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,064 Q 23.4K

$1,912 ฿63.9K

60.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,227 Q 9,385

$1,438 ฿48.1K

-14.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$626 Q 4,786

$595 ฿19.9K

5.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.62

5.57

108.62%

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

Last update for Antigua Guatemala: October 12, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Antigua Guatemala

$531 41.9%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 42.6% $226

Groceries & Markets

Antigua Guatemala

$266 21%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 10.6% $28

Eating Out

Antigua Guatemala

$149 11.8%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 47% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Antigua Guatemala

$133 10.5%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 28.8% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Antigua Guatemala

$119 9.4%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 7.9% $9.4

Sport & Entertainment

Antigua Guatemala

$54 4.3%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 5.4% $2.9

Getting Around

Antigua Guatemala

$15 * 1.2%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 308% $46

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 $865 in Antigua Guatemala and $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Antigua Guatemala pays 5% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $51.0 in Antigua Guatemala vs $19.00 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $238 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇹 Antigua Guatemala

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

04:48 4:48 AM

17:48 5:48 PM

13 h ahead of Antigua Guatemala

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

46,054

127,240

💱 Currency

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.116 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GTQ – Guatemalan Quetzal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇹 Guatemalan Quetzal (Q)

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 7.65 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.6 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.116 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GTQ in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Antigua Guatemala Chiang Mai 16,160 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Antigua Guatemala
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

Antigua Guatemala vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Antigua Guatemala and Chiang Mai differ by about 35% in total monthly costs ($1,267 vs $938 including rent). Chiang Mai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 5% higher in Antigua Guatemala, 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: $865 in Antigua Guatemala versus $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $346 in Antigua Guatemala versus $797 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Chiang Mai – a meal for two runs $19.00 versus $51.0 in Antigua Guatemala. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $938 in Chiang Mai versus $1,267 in Antigua Guatemala, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Antigua Guatemala. The gap between the two cities makes Chiang Mai the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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, Antigua Guatemala 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.

Expats usually find Chiang Mai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 35% less than in Antigua Guatemala. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.