Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barnet and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $925 a month against $2,941 in Barnet, rent and utilities included – about $24,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

141

Cost of Living Index in Barnet
Learn more

Barnet Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Barnet

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,941

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,941 per month in Barnet vs $925 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Barnet $2,941
Chiang Mai $925

A couple spends around $4,337 per month in Barnet vs $1,414 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Barnet $4,337
Chiang Mai $1,414

A family of three spends $5,732 per month in Barnet vs $1,903 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Barnet $5,732
Chiang Mai $1,903

Barnet costs about 218% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Barnet sits 117% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 32% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.54 £17.66

$2.29 ฿76.5

927.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$92.0 £69.0

$19.64 ฿656

368.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.76 £8.07

$5.61 ฿188

91.80%

Cappuccino

$5.76 £4.32

$1.66 ฿55.6

246.99%

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

$2.89 £2.17

$0.70 ฿23.40

312.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 £1.45

$0.31 ฿10.24

522.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.99 £6.00

$2.41 ฿80.4

231.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.56 £4.92

$3.71 ฿124

76.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.95 ฿65.3

-15.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 £1.34

$1.41 ฿47.03

26.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.52 £1.89

$1.31 ฿43.62

92.37%

Eggs

$4.82 £3.61

$2.18 ฿72.9

121.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.56 £8.67

$16.65 ฿556

-30.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.61 £7.96

$2.76 ฿92.2

284.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.26 £12.95

$9.11 ฿304

89.46%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.27

$2.39 ฿80.0

26.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 £1.32

$1.03 ฿34.26

70.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.29

$1.63 ฿54.4

87.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.46 £2.60

$1.50 ฿50.0

130.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 £1.36

$1.29 ฿43.13

41.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.11 ฿37.03

64.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 £0.93

$0.72 ฿24.08

72.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$0.53 ฿17.59

239.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.04 £18.04

$4.31 ฿144

457.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.00 £9.00

$17.95 ฿600

-33.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.21 £2.41

$1.58 ฿52.9

103.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 £3.40

$2.84 ฿95.0

59.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.29 £1.72

$0.86 ฿28.86

166.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.3 ฿1,780

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.57 £4.18

$1.21 ฿40.29

360.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.63 £1.97

$0.57 ฿18.99

361.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$50.1 £37.56

$2.35 ฿78.6

2030.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.56

$1.44 ฿47.96

43.75%

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

$38.8K £29.1K

$20.7K ฿692.8K

87.24%

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

$41.1K £30.8K

$26.8K ฿895.7K

53.28%

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

$338 £253

$62.3 ฿2,083

441.63%

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

$18.82 £14.12

$12.11 ฿405

55.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.52 £30.40

$19.94 ฿666

103.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.07 ฿1,239

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.78 ฿126

Cinema Ticket

$17.19 £12.90

$6.50 ฿217

164.46%

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

$2,564 £1,924

$793 ฿26.5K

223.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.2K £26.4K

$14.8K ฿494.9K

137.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.1 £67.6

$53.7 ฿1,796

67.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.56 £34.93

$24.62 ฿823

89.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.0 £69.0

$90.9 ฿3,036

1.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 £96.6

$71.1 ฿2,378

81.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,984 £1,488

$455 ฿15.2K

335.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,616 £1,213

$298 ฿9,954

442.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,261 £2,446

$908 ฿30.4K

259.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,847 £2,136

$554 ฿18.5K

414.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$14.2K £10.7K

$1,931 ฿64.5K

636.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$14.4K £10.8K

$1,445 ฿48.3K

899.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,685 £2,015

$591 ฿19.7K

354.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

5.57

-14.90%

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

Last update for Barnet: 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

Barnet

$1.6K 55%

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2% 81.6% $1.3K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barnet

$397 13.5%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2% 76.2% $303

Eating Out

Barnet

$362 12.3%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5% 78.3% $283

Groceries & Markets

Barnet

$343 11.7%

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5% 31.4% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Barnet

$161 5.5%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7% 32.8% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Barnet

$34 * 1.2%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 45.6% $16

Getting Around

Barnet

$28 * 1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 118% $33

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,984 in Barnet versus $455 in Chiang Mai. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 354% higher in Barnet, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $92.0 in Barnet versus $20.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $343 vs $235 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Barnet

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

05:29 5:29 AM

11:29 11:29 AM

6 h ahead of Barnet

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

111,973

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 21, 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 21, 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

Barnet Chiang Mai 8,990 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barnet
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

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

Yes – Barnet is pricier by about 218%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,412 per month in Barnet and $1,388 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chiang Mai, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $92.0 in Barnet and $20.00 in Chiang Mai. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 46% more in Barnet, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Chiang Mai, where all-in costs run around $925, than in Barnet at $2,941. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Barnet it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Chiang Mai – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Barnet makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.