Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Arak and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Arak: $480 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Arak
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Arak Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Arak

🇮🇷 Iran

$480

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $480 in Arak versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Arak $480
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $755 in Arak versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Arak $755
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,030 in Arak versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Arak $1,030
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Arak costs roughly 49% less than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Arak 65% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.55 $3.55

$2.24 ฿75.7

58.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.88 $12.88

$19.00 ฿642

-32.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 $4.09

$5.55 ฿188

-26.31%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.73 $0.73

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 $0.57

Cappuccino

$1.33 $1.33

$1.67 ฿56.6

-20.36%

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

$0.51 $0.51

$0.64 ฿21.56

-20.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 $1.66

$0.31 ฿10.32

435.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$0.54 $0.54

$1.95 ฿65.8

-72.31%

White Bread (500g)

$0.58 $0.58

$1.44 ฿48.51

-59.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.96 $1.96

$1.33 ฿45.07

47.37%

Eggs

$1.28 $1.28

$2.28 ฿77.1

-43.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.14 $2.14

$16.45 ฿556

-86.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.53 $2.53

$2.78 ฿94.0

-8.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.31 $10.31

$9.31 ฿314

10.74%

Apples (1kg)

$0.77 $0.77

$2.35 ฿79.5

-67.23%

Banana (1kg)

$0.94 $0.94

$0.97 ฿32.82

-3.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.63 $0.63

$1.60 ฿53.9

-60.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.48 $0.48

$1.50 ฿50.7

-68.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.42 $0.42

$1.28 ฿43.15

-67.19%

Onion (1kg)

$0.44 $0.44

$1.10 ฿37.22

-60.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.48 $0.48

$0.71 ฿23.84

-32.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 $0.28

$0.49 ฿16.38

-42.86%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.76 $0.76

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 $0.55

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 $2.17

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.52 $2.52

$4.14 ฿140

-39.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿592

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.10 $0.10

$0.87 ฿29.33

-88.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.70 $9.70

$54.1 ฿1,827

-82.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.25 $0.25

$1.16 ฿39.08

-78.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.12 $0.12

$0.53 ฿17.82

-77.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.02 $1.02

$2.42 ฿81.8

-57.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.10 $0.10

$1.45 ฿48.93

-93.10%

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

$50.3K $50.3K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

139.08%

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

$35.0K $35.0K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

29.73%

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

$10.03 $10.03

$62.2 ฿2,100

-83.87%

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

$1.43 $1.43

$12.17 ฿411

-88.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$4.01 $4.01

$20.12 ฿680

-80.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$9.93 $9.93

$37.31 ฿1,260

-73.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.64 $24.64

$3.77 ฿127

553.58%

Cinema Ticket

$1.11 $1.11

$6.49 ฿219

-82.90%

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

$83.3 $83.3

$736 ฿24.9K

-88.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,372 $2,372

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-83.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.59 $13.59

$53.4 ฿1,802

-74.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$8.51 $8.51

$24.64 ฿832

-65.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.9 $81.9

$91.5 ฿3,089

-10.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$52.1 $52.1

$71.9 ฿2,429

-27.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$294 $294

$482 ฿16.3K

-39.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$210 $210

$309 ฿10.4K

-32.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$781 $781

$1,006 ฿34.0K

-22.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$357 $357

$633 ฿21.4K

-43.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,369 $1,369

$2,363 ฿79.8K

-42.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$647 $647

$1,589 ฿53.7K

-59.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$375 $375

$590 ฿19.9K

-36.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

18.5

5.57

232.14%

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

Last update for Arak: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Arak

$210 43.7%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 47.4% $99

Groceries & Markets

Arak

$96 20%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 144% $138

Clothing & Footwear

Arak

$70 14.6%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 54.7% $38

Eating Out

Arak

$65 13.6%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 18.8% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Arak

$15 3.2%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 510% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Arak

$12 2.5%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 314% $38

Getting Around

Arak

$11 2.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 460% $50

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $294 in Arak and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chiang Mai pays 57% 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: $13 in Arak vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $96 vs $234 per month, with Arak cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇷 Arak

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

01:57 1:57 AM

05:27 5:27 AM

3 h 30 min ahead of Arak

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

526,200

127,240

💱 Currency

USD USD

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, EUR to USD – USD Converter

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

USD exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 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).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Arak Chiang Mai 5,140 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Arak
Chiang Mai

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

Arak is about 49% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 36% lower in Arak. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $294 in Arak versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $480 per month in Arak versus $936 in Chiang Mai – Arak is about 49% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Arak runs roughly 82% less than in Chiang Mai. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your 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, Arak and Chiang Mai are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Arak gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Chiang Mai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.