Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairns and Chiang Mai Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairns and Chiang Mai

😐 Solo nomad: Cairns is 89.5% more expensive than Chiang Mai without rent, and 171.3% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cairns is 106.6% more expensive than Chiang Mai without rent, and 149.8% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.88 A$16.87

$2.03 ฿64.2

485.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.5 A$114

$18.59 ฿588

333.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.63 A$15.09

$7.48 ฿237

42.11%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.58

$2.00 ฿63.2

96.50%

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

$2.76 A$3.92

$0.85 ฿26.81

224.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 A$3.16

$0.35 ฿11.13

537.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.51 A$9.25

$2.21 ฿70.0

194.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.08 A$10.05

$3.76 ฿119

88.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 A$2.45

$1.72 ฿54.4

White Bread (500g)

$2.43 A$3.44

$1.63 ฿51.7

49.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.67 A$3.80

$1.16 ฿36.66

130.17%

Eggs

$4.00 A$5.68

$1.98 ฿62.6

102.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.84 A$11.14

$15.93 ฿504

-50.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.37 A$13.31

$3.17 ฿100

195.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.90 A$18.31

$10.90 ฿345

18.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 A$4.25

$2.65 ฿83.7

12.83%

Banana (1kg)

$2.23 A$3.17

$1.22 ฿38.70

82.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.77 A$3.93

$1.70 ฿53.7

62.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.35 A$10.44

$1.59 ฿50.3

362.26%

Potato (1kg)

$2.21 A$3.14

$1.32 ฿41.90

67.42%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 A$3.14

$1.17 ฿36.99

88.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.24 A$3.18

$0.68 ฿21.46

229.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.85 A$4.04

$0.56 ฿17.64

408.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$29.59 A$42.02

$4.51 ฿143

556.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.71 A$16.63

$19.07 ฿604

-38.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.32 A$4.71

$1.77 ฿56.0

87.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.55 A$5.04

$3.18 ฿101

11.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.16 A$4.49

$0.96 ฿30.47

229.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.3 A$94.2

$18.90 ฿598

250.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.57 A$9.34

$1.36 ฿42.98

383.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.19 A$4.53

$1.35 ฿42.80

136.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.36 A$47.37

$8.03 ฿254

315.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.16 A$1.65

$1.24 ฿39.34

-6.45%

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

$22.6K A$32.1K

$21.2K ฿669.8K

6.87%

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

$19.3K A$27.4K

$21.8K ฿688.5K

-11.27%

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

$149 A$211

$71.2 ฿2,255

108.79%

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

$37.44 A$53.2

$14.09 ฿446

165.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59.0 A$83.7

$17.47 ฿553

237.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.92 A$55.3

$42.07 ฿1,332

-7.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.66 A$22.23

$6.88 ฿218

127.62%

Cinema Ticket

$12.88 A$18.30

$5.94 ฿188

116.84%

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

$1,607 A$2,283

$307 ฿9,728

422.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.2K A$17.3K

$14.8K ฿468.2K

-17.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.7 A$122

$55.7 ฿1,762

54.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$66.1 A$93.8

$26.79 ฿848

146.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.3 A$141

$83.2 ฿2,634

19.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$137 A$195

$70.1 ฿2,219

95.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,205 A$1,711

$427 ฿13.5K

181.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,080 A$1,534

$237 ฿7,504

355.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,045 A$2,904

$802 ฿25.4K

155.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,834 A$2,604

$503 ฿15.9K

264.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,552 A$9,303

$2,061 ฿65.2K

217.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,146 A$7,307

$1,533 ฿48.5K

235.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,603 A$6,536

$654 ฿20.7K

604.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.96

39.20%

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

Last update for Cairns: March 2, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: March 1, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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