Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Birzebbuga and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,662 in Birzebbuga, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Birzebbuga
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Birzebbuga Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Birzebbuga

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,662

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,662 in Birzebbuga versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Birzebbuga $1,662
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,653 in Birzebbuga versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Birzebbuga $2,653
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,643 in Birzebbuga versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Birzebbuga $3,643
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Birzebbuga is roughly 78% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Birzebbuga is 22% above, Chiang Mai is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.24 €13.69

$2.24 ฿75.7

580.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.1 €77.3

$19.00 ฿642

352.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 €10.56

$5.55 ฿188

111.89%

Cappuccino

$2.61 €2.35

$1.67 ฿56.6

56.29%

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

$2.06 €1.85

$0.64 ฿21.56

221.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 €1.76

$0.31 ฿10.32

532.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 €2.03

$2.36 ฿79.6

-4.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 €2.99

$3.66 ฿124

-9.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 €1.14

$1.95 ฿65.8

-34.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.44 ฿48.51

-9.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.12 €2.80

$1.33 ฿45.07

134.59%

Eggs

$3.60 €3.24

$2.28 ฿77.1

57.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.29 €7.45

$16.45 ฿556

-49.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 €8.63

$2.78 ฿94.0

245.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.35 €16.48

$9.31 ฿314

97.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 €2.33

$2.35 ฿79.5

10.64%

Banana (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$0.97 ฿32.82

113.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 €2.72

$1.60 ฿53.9

89.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.97 €2.67

$1.50 ฿50.7

98.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.62 €1.45

$1.28 ฿43.15

26.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.85 €1.67

$1.10 ฿37.22

68.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$0.71 ฿23.84

115.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.49 ฿16.38

55.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.02 €5.41

$4.14 ฿140

45.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.68 €6.00

$17.52 ฿592

-61.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 €1.40

$1.61 ฿54.5

-3.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 €2.15

$2.78 ฿94.0

-13.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.25 €2.03

$0.87 ฿29.33

158.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.81 €13.30

$54.1 ฿1,827

-72.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.57 €5.01

$1.16 ฿39.08

380.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.18 €1.96

$0.53 ฿17.82

311.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.14 €24.38

$2.42 ฿81.8

1021.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.45 ฿48.93

1.38%

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

$30.0K €27.0K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

42.68%

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

$33.0K €29.7K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

22.65%

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

$94.3 €84.7

$62.2 ฿2,100

51.66%

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

$25.00 €22.46

$12.17 ฿411

105.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.58 €38.25

$20.12 ฿680

111.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.7 €50.1

$37.31 ฿1,260

49.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.94 €19.71

$3.77 ฿127

481.96%

Cinema Ticket

$10.14 €9.11

$6.49 ฿219

56.24%

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

$367 €330

$736 ฿24.9K

-50.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,991 €8,077

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-39.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.7 €77.8

$53.4 ฿1,802

62.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.77 €33.93

$24.64 ฿832

53.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 €82.2

$91.5 ฿3,089

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.1 €71.1

$71.9 ฿2,429

10.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,174 €1,055

$482 ฿16.3K

143.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$746 €670

$309 ฿10.4K

141.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,688 €1,516

$1,006 ฿34.0K

67.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,351 €1,214

$633 ฿21.4K

113.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,912 €3,514

$2,363 ฿79.8K

65.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,876 €2,583

$1,589 ฿53.7K

80.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,758 €1,579

$590 ฿19.9K

198.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.9

5.57

-47.94%

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

Last update for Birzebbuga: 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

Birzebbuga

$746 44.9%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 58.6% $437

Groceries & Markets

Birzebbuga

$283 17%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 17.1% $48

Eating Out

Birzebbuga

$223 13.4%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 65.1% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Birzebbuga

$162 9.7%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 41.6% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Birzebbuga

$133 8%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 18.2% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Birzebbuga

$76 4.6%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 33.9% $26

Getting Around

Birzebbuga

$40 2.4%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 52.2% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,174 in Birzebbuga and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Birzebbuga pays about 3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $86 in Birzebbuga vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $234 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Birzebbuga

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

00:47 12:47 AM

06:47 6:47 AM

6 h ahead of Birzebbuga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

10,000

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

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Between locations

Birzebbuga Chiang Mai 8,310 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Birzebbuga
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

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

Chiang Mai is about 44% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Birzebbuga is about 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: $1,174 in Birzebbuga versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Chiang Mai – a meal for two runs $19 versus $86 in Birzebbuga. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,662 per month in Birzebbuga versus $936 in Chiang Mai – Chiang Mai is about 44% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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