Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Arrest and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,800 in Arrest, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

87

Cost of Living Index in Arrest
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Arrest Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Arrest

🇫🇷 France

$1,800

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,800 in Arrest versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Arrest $1,800
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,757 in Arrest versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Arrest $2,757
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,713 in Arrest versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Arrest $3,713
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Arrest is roughly 92% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Arrest is 32% above, Chiang Mai is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.82 €15.11

$2.24 ฿75.7

650.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.2 €50.5

$19.00 ฿642

195.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.24 €11.90

$5.55 ฿188

138.56%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$1.67 ฿56.6

77.84%

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

$3.05 €2.74

$0.64 ฿21.56

376.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 €1.87

$0.31 ฿10.32

570.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.52 €7.66

$2.36 ฿79.6

261.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.57 €5.00

$3.66 ฿124

52.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.17

$1.95 ฿65.8

-33.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.69 €1.52

$1.44 ฿48.51

17.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 €2.24

$1.33 ฿45.07

87.22%

Eggs

$3.92 €3.52

$2.28 ฿77.1

71.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.07 €9.05

$16.45 ฿556

-38.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.03 €10.80

$2.78 ฿94.0

332.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.92 €14.30

$9.31 ฿314

71.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 €2.68

$2.35 ฿79.5

27.23%

Banana (1kg)

$3.03 €2.72

$0.97 ฿32.82

212.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.60 ฿53.9

-8.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.20 €3.78

$1.50 ฿50.7

180.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 €1.65

$1.28 ฿43.15

42.97%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.87

$1.10 ฿37.22

89.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.62 €1.46

$0.71 ฿23.84

128.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.16 €0.14

$0.49 ฿16.38

-67.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.64 €11.35

$4.14 ฿140

205.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.56 €4.99

$17.52 ฿592

-68.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 €1.28

$1.61 ฿54.5

-11.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 €1.43

$2.78 ฿94.0

-42.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.94 €1.74

$0.87 ฿29.33

122.99%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.4 €45.31

$54.1 ฿1,827

-6.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.27 €2.04

$1.16 ฿39.08

95.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.14 €1.03

$0.53 ฿17.82

115.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.61 €29.30

$2.42 ฿81.8

1247.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.17 €1.95

$1.45 ฿48.93

49.66%

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

$34.9K €31.3K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

65.68%

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

$35.8K €32.2K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

32.97%

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

$200 €180

$62.2 ฿2,100

221.73%

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

$32.60 €29.28

$12.17 ฿411

167.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.74 €28.51

$20.12 ฿680

57.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.19 €36.10

$37.31 ฿1,260

7.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$15.48 €13.91

$6.49 ฿219

138.52%

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

$889 €799

$736 ฿24.9K

20.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.6K €9,481

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-28.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$129 €116

$53.4 ฿1,802

141.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.35 €41.63

$24.64 ฿832

88.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.9 €88.8

$91.5 ฿3,089

8.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$158 €142

$71.9 ฿2,429

120.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$825 €741

$482 ฿16.3K

71.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$626 €563

$309 ฿10.4K

102.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,536 €1,380

$1,006 ฿34.0K

52.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,160 €1,042

$633 ฿21.4K

83.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,727 €3,348

$2,363 ฿79.8K

57.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,368 €3,026

$1,589 ฿53.7K

111.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.9

5.57

-29.98%

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

Last update for Arrest: 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

Arrest

$626 34.8%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 50.7% $318

Groceries & Markets

Arrest

$293 16.3%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 20% $59

Eating Out

Arrest

$284 15.8%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 72.7% $207

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Arrest

$264 14.7%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 64.3% $170

Clothing & Footwear

Arrest

$195 10.8%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 44.2% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Arrest

$71 4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 29.3% $21

Getting Around

Arrest

$66 3.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 7.3% $4.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $825 in Arrest and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $56 in Arrest vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $234 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Arrest

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

23:55 11:55 PM

05:55 5:55 AM

6 h ahead of Arrest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

900

127,240

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Arrest Chiang Mai 8,920 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Arrest
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

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

Chiang Mai is about 48% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,700 in Arrest and $1,403 in Chiang Mai to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $825 in Arrest versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $889 in Arrest 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 25% higher in Arrest. 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, Arrest and Chiang Mai are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.