Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bethune and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,759 in Bethune, rent and utilities included – about $9,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

85

Cost of Living Index in Bethune
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Bethune Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Bethune

🇫🇷 France

$1,759

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,759 in Bethune versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Bethune $1,759
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,745 in Bethune versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Bethune $2,745
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,732 in Bethune versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Bethune $3,732
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Bethune 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: Bethune is 29% above, Chiang Mai is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.73 €15.91

$2.24 ฿75.6

691.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.4 €64.1

$19.00 ฿641

276.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.46 €12.08

$5.55 ฿187

142.52%

Cappuccino

$3.15 €2.83

$1.67 ฿56.5

88.62%

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

$2.71 €2.43

$0.64 ฿21.53

323.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 €1.47

$0.31 ฿10.30

429.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.88 €6.17

$2.36 ฿79.5

191.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.57 €4.99

$3.66 ฿124

52.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.18

$1.95 ฿65.7

-32.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.88 €1.68

$1.44 ฿48.45

30.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.91 €2.61

$1.33 ฿45.01

118.80%

Eggs

$4.26 €3.82

$2.28 ฿77.0

86.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.31 €19.12

$16.45 ฿555

29.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.60 €11.30

$2.78 ฿93.8

353.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$23.13 €20.76

$9.31 ฿314

148.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.89 €2.59

$2.35 ฿79.4

22.98%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 €1.92

$0.97 ฿32.78

120.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 €2.13

$1.60 ฿53.9

48.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.03 €2.72

$1.50 ฿50.6

102.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.28 ฿43.10

45.31%

Onion (1kg)

$2.03 €1.83

$1.10 ฿37.17

84.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 €1.32

$0.71 ฿23.81

108.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 €0.52

$0.49 ฿16.36

18.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.77 €12.35

$4.14 ฿140

232.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.97 €7.15

$17.52 ฿591

-54.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 €1.59

$1.61 ฿54.5

9.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.53 €2.27

$2.78 ฿93.9

-8.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.77 €1.59

$0.87 ฿29.29

103.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.0 €44.88

$54.1 ฿1,825

-7.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.22 €1.99

$1.16 ฿39.03

91.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.16 €1.94

$0.53 ฿17.79

307.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.84 €21.39

$2.42 ฿81.7

885.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.45 ฿48.87

35.86%

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

$35.3K €31.6K

$21.1K ฿710.3K

67.42%

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

$37.8K €33.9K

$26.9K ฿908.7K

40.34%

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

$179 €161

$62.2 ฿2,097

188.35%

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

$15.11 €13.56

$12.17 ฿410

24.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.20 €27.10

$20.12 ฿679

50.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.27 €31.65

$37.31 ฿1,259

-5.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.96 €15.22

$3.77 ฿127

349.87%

Cinema Ticket

$10.12 €9.08

$6.49 ฿219

55.93%

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

$621 €557

$736 ฿24.8K

-15.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,147 €7,311

$14.8K ฿498.0K

-44.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.8 €78.7

$53.4 ฿1,800

64.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.83 €33.94

$24.64 ฿831

53.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.8 €69.8

$91.5 ฿3,086

-14.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.4 €87.4

$71.9 ฿2,426

35.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$767 €688

$482 ฿16.3K

58.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 €565

$309 ฿10.4K

103.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,473 €1,322

$1,006 ฿33.9K

46.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,139 €1,022

$633 ฿21.4K

79.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,586 €4,115

$2,363 ฿79.7K

94.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,479 €3,122

$1,589 ฿53.6K

118.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,709 €3,329

$590 ฿19.9K

529.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.92

5.57

-29.62%

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

Last update for Bethune: 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

Bethune

$629 35.8%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 50.9% $320

Groceries & Markets

Bethune

$361 20.5%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 35.1% $127

Eating Out

Bethune

$283 16.1%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 72.6% $205

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bethune

$225 12.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 57.9% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Bethune

$135 7.7%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 19.7% $27

Getting Around

Bethune

$70 4%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 12.5% $8.8

Sport & Entertainment

Bethune

$56 3.2%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 9.4% $5.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $767 in Bethune and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bethune pays about 6.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $71 in Bethune vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $361 vs $234 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Bethune

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

18:19 6:19 PM

00:19 12:19 AM

6 h ahead of Bethune

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,992

127,240

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Bethune Chiang Mai 8,840 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Bethune
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

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

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 47% lower than in Bethune. 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 Bethune is about 6.3 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: $767 in Bethune versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $621 in Bethune versus $736 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 54% higher in Bethune. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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, Bethune 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, Bethune on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.