Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Canberra and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,886 in Canberra, rent and utilities included – about $23,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Canberra
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Canberra Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Canberra

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,886

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,886 per month in Canberra vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Canberra $2,886
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $4,020 per month in Canberra vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Canberra $4,020
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $5,153 per month in Canberra vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Canberra $5,153
Chiang Mai $1,979

Canberra costs about 208% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Canberra sits 112% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.77 A$29.53

$2.24 ฿75.7

827.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.8 A$128

$19.00 ฿642

372.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.43 A$14.83

$5.55 ฿188

87.93%

Cappuccino

$3.99 A$5.67

$1.67 ฿56.6

138.92%

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

$3.12 A$4.44

$0.64 ฿21.56

387.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.64 A$3.75

$0.31 ฿10.32

751.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.32 A$11.83

$2.36 ฿79.6

252.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.11 A$14.37

$3.66 ฿124

176.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 A$2.12

$1.95 ฿65.8

-23.59%

White Bread (500g)

$3.14 A$4.47

$1.44 ฿48.51

118.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.53 A$3.59

$1.33 ฿45.07

90.23%

Eggs

$5.32 A$7.57

$2.28 ฿77.1

133.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.15 A$18.69

$16.45 ฿556

-20.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.98 A$14.19

$2.78 ฿94.0

258.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.08 A$21.44

$9.31 ฿314

61.98%

Apples (1kg)

$4.03 A$5.72

$2.35 ฿79.5

71.49%

Banana (1kg)

$3.17 A$4.50

$0.97 ฿32.82

226.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.54 A$5.04

$1.60 ฿53.9

121.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.13 A$7.29

$1.50 ฿50.7

242.00%

Potato (1kg)

$3.22 A$4.58

$1.28 ฿43.15

151.56%

Onion (1kg)

$2.83 A$4.03

$1.10 ฿37.22

157.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.53

$0.71 ฿23.84

249.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 A$2.00

$0.49 ฿16.38

185.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.06 A$62.7

$4.14 ฿140

964.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.26 A$20.28

$17.52 ฿592

-18.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.81 A$6.85

$1.61 ฿54.5

198.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.68 A$8.08

$2.78 ฿94.0

104.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.53 A$3.60

$0.87 ฿29.33

190.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$94.8 A$135

$54.1 ฿1,827

75.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 A$5.68

$1.16 ฿39.08

243.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.65 A$2.35

$0.53 ฿17.82

211.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$42.56 A$60.5

$2.42 ฿81.8

1658.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 A$1.89

$1.45 ฿48.93

-8.28%

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

$28.0K A$39.8K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

32.87%

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

$26.3K A$37.4K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

-2.41%

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

$184 A$262

$62.2 ฿2,100

196.38%

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

$26.57 A$37.78

$12.17 ฿411

118.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.9 A$79.5

$20.12 ฿680

177.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$79.4 A$113

$37.31 ฿1,260

112.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.81 A$39.55

$3.77 ฿127

637.67%

Cinema Ticket

$16.02 A$22.78

$6.49 ฿219

146.84%

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

$2,460 A$3,498

$736 ฿24.9K

234.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.6K A$29.3K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

39.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$76.1 A$108

$53.4 ฿1,802

42.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.4 A$81.7

$24.64 ฿832

133.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 A$153

$91.5 ฿3,089

17.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$189

$71.9 ฿2,429

84.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,749 A$2,486

$482 ฿16.3K

262.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,495 A$2,126

$309 ฿10.4K

384.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,065 A$4,358

$1,006 ฿34.0K

204.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,978 A$2,813

$633 ฿21.4K

212.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$11.1K A$15.8K

$2,363 ฿79.8K

369.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,790 A$11.1K

$1,589 ฿53.7K

390.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,317 A$6,139

$590 ฿19.9K

632.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.95

5.57

6.82%

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

Last update for Canberra: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Canberra

$1.5K 51.8%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 79.3% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Canberra

$397 13.8%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 41% $163

Eating Out

Canberra

$330 11.4%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 76.5% $253

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Canberra

$267 9.2%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 64.6% $172

Clothing & Footwear

Canberra

$168 5.8%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 35.4% $60

Getting Around

Canberra

$117 4.1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 47.6% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Canberra

$111 3.9%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 54.9% $61

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,749 in Canberra 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 Canberra are about 7.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $90 in Canberra versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $397 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Canberra

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

01:06 1:06 AM

21:06 9:06 PM

4 h behind Canberra

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

466,566 Capital

127,240

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.703 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Canberra Chiang Mai 8,000 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Canberra
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $2,886 in Canberra, $936 in Chiang Mai – roughly 208% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,329 per month in Canberra 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 $1,749 in Canberra.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,886 in Canberra and $936 in Chiang Mai. That’s a gap of about 208%.

Public transport costs about 43% less in Chiang Mai. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,886 in Canberra and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Chiang Mai – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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