Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Caen and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $925 a month against $1,671 in Caen, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

81

Cost of Living Index in Caen
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Caen Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Caen

🇫🇷 France

$1,671

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,671 in Caen versus $925 in Chiang Mai.

Caen $1,671
Chiang Mai $925

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,568 in Caen versus $1,414 in Chiang Mai.

Caen $2,568
Chiang Mai $1,414

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,466 in Caen versus $1,903 in Chiang Mai.

Caen $3,466
Chiang Mai $1,903

Living in Caen is roughly 81% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Caen is 23% above, Chiang Mai is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.56 €14.73

$2.29 ฿76.5

623.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.2 €49.11

$19.64 ฿656

181.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.50 €12.01

$5.61 ฿188

140.64%

Cappuccino

$2.84 €2.53

$1.66 ฿55.6

71.08%

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

$3.05 €2.71

$0.70 ฿23.40

335.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 €1.82

$0.31 ฿10.24

561.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.38 €7.46

$2.41 ฿80.4

247.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.49 €4.88

$3.71 ฿124

47.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 €1.20

$1.95 ฿65.3

-30.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.78 €1.59

$1.41 ฿47.03

26.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$1.31 ฿43.62

51.15%

Eggs

$3.81 €3.39

$2.18 ฿72.9

74.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.96 €8.86

$16.65 ฿556

-40.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.74 €10.44

$2.76 ฿92.2

325.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.28 €14.48

$9.11 ฿304

78.70%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 €2.76

$2.39 ฿80.0

29.71%

Banana (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$1.03 ฿34.26

192.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.51 €1.34

$1.63 ฿54.4

-7.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.17 €3.71

$1.50 ฿50.0

178.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.80 €1.60

$1.29 ฿43.13

39.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.11 ฿37.03

77.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 €1.47

$0.72 ฿24.08

129.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.15 €0.13

$0.53 ฿17.59

-71.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.15 €11.70

$4.31 ฿144

205.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.59 €4.98

$17.95 ฿600

-68.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 €1.32

$1.58 ฿52.9

-6.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 €1.47

$2.84 ฿95.0

-41.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.78 €1.58

$0.86 ฿28.86

106.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$49.59 €44.11

$53.3 ฿1,780

-6.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.21 ฿40.29

85.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.12 €0.99

$0.57 ฿18.99

96.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.41 €28.83

$2.35 ฿78.6

1279.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.10 €1.86

$1.44 ฿47.96

45.83%

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

$34.3K €30.5K

$20.7K ฿692.8K

65.38%

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

$36.4K €32.4K

$26.8K ฿895.7K

35.73%

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

$138 €123

$62.3 ฿2,083

121.53%

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

$32.70 €29.08

$12.11 ฿405

170.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.85 €28.33

$19.94 ฿666

59.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.94 €28.41

$37.07 ฿1,239

-13.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.48 €20.00

$3.78 ฿126

494.71%

Cinema Ticket

$10.13 €9.01

$6.50 ฿217

55.85%

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

$879 €782

$793 ฿26.5K

10.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿494.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$108 €96.3

$53.7 ฿1,796

101.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.80 €34.52

$24.62 ฿823

57.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 €89.8

$90.9 ฿3,036

11.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 €135

$71.1 ฿2,378

112.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$760 €676

$455 ฿15.2K

66.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$600 €534

$298 ฿9,954

101.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,566 €1,393

$908 ฿30.4K

72.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,042 €927

$554 ฿18.5K

88.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,496 €3,999

$1,931 ฿64.5K

132.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,553 €2,270

$1,445 ฿48.3K

76.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,379 €2,116

$591 ฿19.7K

302.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.79

5.57

-31.96%

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

Last update for Caen: October 18, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Caen

$600 35.9%

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2% 50.3% $302

Groceries & Markets

Caen

$292 17.5%

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5% 19.3% $56

Eating Out

Caen

$280 16.8%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5% 72% $202

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Caen

$203 12.1%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2% 53.4% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Caen

$180 10.8%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7% 39.8% $71

Getting Around

Caen

$65 3.9%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 5.8% $3.8

Sport & Entertainment

Caen

$52 3.1%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 4.1% $2.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $760 in Caen and $455 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Caen pays 303% 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: $55.0 in Caen vs $20.00 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $235 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Caen

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

09:36 9:36 AM

14:36 2:36 PM

5 h ahead of Caen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

108,200

127,240

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Caen Chiang Mai 9,090 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Caen
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

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

Caen and Chiang Mai differ by about 81% in total monthly costs ($1,671 vs $925 including rent). Chiang Mai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 303% higher in Caen, 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: $760 in Caen versus $455 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Chiang Mai runs roughly 7% less than in Caen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $879 in Caen versus $793 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $925 in Chiang Mai versus $1,671 in Caen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Caen. 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, Caen 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 81% less than in Caen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.