Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between As Samawah and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in As Samawah: $651 a month against $935 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in As Samawah
Learn more

As Samawah Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

As Samawah

🇮🇶 Iraq

$651

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $651 in As Samawah versus $935 in Chiang Mai.

As Samawah $651
Chiang Mai $935

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,052 in As Samawah versus $1,467 in Chiang Mai.

As Samawah $1,052
Chiang Mai $1,467

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,452 in As Samawah versus $1,999 in Chiang Mai.

As Samawah $1,452
Chiang Mai $1,999

Living in As Samawah costs roughly 30% less than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: As Samawah 52% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.66 IQD 7,041

$2.13 ฿72.0

118.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.87 IQD 40.6K

$18.62 ฿628

44.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.63 IQD 10.0K

$5.60 ฿189

18.39%

Cappuccino

$2.82 IQD 4,266

$1.66 ฿56.1

69.88%

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

$0.35 IQD 522

$0.65 ฿21.82

-46.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.19 IQD 281

$0.30 ฿10.29

-36.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.36 IQD 5,079

$2.32 ฿78.3

44.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.24 IQD 4,889

$3.67 ฿124

-11.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.90 IQD 1,367

$2.02 ฿68.0

-55.45%

White Bread (500g)

$0.63 IQD 951

$1.41 ฿47.49

-55.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.31 IQD 1,978

$1.39 ฿46.94

-5.76%

Eggs

$1.61 IQD 2,436

$2.37 ฿79.9

-32.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$1.34 IQD 2,019

$16.52 ฿557

-91.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.02 IQD 6,070

$2.67 ฿90.1

50.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.86 IQD 17.9K

$9.02 ฿304

31.49%

Apples (1kg)

$0.96 IQD 1,455

$2.40 ฿80.9

-60.00%

Banana (1kg)

$0.92 IQD 1,383

$1.04 ฿35.12

-11.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.83 IQD 1,256

$1.66 ฿56.0

-50.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.40 IQD 606

$1.56 ฿52.6

-74.36%

Potato (1kg)

$0.52 IQD 784

$1.24 ฿41.75

-58.06%

Onion (1kg)

$0.56 IQD 851

$1.09 ฿36.65

-48.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.59 IQD 892

$0.76 ฿25.70

-22.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 IQD 878

$0.51 ฿17.34

13.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.69 IQD 2,548

$4.12 ฿139

-58.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.66 IQD 10.1K

$17.93 ฿605

-62.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.97 IQD 2,973

$1.62 ฿54.8

21.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 IQD 2,854

$2.82 ฿95.2

-32.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 IQD 517

$0.93 ฿31.52

-63.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.98 IQD 30.2K

$52.9 ฿1,784

-62.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.96 IQD 2,968

$1.18 ฿39.69

66.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.28 IQD 1,940

$0.17 ฿5.78

652.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 IQD 3,937

$1.81 ฿61.1

44.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.57 IQD 866

$1.47 ฿49.67

-61.22%

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

$16.7K IQD 25.3M

$21.0K ฿708.7K

-20.34%

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

$16.6K IQD 25.1M

$26.5K ฿894.4K

-37.28%

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

$69.4 IQD 104.9K

$62.6 ฿2,110

10.92%

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

$16.69 IQD 25.2K

$11.60 ฿391

43.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.78 IQD 25.3K

$20.30 ฿685

-17.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.45 IQD 55.1K

$37.88 ฿1,278

-3.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.68 IQD 25.2K

$3.70 ฿125

350.81%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 IQD 11.8K

$6.51 ฿220

19.97%

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

$49.72 IQD 75.1K

$727 ฿24.5K

-93.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,297 IQD 2.0M

$16.6K ฿559.0K

-92.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$25.54 IQD 38.6K

$53.5 ฿1,806

-52.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.33 IQD 50.4K

$24.80 ฿836

34.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$58.9 IQD 89.0K

$90.4 ฿3,049

-34.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.08 IQD 62.1K

$72.0 ฿2,428

-42.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$209 IQD 316.2K

$481 ฿16.2K

-56.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$137 IQD 207.7K

$310 ฿10.5K

-55.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$168 IQD 254.1K

$1,058 ฿35.7K

-84.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 IQD 467.1K

$659 ฿22.2K

-53.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$867 IQD 1.3M

$2,418 ฿81.5K

-64.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$496 IQD 750.1K

$1,609 ฿54.3K

-69.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.12

5.57

-26.03%

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

Last update for As Samawah: November 2, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

As Samawah

$141 21.7%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 67.5% $95

Accommodation & Living

As Samawah

$137 21.1%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 126% $172

Eating Out

As Samawah

$116 17.9%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 34.3% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

As Samawah

$103 15.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 8.2% $8.4

Clothing & Footwear

As Samawah

$71 11%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 51.6% $37

Sport & Entertainment

As Samawah

$52 8%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 2.2% $1.2

Getting Around

As Samawah

$30 4.6%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 97.3% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $209 in As Samawah and $481 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $27 in As Samawah vs $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries flip the comparison at $141 vs $237, with As Samawah cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇶 As Samawah

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

14:36 2:36 PM

18:36 6:36 PM

4 h ahead of As Samawah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

250,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.9 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to IQD – Iraqi Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇶 Iraqi Dinar (ع.د)

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,694 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.9 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

USD to IQD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

As Samawah Chiang Mai 5,530 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

As Samawah
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

As Samawah vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

As Samawah is about 30% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $977 in As Samawah 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: $209 in As Samawah versus $481 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in As Samawah runs roughly 62% less than in Chiang Mai. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $50 in As Samawah versus $727 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.