Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bilbao and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $2,129 in Bilbao, rent and utilities included – about $14,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Bilbao
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Bilbao Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Bilbao

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,129

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,129 in Bilbao versus $938 in Chiang Mai.

Bilbao $2,129
Chiang Mai $938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,159 in Bilbao versus $1,426 in Chiang Mai.

Bilbao $3,159
Chiang Mai $1,426

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,190 in Bilbao versus $1,914 in Chiang Mai.

Bilbao $4,190
Chiang Mai $1,914

Living in Bilbao is roughly 127% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bilbao is 58% above, Chiang Mai is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.39 €19.92

$2.26 ฿75.4

890.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.3 €63.4

$19.18 ฿641

271.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.25 €10.90

$5.59 ฿187

119.14%

Cappuccino

$2.55 €2.27

$1.72 ฿57.6

48.26%

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

$3.03 €2.70

$0.64 ฿21.54

373.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.68

$0.33 ฿11.18

472.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.33 €2.96

$2.36 ฿78.7

41.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.41 €3.04

$3.90 ฿130

-12.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$2.05 ฿68.6

-37.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 €1.41

$1.40 ฿46.70

12.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 €1.32

$1.28 ฿42.89

15.62%

Eggs

$3.31 €2.95

$2.25 ฿75.3

47.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.51 €13.80

$16.94 ฿566

-8.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.99 €7.11

$2.74 ฿91.6

191.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.47 €12.87

$9.36 ฿313

54.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$2.40 ฿80.3

16.67%

Banana (1kg)

$2.16 €1.93

$1.01 ฿33.92

113.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 €2.32

$1.61 ฿53.9

62.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.55 €2.27

$1.52 ฿50.7

67.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.63 €1.45

$1.28 ฿42.90

27.34%

Onion (1kg)

$2.50 €2.22

$1.11 ฿37.22

125.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 €1.13

$0.72 ฿24.09

76.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 €0.80

$0.52 ฿17.54

73.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.60 €5.88

$4.33 ฿145

52.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.00 €7.12

$17.73 ฿593

-54.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 €1.31

$1.63 ฿54.4

-9.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 €2.23

$2.85 ฿95.3

-12.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.76 €1.57

$0.85 ฿28.31

107.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.4 €44.87

$53.9 ฿1,801

-6.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.54 €4.93

$1.17 ฿39.18

373.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 €0.91

$0.57 ฿19.00

80.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.65 €29.04

$2.37 ฿79.2

1277.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 €1.61

$1.45 ฿48.32

24.83%

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

$34.7K €30.9K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

69.65%

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

$30.7K €27.3K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

15.77%

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

$142 €127

$62.3 ฿2,083

128.35%

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

$20.57 €18.29

$12.27 ฿410

67.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.26 €26.92

$19.97 ฿668

51.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.0 €48.96

$37.91 ฿1,267

45.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.24 €13.55

$3.76 ฿126

305.32%

Cinema Ticket

$9.97 €8.87

$6.71 ฿224

48.58%

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

$521 €463

$797 ฿26.6K

-34.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K €10.1K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

-23.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$105 €93.4

$53.3 ฿1,780

97.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.72 €33.55

$25.05 ฿837

50.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.7 €67.3

$91.6 ฿3,062

-17.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$146 €130

$73.5 ฿2,455

98.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,261 €1,121

$464 ฿15.5K

171.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,057 €940

$305 ฿10.2K

246.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,392 €2,127

$915 ฿30.6K

161.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,689 €1,503

$552 ฿18.5K

205.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,657 €5,032

$1,912 ฿63.9K

195.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,688 €3,281

$1,438 ฿48.1K

156.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,394 €2,129

$595 ฿19.9K

302.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.98

5.57

-46.50%

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

Last update for Bilbao: October 11, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bilbao

$1.1K 49.7%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 71.2% $752

Eating Out

Bilbao

$290 13.6%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 72.7% $211

Groceries & Markets

Bilbao

$282 13.3%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 15.7% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bilbao

$193 9.1%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 51% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Bilbao

$164 7.7%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 33.1% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Bilbao

$75 3.5%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 31.5% $24

Getting Around

Bilbao

$68 3.2%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 10.1% $6.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,261 in Bilbao and $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bilbao pays 302% 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: $71.0 in Bilbao vs $19.00 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $282 vs $238 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Bilbao

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

08:29 8:29 AM

13:29 1:29 PM

5 h ahead of Bilbao

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

346,096

127,240

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Bilbao Chiang Mai 9,510 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Bilbao
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

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

Bilbao and Chiang Mai differ by about 127% in total monthly costs ($2,129 vs $938 including rent). Chiang Mai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 302% higher in Bilbao, 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: $1,261 in Bilbao versus $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $521 in Bilbao 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 19% higher in Bilbao. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $938 in Chiang Mai versus $2,129 in Bilbao, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Bilbao. The gap between the two cities makes Chiang Mai the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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, Bilbao 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 127% less than in Bilbao. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.