Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cantù and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,667 in Cantù, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

83

Cost of Living Index in Cantù
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Cantù Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Cantù

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,667

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,667 in Cantù versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Cantù $1,667
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,668 in Cantù versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Cantù $2,668
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,670 in Cantù versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Cantù $3,670
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Cantù is roughly 78% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cantù is 22% above, Chiang Mai is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.30 €19.99

$2.24 ฿75.6

895.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.8 €81.4

$19.00 ฿641

378.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.09 €9.94

$5.55 ฿187

99.82%

Cappuccino

$1.80 €1.61

$1.67 ฿56.5

7.78%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.64 ฿21.55

354.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 €1.53

$0.31 ฿10.31

451.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.62 €5.04

$2.36 ฿79.6

138.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.17 €5.53

$3.66 ฿124

68.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 €1.25

$1.95 ฿65.8

-28.72%

White Bread (500g)

$2.25 €2.02

$1.44 ฿48.48

56.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.58 €3.21

$1.33 ฿45.04

169.17%

Eggs

$3.98 €3.57

$2.28 ฿77.1

74.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.19 €13.61

$16.45 ฿555

-7.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.84 €11.50

$2.78 ฿93.9

361.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.22 €16.32

$9.31 ฿314

95.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.84 €2.54

$2.35 ฿79.4

20.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 €1.45

$0.97 ฿32.80

67.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.07 €2.75

$1.60 ฿53.9

91.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.35 €2.11

$1.50 ฿50.6

56.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.89 €1.69

$1.28 ฿43.12

47.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.10 ฿37.19

65.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.66 €1.48

$0.71 ฿23.82

133.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 €0.54

$0.49 ฿16.37

22.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.62 €5.93

$4.14 ฿140

59.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.53 €4.96

$17.52 ฿591

-68.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 €0.78

$1.61 ฿54.5

-45.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 €1.48

$2.78 ฿94.0

-40.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.77 €1.59

$0.87 ฿29.31

103.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$46.47 €41.64

$54.1 ฿1,826

-14.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.75 €5.15

$1.16 ฿39.06

395.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.29 €2.05

$0.53 ฿17.80

332.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$38.40 €34.41

$2.42 ฿81.8

1486.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.01 €1.81

$1.45 ฿48.90

38.62%

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

$35.8K €32.0K

$21.1K ฿710.7K

69.80%

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

$35.0K €31.4K

$26.9K ฿909.3K

30.01%

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

$194 €174

$62.2 ฿2,098

212.45%

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

$12.72 €11.40

$12.17 ฿411

4.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.58 €24.72

$20.12 ฿679

37.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.8 €49.14

$37.31 ฿1,259

46.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.80 €22.23

$3.77 ฿127

557.82%

Cinema Ticket

$11.66 €10.45

$6.49 ฿219

79.66%

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

$719 €645

$736 ฿24.8K

-2.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,047 €6,314

$14.8K ฿498.3K

-52.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.5 €79.3

$53.4 ฿1,801

65.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.93 €39.37

$24.64 ฿831

78.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 €97.6

$91.5 ฿3,087

19.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 €116

$71.9 ฿2,428

79.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$657 €589

$482 ฿16.3K

36.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$504 €451

$309 ฿10.4K

63.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,080 €968

$1,006 ฿33.9K

7.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$910 €816

$633 ฿21.4K

43.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,348 €3,000

$2,363 ฿79.8K

41.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,237 €2,004

$1,589 ฿53.6K

40.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,753 €2,467

$590 ฿19.9K

366.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.65

5.57

-34.47%

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

Last update for Cantù: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cantù

$504 30.2%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 38.7% $195

Groceries & Markets

Cantù

$321 19.3%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 27% $87

Eating Out

Cantù

$292 17.5%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 73.5% $215

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cantù

$235 14.1%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 59.7% $140

Clothing & Footwear

Cantù

$167 10%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 34.8% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Cantù

$78 4.7%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 35.7% $28

Getting Around

Cantù

$71 4.2%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 13.3% $9.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $657 in Cantù and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cantù pays about 4.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $91 in Cantù vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $321 vs $234 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Cantù

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

05:07 5:07 AM

11:07 11:07 AM

6 h ahead of Cantù

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

35,153

127,240

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Cantù Chiang Mai 8,510 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cantù
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,667 in Cantù and $936 in Chiang Mai, so Chiang Mai is about 44% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Cantù is about 4.7 times higher, 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: $657 in Cantù versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $719 in Cantù versus $736 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 37% higher in Cantù. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Chiang Mai is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Cantù and Chiang Mai are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Chiang Mai wins on affordability, Cantù on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.