Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buraydah and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,226 in Buraydah, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

60

Cost of Living Index in Buraydah
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Buraydah Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Buraydah

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,226

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,226 per month in Buraydah vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Buraydah $1,226
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $2,036 per month in Buraydah vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Buraydah $2,036
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $2,845 per month in Buraydah vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Buraydah $2,845
Chiang Mai $1,979

Buraydah costs about 31% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Buraydah and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Buraydah 10% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.15 SAR 49.33

$2.24 ฿75.5

487.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.53 SAR 148

$19.00 ฿640

108.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.99 SAR 29.98

$5.55 ฿187

43.96%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.88 SAR 7.07

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 SAR 4.91

Cappuccino

$3.54 SAR 13.26

$1.67 ฿56.4

111.98%

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

$0.79 SAR 2.96

$0.64 ฿21.51

23.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 SAR 0.97

$0.31 ฿10.29

-16.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿123

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 SAR 6.25

$1.95 ฿65.7

-14.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 SAR 4.14

$1.44 ฿48.41

-23.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.53 SAR 9.50

$1.33 ฿44.97

90.23%

Eggs

$2.89 SAR 10.82

$2.28 ฿77.0

26.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.31 SAR 31.18

$16.45 ฿554

-49.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.57 SAR 24.64

$2.78 ฿93.8

136.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.54 SAR 50.8

$9.31 ฿314

45.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.28 SAR 8.56

$2.35 ฿79.3

-2.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.83 SAR 6.87

$0.97 ฿32.75

88.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.74 SAR 6.53

$1.60 ฿53.8

8.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.75 SAR 6.58

$1.50 ฿50.6

16.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.40 SAR 5.25

$1.28 ฿43.06

9.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.30 SAR 4.88

$1.10 ฿37.14

18.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.05 SAR 3.94

$0.71 ฿23.79

47.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 SAR 2.52

$0.49 ฿16.34

36.73%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.81 SAR 6.81

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 SAR 5.54

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 SAR 9.67

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.23 SAR 23.36

$4.14 ฿140

50.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿590

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.8

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.08 SAR 4.04

$0.87 ฿29.27

24.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.57 SAR 141

$54.1 ฿1,823

-30.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.62 SAR 9.85

$1.16 ฿39.00

125.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.70 SAR 10.13

$0.53 ฿17.78

409.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.75 SAR 62.8

$2.42 ฿81.6

592.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.59 SAR 2.22

$1.45 ฿48.82

-59.31%

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

$42.2K SAR 158.3K

$21.1K ฿709.7K

100.43%

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

$23.0K SAR 86.1K

$26.9K ฿907.9K

-14.76%

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

$69.9 SAR 262

$62.2 ฿2,095

12.47%

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

$31.54 SAR 118

$12.17 ฿410

159.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.1 SAR 263

$20.12 ฿678

248.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$138 SAR 517

$37.31 ฿1,257

269.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.66 SAR 134

$3.77 ฿127

845.89%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 SAR 56.6

$6.49 ฿219

132.51%

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

$269 SAR 1,010

$736 ฿24.8K

-63.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,800 SAR 14.3K

$14.8K ฿497.6K

-74.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.1 SAR 195

$53.4 ฿1,799

-2.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.4 SAR 204

$24.64 ฿830

120.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.4 SAR 301

$91.5 ฿3,083

-12.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.9 SAR 266

$71.9 ฿2,424

-1.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$700 SAR 2,627

$482 ฿16.3K

45.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$332 SAR 1,245

$309 ฿10.4K

7.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$905 SAR 3,396

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-10.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$827 SAR 3,103

$633 ฿21.3K

30.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,949 SAR 7,311

$2,363 ฿79.6K

-17.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,335 SAR 5,007

$1,589 ฿53.6K

-16.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,467 SAR 9,254

$590 ฿19.9K

318.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.98

5.57

-28.55%

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

Last update for Buraydah: 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

Buraydah

$332 27.1%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 6.9% $23

Groceries & Markets

Buraydah

$205 16.7%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 14.3% $29

Eating Out

Buraydah

$176 14.3%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 55.9% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buraydah

$172 14%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 44.9% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Buraydah

$168 13.7%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 70.1% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Buraydah

$116 9.5%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 6.3% $7.3

Getting Around

Buraydah

$58 4.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 5.8% $3.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $700 in Buraydah 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 Buraydah are about 4.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40 in Buraydah versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $205 in Buraydah vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so Buraydah wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Buraydah

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

08:27 8:27 AM

12:27 12:27 PM

4 h ahead of Buraydah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

467,410

127,240

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.267 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.267 USD). 1 EUR = 4.18 SAR (1 SAR = 0.239 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Buraydah Chiang Mai 5,670 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Buraydah
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

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

Buraydah costs about 31% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from leisure. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,839 per month in Buraydah 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 $700 in Buraydah.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,226 in Buraydah and $936 in Chiang Mai. That makes Chiang Mai about 24% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 31% less in Buraydah. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,226 in Buraydah and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $936 in Chiang Mai to $1,226 in Buraydah. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

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