Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bridgend and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $2,403 in Bridgend, rent and utilities included – about $17,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

118

Cost of Living Index in Bridgend
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Bridgend Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Bridgend

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,403

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,403 in Bridgend versus $938 in Chiang Mai.

Bridgend $2,403
Chiang Mai $938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,539 in Bridgend versus $1,426 in Chiang Mai.

Bridgend $3,539
Chiang Mai $1,426

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,675 in Bridgend versus $1,914 in Chiang Mai.

Bridgend $4,675
Chiang Mai $1,914

Living in Bridgend is roughly 156% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bridgend is 78% above, Chiang Mai is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.59 £15.44

$2.26 ฿75.4

811.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.1 £64.6

$19.18 ฿641

348.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.60 £7.95

$5.59 ฿187

89.62%

Cappuccino

$4.86 £3.64

$1.72 ฿57.6

182.56%

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

$2.52 £1.89

$0.64 ฿21.54

293.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.34

$0.33 ฿11.18

442.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.75 £5.06

$2.36 ฿78.7

186.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.37 £4.78

$3.90 ฿130

63.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 £1.23

$2.05 ฿68.6

-20.49%

White Bread (500g)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.40 ฿46.70

30.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.73 £2.05

$1.28 ฿42.89

113.28%

Eggs

$6.25 £4.69

$2.25 ฿75.3

177.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.23 £6.93

$16.94 ฿566

-45.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.63 £8.72

$2.74 ฿91.6

324.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.48 £10.87

$9.36 ฿313

54.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 £2.21

$2.40 ฿80.3

22.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 £1.17

$1.01 ฿33.92

53.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.74 £2.05

$1.61 ฿53.9

70.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.30 £2.48

$1.52 ฿50.7

117.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$1.28 ฿42.90

30.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.11 ฿37.22

36.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.90

$0.72 ฿24.09

68.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 £1.19

$0.52 ฿17.54

203.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.75 £17.82

$4.33 ฿145

448.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.44 £7.83

$17.73 ฿593

-41.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.97 £2.23

$1.63 ฿54.4

82.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 £2.40

$2.85 ฿95.3

11.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.40 £2.55

$0.85 ฿28.31

300.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.9 £73.4

$53.9 ฿1,801

81.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.84 £3.63

$1.17 ฿39.18

313.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.03 £1.52

$0.57 ฿19.00

256.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.85 £19.39

$2.37 ฿79.2

990.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 £1.52

$1.45 ฿48.32

39.31%

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

$37.7K £28.3K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

84.08%

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

$50.8K £38.1K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

91.67%

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

$360 £270

$62.3 ฿2,083

477.62%

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

$25.43 £19.08

$12.27 ฿410

107.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.20 £26.40

$19.97 ฿668

76.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.82 £35.88

$37.91 ฿1,267

26.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.51 £7.89

$3.76 ฿126

179.52%

Cinema Ticket

$13.12 £9.85

$6.71 ฿224

95.53%

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

$1,617 £1,213

$797 ฿26.6K

102.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.9K £16.5K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

47.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.5 £65.6

$53.3 ฿1,780

64.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.20 £33.91

$25.05 ฿837

80.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.1 £66.1

$91.6 ฿3,062

-3.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.1 £68.3

$73.5 ฿2,455

23.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 £914

$464 ฿15.5K

162.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$998 £749

$305 ฿10.2K

227.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,141 £856

$915 ฿30.6K

24.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,671 £1,253

$552 ฿18.5K

202.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,014 £3,761

$1,912 ฿63.9K

162.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,851 £2,889

$1,438 ฿48.1K

167.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,290 £1,718

$595 ฿19.9K

284.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.09

5.57

-8.62%

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

Last update for Bridgend: October 10, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bridgend

$998 41.5%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 69.5% $693

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bridgend

$421 17.5%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 77.5% $326

Groceries & Markets

Bridgend

$325 13.5%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 26.8% $87

Eating Out

Bridgend

$318 13.3%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 75.2% $239

Clothing & Footwear

Bridgend

$140 5.8%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 21.9% $31

Getting Around

Bridgend

$126 5.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 51.5% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Bridgend

$74 3.1%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 30.7% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,219 in Bridgend and $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bridgend pays 285% 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: $86.0 in Bridgend vs $19.00 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $238 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bridgend

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

18:49 6:49 PM

00:49 12:49 AM

6 h ahead of Bridgend

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

46,757

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

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Between locations

Bridgend Chiang Mai 9,220 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Bridgend
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

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

Bridgend and Chiang Mai differ by about 156% in total monthly costs ($2,403 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 285% higher in Bridgend, 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: $1,219 in Bridgend versus $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,617 in Bridgend 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 37% higher in Bridgend. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $938 in Chiang Mai versus $2,403 in Bridgend, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Bridgend. 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, Bridgend 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 156% less than in Bridgend. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.