Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Brentwood and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $3,111 in Brentwood, rent and utilities included – about $26,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

150

Cost of Living Index in Brentwood
Learn more

Brentwood Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Brentwood

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,111

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,111 per month in Brentwood vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Brentwood $3,111
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $4,366 per month in Brentwood vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Brentwood $4,366
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $5,620 per month in Brentwood vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Brentwood $5,620
Chiang Mai $1,979

Brentwood costs about 233% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Brentwood sits 129% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.84 £14.91

$2.24 ฿75.7

785.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 £61.2

$19.00 ฿642

328.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.77 £8.85

$5.55 ฿188

112.07%

Cappuccino

$4.88 £3.67

$1.67 ฿56.6

192.22%

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

$1.89 £1.42

$0.64 ฿21.56

195.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.15 £0.86

$0.31 ฿10.32

270.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.69 £5.03

$2.36 ฿79.6

183.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.95 £4.47

$3.66 ฿124

62.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 £1.27

$1.95 ฿65.8

-13.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 £0.83

$1.44 ฿48.51

-23.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.25 £1.69

$1.33 ฿45.07

69.17%

Eggs

$4.10 £3.08

$2.28 ฿77.1

79.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.32 £6.26

$16.45 ฿556

-49.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.27 £4.71

$2.78 ฿94.0

125.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.08 £9.83

$9.31 ฿314

40.49%

Apples (1kg)

$3.22 £2.42

$2.35 ฿79.5

37.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 £1.08

$0.97 ฿32.82

47.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 £1.93

$1.60 ฿53.9

60.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 £2.16

$1.50 ฿50.7

92.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.75 £0.56

$1.28 ฿43.15

-41.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.24 £0.93

$1.10 ฿37.22

12.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 £0.63

$0.71 ฿23.84

18.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 £0.99

$0.49 ฿16.38

167.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.20 £12.93

$4.14 ฿140

315.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.37 £7.04

$17.52 ฿592

-46.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.10 £1.58

$1.61 ฿54.5

30.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 £1.59

$2.78 ฿94.0

-23.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.21 £3.92

$0.87 ฿29.33

498.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.3 £71.6

$54.1 ฿1,827

76.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.03 £3.78

$1.16 ฿39.08

333.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 £1.08

$0.53 ฿17.82

169.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.24 £16.71

$2.42 ฿81.8

819.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.50

$1.45 ฿48.93

37.24%

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

$39.3K £29.5K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

86.60%

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

$40.1K £30.1K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

48.81%

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

$316 £237

$62.2 ฿2,100

408.03%

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

$14.14 £10.63

$12.17 ฿411

16.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.24 £31.00

$20.12 ฿680

104.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.66 £25.30

$37.31 ฿1,260

-9.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.07 £17.34

$3.77 ฿127

511.94%

Cinema Ticket

$20.57 £15.46

$6.49 ฿219

216.95%

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

$1,914 £1,438

$736 ฿24.9K

160.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.4K £16.9K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

51.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$92.3 £69.4

$53.4 ฿1,802

72.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.45 £29.65

$24.64 ฿832

60.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.0 £60.9

$91.5 ฿3,089

-11.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.7 £72.7

$71.9 ฿2,429

34.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,527 £1,148

$482 ฿16.3K

216.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,832 £1,377

$309 ฿10.4K

493.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,781 £2,090

$1,006 ฿34.0K

176.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,858 £2,148

$633 ฿21.4K

351.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,041 £3,788

$2,363 ฿79.8K

113.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,864 £2,904

$1,589 ฿53.7K

143.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,389 £2,547

$590 ฿19.9K

474.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.67

5.57

-16.16%

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

Last update for Brentwood: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Brentwood

$1.8K 58.9%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 83.1% $1.5K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Brentwood

$371 11.9%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 74.6% $277

Eating Out

Brentwood

$310 10%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 75% $232

Groceries & Markets

Brentwood

$256 8.2%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 8.3% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Brentwood

$139 4.5%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 22% $31

Getting Around

Brentwood

$128 4.1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 52.2% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Brentwood

$75 2.4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 32.8% $25

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,527 in Brentwood versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Brentwood are about 5.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $81 in Brentwood versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $256 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Brentwood

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

13:06 1:06 PM

20:06 8:06 PM

7 h ahead of Brentwood

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

76,575

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.752 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.836 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Brentwood Chiang Mai 8,960 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Brentwood
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

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

Brentwood costs about 233% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,667 per month in Brentwood and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chiang Mai, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $482 there versus $1,527 in Brentwood.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $81 in Brentwood and $19 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,111 in Brentwood and $936 in Chiang Mai. That’s a gap of about 233%.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $3,111 in Brentwood and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Chiang Mai – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Brentwood makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.