Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bergen and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $2,869 in Bergen, rent and utilities included – about $23,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Bergen
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Bergen Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Bergen

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,869

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,869 in Bergen versus $938 in Chiang Mai.

Bergen $2,869
Chiang Mai $938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,330 in Bergen versus $1,426 in Chiang Mai.

Bergen $4,330
Chiang Mai $1,426

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,790 in Bergen versus $1,914 in Chiang Mai.

Bergen $5,790
Chiang Mai $1,914

Living in Bergen is roughly 206% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bergen is 113% above, Chiang Mai is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.37 NOK 220

$2.26 ฿75.4

934.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$134 NOK 1,263

$19.18 ฿641

599.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.56 NOK 147

$5.59 ฿187

178.35%

Cappuccino

$5.30 NOK 49.86

$1.72 ฿57.6

208.14%

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

$5.07 NOK 47.70

$0.64 ฿21.54

692.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.51 NOK 42.48

$0.33 ฿11.18

1266.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.55 NOK 118

$2.36 ฿78.7

431.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.56 NOK 99.4

$3.90 ฿130

170.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.19 NOK 20.66

$2.05 ฿68.6

6.83%

White Bread (500g)

$3.92 NOK 36.88

$1.40 ฿46.70

180.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.42 NOK 32.20

$1.28 ฿42.89

167.19%

Eggs

$6.34 NOK 59.7

$2.25 ฿75.3

181.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.80 NOK 139

$16.94 ฿566

-12.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$17.41 NOK 164

$2.74 ฿91.6

535.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$36.51 NOK 344

$9.36 ฿313

290.06%

Apples (1kg)

$4.12 NOK 38.83

$2.40 ฿80.3

71.67%

Banana (1kg)

$2.68 NOK 25.22

$1.01 ฿33.92

165.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.48 NOK 32.77

$1.61 ฿53.9

116.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.46 NOK 51.4

$1.52 ฿50.7

259.21%

Potato (1kg)

$2.51 NOK 23.59

$1.28 ฿42.90

96.09%

Onion (1kg)

$3.38 NOK 31.78

$1.11 ฿37.22

204.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.83 NOK 26.68

$0.72 ฿24.09

293.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 NOK 16.84

$0.52 ฿17.54

244.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.41 NOK 164

$4.33 ฿145

302.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.96 NOK 178

$17.73 ฿593

6.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.58 NOK 33.66

$1.63 ฿54.4

119.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 NOK 39.70

$2.85 ฿95.3

48.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.05 NOK 47.54

$0.85 ฿28.31

494.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$85.0 NOK 800

$53.9 ฿1,801

57.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$12.36 NOK 116

$1.17 ฿39.18

956.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.92 NOK 18.05

$0.57 ฿19.00

236.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$71.5 NOK 673

$2.37 ฿79.2

2918.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.44 NOK 22.96

$1.45 ฿48.32

68.28%

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

$48.7K NOK 458.5K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

137.88%

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

$43.0K NOK 405.0K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

62.27%

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

$281 NOK 2,641

$62.3 ฿2,083

350.07%

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

$32.84 NOK 309

$12.27 ฿410

167.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$81.5 NOK 767

$19.97 ฿668

307.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.18 NOK 425

$37.91 ฿1,267

19.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.91 NOK 404

$3.76 ฿126

1041.22%

Cinema Ticket

$18.56 NOK 175

$6.71 ฿224

176.60%

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

$239 NOK 2,251

$797 ฿26.6K

-70.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K NOK 109.6K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

-21.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$107 NOK 1,003

$53.3 ฿1,780

100.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.3 NOK 502

$25.05 ฿837

112.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$119 NOK 1,116

$91.6 ฿3,062

29.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 NOK 1,534

$73.5 ฿2,455

121.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,483 NOK 14.0K

$464 ฿15.5K

219.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,117 NOK 10.5K

$305 ฿10.2K

266.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,327 NOK 21.9K

$915 ฿30.6K

154.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,714 NOK 16.1K

$552 ฿18.5K

210.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,835 NOK 73.8K

$1,912 ฿63.9K

309.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,754 NOK 44.8K

$1,438 ฿48.1K

230.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,567 NOK 43.0K

$595 ฿19.9K

667.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.27

5.57

-5.39%

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

Last update for Bergen: October 12, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bergen

$1.1K 38.9%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 72.7% $812

Groceries & Markets

Bergen

$530 18.5%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 55.1% $292

Eating Out

Bergen

$419 14.6%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 81.2% $340

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bergen

$395 13.8%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 76% $300

Clothing & Footwear

Bergen

$199 6.9%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 44.9% $89

Getting Around

Bergen

$127 4.4%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 51.8% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Bergen

$82 2.9%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 37.6% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,483 in Bergen and $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bergen pays 667% 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: $134 in Bergen vs $19.00 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $530 vs $238 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Bergen

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

01:01 1:01 AM

06:01 6:01 AM

5 h ahead of Bergen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

292,482

127,240

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bergen Chiang Mai 8,400 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Bergen
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

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

Chiang Mai is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 206% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 667% higher in Bergen, 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: $1,483 in Bergen versus $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $239 in Bergen versus $797 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 123% higher in Bergen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $938 in Chiang Mai versus $2,869 in Bergen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Bergen. The gap between the two cities makes Chiang Mai the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Chiang Mai is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Bergen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Bergen 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 206% less than in Bergen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.