Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budaun and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Budaun: $363 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

17

Cost of Living Index in Budaun
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Budaun Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Budaun

🇮🇳 India

$363

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $363 in Budaun versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Budaun $363
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $608 in Budaun versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Budaun $608
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $852 in Budaun versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Budaun $852
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Budaun costs roughly 61% less than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Budaun 73% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.65 ₹348

$2.24 ฿75.7

62.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.04 ₹2,004

$19.00 ฿642

10.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.60 ₹248

$5.55 ฿188

-53.15%

Cappuccino

$0.51 ₹48.86

$1.67 ฿56.6

-69.46%

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

$0.38 ₹36.51

$0.64 ฿21.56

-40.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.19 ₹18.36

$0.31 ฿10.32

-38.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.92 ₹183

$2.36 ฿79.6

-18.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 ₹152

$3.66 ฿124

-56.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.64 ₹61.0

$1.95 ฿65.8

-67.18%

White Bread (500g)

$0.31 ₹29.05

$1.44 ฿48.51

-78.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.50 ₹47.95

$1.33 ฿45.07

-62.41%

Eggs

$0.66 ₹62.5

$2.28 ฿77.1

-71.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.32 ₹411

$16.45 ฿556

-73.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.13 ₹202

$2.78 ฿94.0

-23.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

Apples (1kg)

$1.07 ₹102

$2.35 ฿79.5

-54.47%

Banana (1kg)

$0.40 ₹38.51

$0.97 ฿32.82

-58.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.54 ₹51.8

$1.60 ฿53.9

-66.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.41 ₹38.70

$1.50 ฿50.7

-72.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.31 ₹29.53

$1.28 ฿43.15

-75.78%

Onion (1kg)

$0.33 ₹31.62

$1.10 ฿37.22

-70.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.11 ₹10.40

$0.71 ฿23.84

-84.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.29 ₹27.40

$0.49 ฿16.38

-40.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.35 ₹224

$4.14 ฿140

-43.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$2.70 ₹257

$17.52 ฿592

-84.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 ₹119

$1.61 ฿54.5

-22.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 ₹204

$2.78 ฿94.0

-23.02%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$3.24 ₹309

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₹23.55

$0.87 ฿29.33

-71.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.00 ₹666

$54.1 ฿1,827

-87.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.06 ₹101

$1.16 ฿39.08

-8.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.13 ₹12.00

$0.53 ฿17.82

-75.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.55 ₹148

$2.42 ฿81.8

-35.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.03 ₹98.5

$1.45 ฿48.93

-28.97%

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

$5,357 ₹510.1K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

-74.56%

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

$19.5K ₹1.9M

$26.9K ฿909.8K

-27.80%

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

$43.01 ₹4,095

$62.2 ฿2,100

-30.82%

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

$4.25 ₹405

$12.17 ฿411

-65.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$6.61 ₹630

$20.12 ฿680

-67.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.11 ₹1,248

$37.31 ฿1,260

-64.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.92 ₹564

$3.77 ฿127

57.03%

Cinema Ticket

$5.19 ₹494

$6.49 ฿219

-20.03%

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

$99.5 ₹9,471

$736 ฿24.9K

-86.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,332 ₹222.1K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-84.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$24.80 ₹2,361

$53.4 ฿1,802

-53.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.12 ₹2,772

$24.64 ฿832

18.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$54.5 ₹5,186

$91.5 ฿3,089

-40.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$44.83 ₹4,268

$71.9 ฿2,429

-37.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$121 ₹11.5K

$482 ฿16.3K

-74.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$77.9 ₹7,416

$309 ฿10.4K

-74.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$267 ₹25.5K

$1,006 ฿34.0K

-73.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$190 ₹18.1K

$633 ฿21.4K

-69.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$966 ₹92.0K

$2,363 ฿79.8K

-59.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$585 ₹55.7K

$1,589 ฿53.7K

-63.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.35

5.57

49.91%

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

Last update for Budaun: 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

Budaun

$78 21.5%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 297% $231

Groceries & Markets

Budaun

$71 19.6%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 230% $163

Clothing & Footwear

Budaun

$69 19%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 57.6% $40

Eating Out

Budaun

$58 16%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 33.2% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budaun

$54 14.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 75.3% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Budaun

$23 6.5%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 114% $27

Getting Around

Budaun

$9.7 2.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 534% $52

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $121 in Budaun and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $21 in Budaun vs $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries flip the comparison at $71 vs $234, with Budaun cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇳 Budaun

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

01:29 1:29 AM

02:59 2:59 AM

1 h 30 min ahead of Budaun

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

159,300

127,240

💱 Currency

Indian Rupee INR ₹

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 INR = 10.5 USD

1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to INR – Indian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇳 Indian Rupee (₹)

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 95.22 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to INR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Budaun Chiang Mai 2,270 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Budaun
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

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

Budaun is about 61% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $545 in Budaun and $1,403 in Chiang Mai to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $121 in Budaun versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Budaun runs roughly 87% less than in Chiang Mai. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $99 in Budaun versus $736 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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.