Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Besancon and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,754 in Besancon, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

85

Cost of Living Index in Besancon
Learn more

Besancon Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Besancon

🇫🇷 France

$1,754

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,754 in Besancon versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Besancon $1,754
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,541 in Besancon versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Besancon $2,541
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,328 in Besancon versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Besancon $3,328
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Besancon is roughly 88% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Besancon is 29% above, Chiang Mai is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.79 €15.04

$2.24 ฿75.6

649.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.9 €49.15

$19.00 ฿641

188.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.06 €9.91

$5.55 ฿187

99.28%

Cappuccino

$3.00 €2.69

$1.67 ฿56.5

79.64%

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

$2.32 €2.08

$0.64 ฿21.55

262.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 €1.41

$0.31 ฿10.31

409.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.60 €5.92

$2.36 ฿79.6

179.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.72 €5.13

$3.66 ฿124

56.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 €1.14

$1.95 ฿65.8

-34.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 €1.47

$1.44 ฿48.48

13.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.33 ฿45.04

60.90%

Eggs

$4.54 €4.07

$2.28 ฿77.1

99.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$20.49 €18.36

$16.45 ฿555

24.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.11 €9.96

$2.78 ฿93.9

299.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.32 €16.42

$9.31 ฿314

96.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.67 €2.39

$2.35 ฿79.4

13.62%

Banana (1kg)

$2.19 €1.96

$0.97 ฿32.80

125.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 €2.55

$1.60 ฿53.9

77.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.48 €2.22

$1.50 ฿50.6

65.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.44 €2.18

$1.28 ฿43.12

90.62%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 €2.17

$1.10 ฿37.19

120.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 €1.23

$0.71 ฿23.82

94.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 €1.00

$0.49 ฿16.37

128.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.18 €12.71

$4.14 ฿140

242.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.47 €8.49

$17.52 ฿591

-45.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.76 €4.27

$1.61 ฿54.5

195.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 €2.91

$2.78 ฿94.0

16.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.75 €1.57

$0.87 ฿29.31

101.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.76 €39.21

$54.1 ฿1,826

-19.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.79

$1.16 ฿39.06

168.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.53 ฿17.80

294.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.39 €27.23

$2.42 ฿81.8

1155.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 €1.87

$1.45 ฿48.90

43.45%

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

$35.3K €31.6K

$21.1K ฿710.7K

67.55%

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

$38.5K €34.5K

$26.9K ฿909.3K

42.86%

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

$228 €204

$62.2 ฿2,098

266.29%

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

$14.33 €12.84

$12.17 ฿411

17.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.37 €30.80

$20.12 ฿679

70.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.49 €23.74

$37.31 ฿1,259

-29.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.74 €17.69

$3.77 ฿127

423.61%

Cinema Ticket

$10.97 €9.83

$6.49 ฿219

69.03%

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

$333 €298

$736 ฿24.8K

-54.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,365 €6,600

$14.8K ฿498.3K

-50.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.6 €86.5

$53.4 ฿1,801

80.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.88 €34.84

$24.64 ฿831

57.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.0 €83.3

$91.5 ฿3,087

1.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €110

$71.9 ฿2,428

70.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$658 €590

$482 ฿16.3K

36.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$585 €524

$309 ฿10.4K

89.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$982 €880

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-2.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$807 €723

$633 ฿21.4K

27.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,858 €2,561

$2,363 ฿79.8K

20.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,234 €2,002

$1,589 ฿53.6K

40.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,139 €1,917

$590 ฿19.9K

262.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.62

5.57

-35.01%

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

Last update for Besancon: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Besancon

$585 33.4%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 47.2% $276

Groceries & Markets

Besancon

$358 20.4%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 34.6% $124

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Besancon

$276 15.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 65.8% $182

Eating Out

Besancon

$264 15%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 70.6% $186

Clothing & Footwear

Besancon

$158 9%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 31.3% $49

Getting Around

Besancon

$64 3.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 4.6% $3

Sport & Entertainment

Besancon

$48 2.8%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 3.8% $1.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $658 in Besancon and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Besancon pays about 3.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $55 in Besancon vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $358 vs $234 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Besancon

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

11:42 11:42 AM

17:42 5:42 PM

6 h ahead of Besancon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

119,198

127,240

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Besancon Chiang Mai 8,700 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Besancon
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

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

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 47% lower than in Besancon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Chiang Mai the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Besancon is about 3.6 times higher, 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: $658 in Besancon versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Besancon runs roughly 19% less than in Chiang Mai. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $333 in Besancon versus $736 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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.

Safety-wise, Besancon and Chiang Mai are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Chiang Mai wins on affordability, Besancon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.