Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bedford and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $2,097 in Bedford, rent and utilities included – about $13,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

102

Cost of Living Index in Bedford
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Bedford Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Bedford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,097

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,097 per month in Bedford vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Bedford $2,097
Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $3,291 per month in Bedford vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Bedford $3,291
Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $4,486 per month in Bedford vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Bedford $4,486
Chiang Mai $1,914

Bedford costs about 123% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Bedford sits 55% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 30% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.10 £15.08

$2.26 ฿75.4

789.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.6 £65.0

$19.18 ฿641

351.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.65 £7.99

$5.59 ฿187

90.52%

Cappuccino

$4.59 £3.44

$1.72 ฿57.6

166.86%

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

$2.03 £1.52

$0.64 ฿21.54

217.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 £0.91

$0.33 ฿11.18

266.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.45 £4.84

$2.36 ฿78.7

173.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.84 £4.38

$3.90 ฿130

49.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 £1.28

$2.05 ฿68.6

-17.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 £1.10

$1.40 ฿46.70

4.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.28 ฿42.89

31.25%

Eggs

$3.80 £2.85

$2.25 ฿75.3

68.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.09 £6.82

$16.94 ฿566

-46.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 £6.72

$2.74 ฿91.6

227.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.62 £9.47

$9.36 ฿313

34.83%

Apples (1kg)

$3.26 £2.44

$2.40 ฿80.3

35.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 £0.98

$1.01 ฿33.92

28.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.47 £1.85

$1.61 ฿53.9

53.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.20 £2.40

$1.52 ฿50.7

110.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.32 £0.99

$1.28 ฿42.90

3.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.32 £0.99

$1.11 ฿37.22

18.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 £0.77

$0.72 ฿24.09

43.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 £0.97

$0.52 ฿17.54

150.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.05 £17.29

$4.33 ฿145

432.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.65 £7.99

$17.73 ฿593

-39.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.58 £1.94

$1.63 ฿54.4

58.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 £1.77

$2.85 ฿95.3

-17.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.56 £1.92

$0.85 ฿28.31

201.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.9 ฿1,801

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.99 £3.74

$1.17 ฿39.18

326.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 £1.07

$0.57 ฿19.00

150.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.92 £17.95

$2.37 ฿79.2

909.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.92 £1.44

$1.45 ฿48.32

32.41%

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

$37.5K £28.1K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

82.99%

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

$40.5K £30.4K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

52.84%

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

$316 £237

$62.3 ฿2,083

407.09%

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

$17.63 £13.22

$12.27 ฿410

43.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.85 £29.90

$19.97 ฿668

99.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.86 £27.66

$37.91 ฿1,267

-2.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.76 ฿126

Cinema Ticket

$15.90 £11.93

$6.71 ฿224

136.96%

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

$937 £703

$797 ฿26.6K

17.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.6K £16.2K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

45.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.92 £17.95

$53.3 ฿1,780

-55.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.54 £19.16

$25.05 ฿837

1.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.6 £59.7

$91.6 ฿3,062

-13.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.7 £65.1

$73.5 ฿2,455

18.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,115 £837

$464 ฿15.5K

140.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$952 £714

$305 ฿10.2K

212.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,353 £1,766

$915 ฿30.6K

157.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,998 £1,499

$552 ฿18.5K

261.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,912 ฿63.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,438 ฿48.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,170 £2,378

$595 ฿19.9K

432.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.67

5.57

-16.16%

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

Last update for Bedford: October 11, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bedford

$952 45.4%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 68% $647

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bedford

$374 17.8%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 74.7% $279

Eating Out

Bedford

$305 14.5%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 74.1% $226

Groceries & Markets

Bedford

$279 13.3%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 14.6% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Bedford

$97 4.6%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 12.8% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Bedford

$69 3.3%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 25.2% $17

Getting Around

Bedford

$22 * 1.1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 174% $39

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,115 in Bedford versus $464 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 433% higher in Bedford, 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 $87.0 in Bedford versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $279 vs $238 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bedford

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

08:39 8:39 AM

14:39 2:39 PM

6 h ahead of Bedford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

80,000

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

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Between locations

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

From you

Bedford
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

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

Bedford costs about 123% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,146 per month in Bedford and $1,408 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.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,097 in Bedford and $938 in Chiang Mai. That's a gap of about 123%.

Kindergarten costs $937 per month in Bedford and $797 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Chiang Mai, where all-in costs run around $938, than in Bedford at $2,097. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Bedford it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $938 versus $2,097 in Bedford. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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, Bedford makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.