Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Biella and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,455 in Biella, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

70

Cost of Living Index in Biella
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Biella Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Biella

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,455

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,455 in Biella versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Biella $1,455
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,244 in Biella versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Biella $2,244
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,034 in Biella versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Biella $3,034
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Biella is roughly 55% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Biella is 7% above, Chiang Mai is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.68 €14.95

$2.24 ฿75.6

644.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.1 €60.2

$19.00 ฿641

253.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.59 €9.49

$5.55 ฿187

90.81%

Cappuccino

$1.76 €1.58

$1.67 ฿56.5

5.39%

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

$2.96 €2.65

$0.64 ฿21.55

362.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 €1.21

$0.31 ฿10.31

335.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.17 €4.64

$2.36 ฿79.6

119.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 €3.95

$3.66 ฿124

20.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 €1.13

$1.95 ฿65.8

-35.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 €2.04

$1.44 ฿48.48

58.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.95 €2.64

$1.33 ฿45.04

121.80%

Eggs

$3.71 €3.32

$2.28 ฿77.1

62.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.40 €12.90

$16.45 ฿555

-12.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.90 €7.98

$2.78 ฿93.9

220.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.24 €19.04

$9.31 ฿314

128.14%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 €2.74

$2.35 ฿79.4

29.79%

Banana (1kg)

$2.17 €1.94

$0.97 ฿32.80

123.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 €1.73

$1.60 ฿53.9

21.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.83 €4.33

$1.50 ฿50.6

222.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.28 ฿43.12

44.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.81 €1.62

$1.10 ฿37.19

64.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.71 ฿23.82

107.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.35 €0.32

$0.49 ฿16.37

-28.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.74 €6.04

$4.14 ฿140

62.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.62 €5.94

$17.52 ฿591

-62.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.01 €1.80

$1.61 ฿54.5

24.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.53 €2.27

$2.78 ฿94.0

-8.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.90 €1.71

$0.87 ฿29.31

118.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.48 €34.48

$54.1 ฿1,826

-28.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$14.64 €13.12

$1.16 ฿39.06

1162.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.66 €1.49

$0.53 ฿17.80

213.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.62 €26.54

$2.42 ฿81.8

1123.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 €1.78

$1.45 ฿48.90

37.24%

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

$36.5K €32.7K

$21.1K ฿710.7K

73.52%

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

$35.9K €32.2K

$26.9K ฿909.3K

33.26%

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

$190 €170

$62.2 ฿2,098

205.85%

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

$7.66 €6.86

$12.17 ฿411

-37.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.66 €24.79

$20.12 ฿679

37.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.3 €59.4

$37.31 ฿1,259

77.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.85 €22.27

$3.77 ฿127

559.15%

Cinema Ticket

$9.10 €8.15

$6.49 ฿219

40.22%

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

$687 €615

$736 ฿24.8K

-6.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.2K €9,185

$14.8K ฿498.3K

-30.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.2 €78.2

$53.4 ฿1,801

63.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.14 €39.56

$24.64 ฿831

79.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.4 €73.8

$91.5 ฿3,087

-9.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 €100

$71.9 ฿2,428

55.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$414 €371

$482 ฿16.3K

-14.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$370 €331

$309 ฿10.4K

19.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 €607

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-32.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$562 €503

$633 ฿21.4K

-11.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,598 €1,432

$2,363 ฿79.8K

-32.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$850 €762

$1,589 ฿53.6K

-46.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,819 €1,630

$590 ฿19.9K

208.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.65

5.57

-34.47%

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

Last update for Biella: 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

Biella

$370 25.4%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 16.4% $61

Groceries & Markets

Biella

$321 22.1%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 27.1% $87

Eating Out

Biella

$238 16.4%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 67.4% $161

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Biella

$225 15.5%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 58.1% $131

Clothing & Footwear

Biella

$146 10.1%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 25.8% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Biella

$84 5.8%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 40.5% $34

Getting Around

Biella

$69 4.8%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 11.1% $7.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $414 in Biella and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Biella pays about 3.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Biella vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $321 vs $234 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Biella

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

09:12 9:12 AM

15:12 3:12 PM

6 h ahead of Biella

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

45,740

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

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Between locations

Biella Chiang Mai 8,600 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Biella
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,455 in Biella and $936 in Chiang Mai, so Chiang Mai is about 36% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Biella is about 3.1 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: $414 in Biella versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $687 in Biella 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 37% higher in Biella. 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.

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