Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Asmara and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $925 a month against $1,374 in Asmara, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. The total is higher in Asmara despite lower rent and utilities.

67

Cost of Living Index in Asmara
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Asmara Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Asmara

🇪🇷 Eritrea

$1,374

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,374 in Asmara versus $925 in Chiang Mai.

Asmara $1,374
Chiang Mai $925

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,159 in Asmara versus $1,414 in Chiang Mai.

Asmara $2,159
Chiang Mai $1,414

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,943 in Asmara versus $1,903 in Chiang Mai.

Asmara $2,943
Chiang Mai $1,903

Living in Asmara is roughly 49% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Asmara is 1% above, Chiang Mai is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.76 ERN 312

$2.29 ฿76.5

806.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.78 ERN 507

$19.64 ฿656

72.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.02 ERN 90.5

$5.61 ฿188

7.31%

Cappuccino

$0.77 ERN 11.61

$1.66 ฿55.6

-53.61%

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

$1.02 ERN 15.37

$0.70 ฿23.40

45.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.97 ERN 14.59

$0.31 ฿10.24

212.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.61 ERN 9.20

$2.41 ฿80.4

-74.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.71 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ERN 23.41

$1.95 ฿65.3

-20.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.03

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.26 ERN 33.95

$1.31 ฿43.62

72.52%

Eggs

$4.48 ERN 67.3

$2.18 ฿72.9

105.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.93 ERN 43.95

$16.65 ฿556

-82.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$27.11 ERN 407

$2.76 ฿92.2

882.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.94 ERN 149

$9.11 ฿304

9.11%

Apples (1kg)

$12.25 ERN 184

$2.39 ฿80.0

412.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 ERN 18.86

$1.03 ฿34.26

22.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 ERN 30.53

$1.63 ฿54.4

24.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.14 ERN 17.18

$1.50 ฿50.0

-24.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.75 ERN 26.31

$1.29 ฿43.13

35.66%

Onion (1kg)

$0.95 ERN 14.27

$1.11 ฿37.03

-14.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 ฿24.08

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.25 ERN 33.78

$0.53 ฿17.59

324.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.31 ฿144

Wine (Bottle)

$11.98 ERN 180

$17.95 ฿600

-33.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 ERN 14.71

$1.58 ฿52.9

-37.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 ERN 15.43

$2.84 ฿95.0

-63.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.14 ERN 2.10

$0.86 ฿28.86

-83.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.98 ERN 120

$53.3 ฿1,780

-85.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.21 ฿40.29

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.58 ERN 8.70

$0.57 ฿18.99

1.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.18 ERN 153

$2.35 ฿78.6

333.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.55 ERN 38.23

$1.44 ฿47.96

77.08%

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

$67.7K ERN 1.0M

$20.7K ฿692.8K

226.40%

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

$70.9K ERN 1.1M

$26.8K ฿895.7K

164.46%

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

$25.48 ERN 383

$62.3 ฿2,083

-59.12%

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

$68.1 ERN 1,023

$12.11 ฿405

462.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$201 ERN 3,012

$19.94 ฿666

905.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.63 ERN 400

$37.07 ฿1,239

-28.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.86 ERN 73.1

$3.78 ฿126

28.57%

Cinema Ticket

$1.22 ERN 18.28

$6.50 ฿217

-81.23%

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

$24.87 ERN 374

$793 ฿26.5K

-96.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,595 ERN 39.0K

$14.8K ฿494.9K

-82.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$137 ERN 2,060

$53.7 ฿1,796

155.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$122 ERN 1,837

$24.62 ฿823

396.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$197 ERN 2,964

$90.9 ฿3,036

117.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$148 ERN 2,229

$71.1 ฿2,378

108.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$252 ERN 3,781

$455 ฿15.2K

-44.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$199 ERN 2,984

$298 ฿9,954

-33.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$454 ERN 6,824

$908 ฿30.4K

-49.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$420 ERN 6,305

$554 ฿18.5K

-24.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,247 ERN 18.7K

$1,931 ฿64.5K

-35.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,481 ERN 37.3K

$1,445 ฿48.3K

71.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$591 ฿19.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

115.44%

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

Last update for Asmara: October 19, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Asmara

$364 * 26.5%

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5% 35.4% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Asmara

$294 21.4%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2% 67.9% $200

Clothing & Footwear

Asmara

$272 19.8%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7% 60.3% $164

Eating Out

Asmara

$204 * 14.9%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5% 61.6% $126

Accommodation & Living

Asmara

$199 14.5%

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2% 49.9% $99

Sport & Entertainment

Asmara

$29 2.1%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 72.3% $21

Getting Around

Asmara

$11 * 0.8%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 431% $49

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $252 in Asmara and $455 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $34.00 in Asmara vs $20.00 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $364 vs $235 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇷 Asmara

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

15:31 3:31 PM

19:31 7:31 PM

4 h ahead of Asmara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

579,000 Capital

127,240

💱 Currency

Eritrean Nakfa ERN ናቕፋ

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ERN = 6.66 USD

100 ERN = 5.92 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ERN – Eritrean Nakfa Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇷 Eritrean Nakfa (ናቕፋ)

Eritrean Nakfa exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 15.02 ERN (100 ERN = 6.66 USD). 1 EUR = 16.89 ERN (100 ERN = 5.92 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 ERN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Asmara Chiang Mai 6,370 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Asmara
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

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

Asmara and Chiang Mai differ by about 49% in total monthly costs ($1,374 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 $2,062 in Asmara 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: $252 in Asmara 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 568% less than in Asmara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $24.87 in Asmara versus $793 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $925 in Chiang Mai versus $1,374 in Asmara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Asmara. The gap between the two cities makes Chiang Mai the clear choice for anyone on this 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, Asmara 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 49% less than in Asmara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.