Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ascona and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $925 a month against $3,528 in Ascona, rent and utilities included – about $31,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

170

Cost of Living Index in Ascona
Learn more

Ascona Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Ascona

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,528

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,528 in Ascona versus $925 in Chiang Mai.

Ascona $3,528
Chiang Mai $925

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,347 in Ascona versus $1,414 in Chiang Mai.

Ascona $5,347
Chiang Mai $1,414

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,166 in Ascona versus $1,903 in Chiang Mai.

Ascona $7,166
Chiang Mai $1,903

Living in Ascona is roughly 281% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ascona is 160% above, Chiang Mai is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.67 CHF 20.42

$2.29 ฿77.2

977.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$118 CHF 98.0

$19.64 ฿663

503.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$21.67 CHF 17.93

$5.61 ฿190

286.27%

Cappuccino

$6.77 CHF 5.60

$1.66 ฿56.2

307.83%

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

$3.03 CHF 2.51

$0.70 ฿23.63

332.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.14 CHF 5.08

$0.31 ฿10.34

1880.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.36 CHF 7.74

$2.41 ฿81.2

288.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 CHF 3.04

$3.71 ฿125

-1.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.24 CHF 1.86

$1.95 ฿65.9

14.87%

White Bread (500g)

$4.00 CHF 3.31

$1.41 ฿47.51

183.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.25 CHF 3.51

$1.31 ฿44.07

224.43%

Eggs

$7.84 CHF 6.48

$2.18 ฿73.6

259.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$27.21 CHF 22.52

$16.65 ฿562

63.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$30.50 CHF 25.24

$2.76 ฿93.1

1005.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$42.01 CHF 34.77

$9.11 ฿307

361.14%

Apples (1kg)

$3.71 CHF 3.07

$2.39 ฿80.8

55.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 CHF 1.59

$1.03 ฿34.61

86.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 CHF 2.33

$1.63 ฿54.9

73.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.36 CHF 4.44

$1.50 ฿50.6

257.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 CHF 1.66

$1.29 ฿43.57

55.04%

Onion (1kg)

$2.12 CHF 1.75

$1.11 ฿37.40

90.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.38 CHF 1.97

$0.72 ฿24.32

230.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 CHF 1.10

$0.53 ฿17.77

150.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.90 CHF 9.02

$4.31 ฿145

152.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.92 CHF 14.83

$17.95 ฿606

-0.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.92 CHF 2.42

$1.58 ฿53.4

84.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.98 CHF 3.29

$2.84 ฿96.0

40.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.28 CHF 3.54

$0.86 ฿29.15

397.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$101 CHF 83.5

$53.3 ฿1,799

89.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.68 CHF 7.18

$1.21 ฿40.70

617.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$5.83 CHF 4.83

$0.57 ฿19.18

922.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$36.09 CHF 29.87

$2.35 ฿79.4

1435.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.24 CHF 1.85

$1.44 ฿48.45

55.56%

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

$42.3K CHF 35.0K

$20.7K ฿699.9K

104.22%

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

$39.7K CHF 32.9K

$26.8K ฿904.8K

48.10%

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

$273 CHF 226

$62.3 ฿2,104

337.73%

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

$38.22 CHF 31.63

$12.11 ฿409

215.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$61.6 CHF 51.0

$19.94 ฿673

209.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$88.4 CHF 73.2

$37.07 ฿1,251

138.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.11 CHF 38.16

$3.78 ฿127

1119.84%

Cinema Ticket

$23.40 CHF 19.37

$6.50 ฿219

260.00%

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

$4,239 CHF 3,508

$793 ฿26.8K

434.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.2K CHF 29.1K

$14.8K ฿499.9K

137.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$165 CHF 137

$53.7 ฿1,814

207.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.7 CHF 56.9

$24.62 ฿831

179.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$150 CHF 125

$90.9 ฿3,067

65.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$272 CHF 225

$71.1 ฿2,402

281.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,744 CHF 1,444

$455 ฿15.4K

282.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,502 CHF 1,243

$298 ฿10.1K

404.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,963 CHF 2,452

$908 ฿30.7K

226.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,517 CHF 2,083

$554 ฿18.7K

354.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$16.4K CHF 13.6K

$1,931 ฿65.2K

748.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$12.3K CHF 10.1K

$1,445 ฿48.8K

748.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$591 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.9

5.57

-65.89%

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

Last update for Ascona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ascona

$1.5K 42.6%

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2% 80.2% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Ascona

$633 18%

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5% 62.8% $398

Eating Out

Ascona

$434 12.3%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5% 81.9% $356

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ascona

$373 10.6%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2% 74.7% $278

Clothing & Footwear

Ascona

$295 8.4%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7% 63.4% $187

Getting Around

Ascona

$156 4.4%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 61% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Ascona

$135 3.8%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 63% $85

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,744 in Ascona and $455 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $118 in Ascona vs $20 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $633 vs $235 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Ascona

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

01:03 1:03 AM

07:03 7:03 AM

6 h ahead of Ascona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,500

127,240

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 0.828 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.927 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 33.76 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.8 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ascona Chiang Mai 8,530 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Ascona
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

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

Ascona and Chiang Mai differ by about 281% in total monthly costs ($3,528 vs $925 including rent). Chiang Mai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $5,292 in Ascona and $1,388 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: $1,744 in Ascona versus $455 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Chiang Mai runs roughly 47% less than in Ascona. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $4,239 in Ascona versus $793 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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, Ascona 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 74% less than in Ascona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.