Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Beirut and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,657 in Beirut, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Beirut
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Beirut Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Beirut

🇱🇧 Lebanon

$1,657

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,657 in Beirut versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Beirut $1,657
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,643 in Beirut versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Beirut $2,643
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,628 in Beirut versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Beirut $3,628
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Beirut is roughly 77% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Beirut is 22% above, Chiang Mai is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.13 LBP 1.1M

$2.24 ฿75.6

441.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.2 LBP 6.1M

$19.00 ฿641

258.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.86 LBP 882.6K

$5.55 ฿187

77.66%

Cappuccino

$4.46 LBP 399.2K

$1.67 ฿56.5

167.07%

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

$2.34 LBP 209.6K

$0.64 ฿21.54

265.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 LBP 80.9K

$0.31 ฿10.31

190.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.10 LBP 456.3K

$2.36 ฿79.5

116.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.89 LBP 437.7K

$3.66 ฿124

33.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 LBP 180.5K

$1.95 ฿65.7

3.59%

White Bread (500g)

$0.91 LBP 81.4K

$1.44 ฿48.46

-36.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 LBP 196.6K

$1.33 ฿45.03

65.41%

Eggs

$3.61 LBP 323.5K

$2.28 ฿77.1

58.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.87 LBP 973.3K

$16.45 ฿555

-33.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.58 LBP 947.2K

$2.78 ฿93.9

280.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.12 LBP 1.4M

$9.31 ฿314

62.41%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 LBP 277.0K

$2.35 ฿79.4

31.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 LBP 149.2K

$0.97 ฿32.79

72.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.70 LBP 151.9K

$1.60 ฿53.9

6.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 LBP 137.9K

$1.50 ฿50.6

2.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 LBP 113.1K

$1.28 ฿43.11

-1.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.53 LBP 137.3K

$1.10 ฿37.18

39.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 LBP 103.9K

$0.71 ฿23.82

63.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 LBP 63.8K

$0.49 ฿16.36

44.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.96 LBP 265.2K

$4.14 ฿140

-28.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.04 LBP 988.5K

$17.52 ฿591

-36.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.32 LBP 118.0K

$1.61 ฿54.5

-18.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.60 LBP 233.0K

$2.78 ฿93.9

-6.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 LBP 136.9K

$0.87 ฿29.30

75.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.4 LBP 6.7M

$54.1 ฿1,825

39.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.04 LBP 451.2K

$1.16 ฿39.04

334.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.28 LBP 204.0K

$0.53 ฿17.80

330.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.53 LBP 2.0M

$2.42 ฿81.7

830.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.04 LBP 93.2K

$1.45 ฿48.88

-28.28%

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

$53.3K LBP 4.8B

$21.1K ฿710.5K

153.30%

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

$33.3K LBP 3.0B

$26.9K ฿909.0K

23.46%

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

$210 LBP 18.8M

$62.2 ฿2,098

237.32%

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

$23.80 LBP 2.1M

$12.17 ฿411

95.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.87 LBP 3.4M

$20.12 ฿679

88.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$95.9 LBP 8.6M

$37.31 ฿1,259

157.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$33.37 LBP 3.0M

$3.77 ฿127

785.15%

Cinema Ticket

$10.16 LBP 909.0K

$6.49 ฿219

56.55%

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

$677 LBP 60.6M

$736 ฿24.8K

-7.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K LBP 940.9M

$14.8K ฿498.2K

-28.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.4 LBP 5.9M

$53.4 ฿1,801

24.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.92 LBP 4.5M

$24.64 ฿831

102.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$141 LBP 12.7M

$91.5 ฿3,087

54.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 LBP 10.8M

$71.9 ฿2,427

67.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$946 LBP 84.7M

$482 ฿16.3K

96.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$495 LBP 44.3M

$309 ฿10.4K

60.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,209 LBP 197.7M

$1,006 ฿33.9K

119.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,044 LBP 93.4M

$633 ฿21.4K

64.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,473 LBP 400.3M

$2,363 ฿79.7K

89.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,892 LBP 169.3M

$1,589 ฿53.6K

19.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$710 LBP 63.6M

$590 ฿19.9K

20.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

97.49%

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

Last update for Beirut: October 27, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Beirut

$495 29.9%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 37.6% $186

Groceries & Markets

Beirut

$277 16.7%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 15.5% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Beirut

$271 16.4%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 65.2% $177

Eating Out

Beirut

$228 13.8%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 66% $151

Clothing & Footwear

Beirut

$170 10.3%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 36.2% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Beirut

$116 7%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 56.7% $66

Getting Around

Beirut

$98 5.9%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 37.4% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $946 in Beirut and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Beirut pays 20% 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: $68 in Beirut vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $277 vs $234 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇧 Beirut

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

00:16 12:16 AM

05:16 5:16 AM

5 h ahead of Beirut

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,916,100 Capital

127,240

💱 Currency

Lebanese Pound LBP ل.ل

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD

100,000 LBP = 1 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to LBP – Lebanese Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇧 Lebanese Pound (ل.ل)

Lebanese Pound exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 89,500 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 99,933 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to LBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Beirut Chiang Mai 6,450 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Beirut
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

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

Chiang Mai is about 44% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, leisure, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 20% higher in Beirut, 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: $946 in Beirut versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,657 per month in Beirut versus $936 in Chiang Mai – Chiang Mai is about 44% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Chiang Mai runs roughly 28% less than in Beirut. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Chiang Mai is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

Expats usually find Chiang Mai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in Beirut. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.