Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barry and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,367 in Barry, rent and utilities included – about $17,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index in Barry
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Barry Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Barry

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,367

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,367 per month in Barry vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Barry $2,367
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,494 per month in Barry vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Barry $3,494
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $4,621 per month in Barry vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Barry $4,621
Chiang Mai $1,979

Barry costs about 153% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Barry sits 74% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.07 £18.12

$2.24 ฿75.7

974.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.0 £63.2

$19.00 ฿642

342.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.72 £8.07

$5.55 ฿188

93.15%

Cappuccino

$4.54 £3.42

$1.67 ฿56.6

171.86%

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

$2.69 £2.02

$0.64 ฿21.56

320.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 £1.53

$0.31 ฿10.32

554.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.77 £5.85

$2.36 ฿79.6

229.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.63 £4.99

$3.66 ฿124

81.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.95 ฿65.8

-14.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.44 ฿48.51

19.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 £1.68

$1.33 ฿45.07

67.67%

Eggs

$4.47 £3.36

$2.28 ฿77.1

96.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.10 £6.09

$16.45 ฿556

-50.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.74 £7.33

$2.78 ฿94.0

250.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.10 £9.86

$9.31 ฿314

40.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.69 £2.02

$2.35 ฿79.5

14.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 £1.16

$0.97 ฿32.82

58.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.02 £2.27

$1.60 ฿53.9

88.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.58 £2.69

$1.50 ฿50.7

138.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 £1.46

$1.28 ฿43.15

51.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 £1.14

$1.10 ฿37.22

37.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.06 £0.80

$0.71 ฿23.84

49.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 £1.23

$0.49 ฿16.38

232.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.68 £17.82

$4.14 ฿140

471.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.52 £7.92

$17.52 ฿592

-39.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.06 £2.30

$1.61 ฿54.5

90.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.52 £2.65

$2.78 ฿94.0

26.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.68 £2.77

$0.87 ฿29.33

322.99%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.0 £72.2

$54.1 ฿1,827

77.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.52 £3.40

$1.16 ฿39.08

289.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.69 £1.27

$0.53 ฿17.82

218.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.05 £20.36

$2.42 ฿81.8

1017.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.45 ฿48.93

46.90%

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

$39.0K £29.4K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

85.20%

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

$40.7K £30.6K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

50.98%

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

$324 £244

$62.2 ฿2,100

421.60%

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

$23.15 £17.42

$12.17 ฿411

90.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.79 £29.20

$20.12 ฿680

92.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.41 £34.18

$37.31 ฿1,260

21.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.94 £4.47

$3.77 ฿127

57.56%

Cinema Ticket

$10.75 £8.09

$6.49 ฿219

65.64%

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

$1,998 £1,504

$736 ฿24.9K

171.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.4K £19.1K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

71.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 £76.2

$53.4 ฿1,802

89.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.63 £36.60

$24.64 ฿832

97.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 £82.0

$91.5 ฿3,089

19.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 £73.7

$71.9 ฿2,429

36.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,188 £894

$482 ฿16.3K

146.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$977 £736

$309 ฿10.4K

216.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,111 £1,588

$1,006 ฿34.0K

109.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,636 £1,231

$633 ฿21.4K

158.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,049 £3,800

$2,363 ฿79.8K

113.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,915 £2,946

$1,589 ฿53.7K

146.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.87

5.57

-12.57%

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

Last update for Barry: October 24, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barry

$977 41.3%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 68.4% $668

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barry

$386 16.3%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 75.5% $292

Eating Out

Barry

$350 14.8%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 77.8% $273

Groceries & Markets

Barry

$302 12.8%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 22.3% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Barry

$161 6.8%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 32.3% $52

Getting Around

Barry

$124 5.2%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 50.4% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Barry

$67 2.8%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 24.9% $17

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,188 in Barry versus $482 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $84 in Barry versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $302 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Barry

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

17:46 5:46 PM

00:46 12:46 AM

7 h ahead of Barry

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

54,673

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barry Chiang Mai 9,200 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barry
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

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

Yes – Barry is pricier by about 153%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,550 per month in Barry and $1,403 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: a one-bedroom in the center costs $482 there versus $1,188 in Barry.

Kindergarten costs $1,998 per month in Barry and $736 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 29% more in Barry, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,367 in Barry and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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.

For expats, Chiang Mai is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and the 153% gap matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.