Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ashford and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $2,427 in Ashford, rent and utilities included – about $17,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Ashford
Learn more

Ashford Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Ashford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,427

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,427 in Ashford versus $938 in Chiang Mai.

Ashford $2,427
Chiang Mai $938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,351 in Ashford versus $1,426 in Chiang Mai.

Ashford $3,351
Chiang Mai $1,426

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,276 in Ashford versus $1,914 in Chiang Mai.

Ashford $4,276
Chiang Mai $1,914

Living in Ashford is roughly 159% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ashford is 80% above, Chiang Mai is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.96 £15.73

$2.26 ฿75.4

827.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.9 £60.0

$19.18 ฿641

316.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.49 £7.87

$5.59 ฿187

87.66%

Cappuccino

$5.74 £4.30

$1.72 ฿57.6

233.72%

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

$2.74 £2.05

$0.64 ฿21.54

328.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.37

$0.33 ฿11.18

451.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.89 £2.92

$2.36 ฿78.7

64.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.09 £5.32

$3.90 ฿130

81.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 £1.11

$2.05 ฿68.6

-27.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.32 £0.99

$1.40 ฿46.70

-5.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 £1.26

$1.28 ฿42.89

32.03%

Eggs

$3.00 £2.25

$2.25 ฿75.3

33.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.22 £3.92

$16.94 ฿566

-69.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.91 £5.18

$2.74 ฿91.6

152.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.39 £10.79

$9.36 ฿313

53.74%

Apples (1kg)

$3.28 £2.46

$2.40 ฿80.3

36.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 £1.08

$1.01 ฿33.92

42.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.67 £2.01

$1.61 ฿53.9

65.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.17 £2.38

$1.52 ฿50.7

108.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$1.28 ฿42.90

30.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.46 £1.09

$1.11 ฿37.22

31.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 £1.08

$0.72 ฿24.09

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 £1.07

$0.52 ฿17.54

173.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$18.83 £14.13

$4.33 ฿145

334.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.24 £6.93

$17.73 ฿593

-47.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.67 £2.00

$1.63 ฿54.4

63.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 £2.73

$2.85 ฿95.3

27.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.89 £2.92

$0.85 ฿28.31

357.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$146 £110

$53.9 ฿1,801

171.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.11 £4.58

$1.17 ฿39.18

422.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.68 £1.26

$0.57 ฿19.00

194.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.44 £16.08

$2.37 ฿79.2

804.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.45 ฿48.32

42.76%

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

$35.0K £26.2K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

70.76%

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

$41.1K £30.9K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

55.12%

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

$244 £183

$62.3 ฿2,083

291.06%

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

$24.30 £18.23

$12.27 ฿410

98.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.52 £28.90

$19.97 ฿668

92.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.3 £45.99

$37.91 ฿1,267

61.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.74 £14.06

$3.76 ฿126

398.40%

Cinema Ticket

$21.45 £16.10

$6.71 ฿224

219.67%

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

$1,076 £808

$797 ฿26.6K

35.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.8K £14.9K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

33.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.5 £52.1

$53.3 ฿1,780

30.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.50 £23.63

$25.05 ฿837

25.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.7 £57.6

$91.6 ฿3,062

-16.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$100 £75.1

$73.5 ฿2,455

36.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,115 £836

$464 ฿15.5K

140.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,133 £850

$305 ฿10.2K

271.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 £1,282

$915 ฿30.6K

86.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,425 £1,069

$552 ฿18.5K

157.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,328 £4,748

$1,912 ฿63.9K

230.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,671 £3,504

$1,438 ฿48.1K

224.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,452 £1,840

$595 ฿19.9K

312.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.91

5.57

-11.85%

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

Last update for Ashford: October 10, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ashford

$1.1K 46.7%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 73.1% $828

Eating Out

Ashford

$320 13.2%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 75.3% $241

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ashford

$307 12.6%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 69.1% $212

Groceries & Markets

Ashford

$262 10.8%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 9% $24

Getting Around

Ashford

$176 7.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 65.2% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Ashford

$125 5.2%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 12.4% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Ashford

$104 4.3%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 50.7% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,115 in Ashford and $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ashford pays 312% 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: $80.0 in Ashford vs $19.00 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $262 vs $238 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Ashford

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

03:51 3:51 AM

09:51 9:51 AM

6 h ahead of Ashford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

58,936

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ashford Chiang Mai 8,940 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Ashford
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

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

Chiang Mai is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. The 159% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 312% higher in Ashford, 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: $1,115 in Ashford versus $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Chiang Mai – a meal for two runs $19.00 versus $80.0 in Ashford. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,427 per month in Ashford versus $938 in Chiang Mai – a 159% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $938 in Chiang Mai versus $2,427 in Ashford, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Ashford. The gap between the two cities makes Chiang Mai the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Chiang Mai is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Ashford, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Ashford 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 159% less than in Ashford. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.