Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cardiff and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $2,454 in Cardiff, rent and utilities included – about $18,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

119

Cost of Living Index in Cardiff
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Cardiff Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Cardiff

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,454

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,454 in Cardiff versus $938 in Chiang Mai.

Cardiff $2,454
Chiang Mai $938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,414 in Cardiff versus $1,426 in Chiang Mai.

Cardiff $3,414
Chiang Mai $1,426

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,373 in Cardiff versus $1,914 in Chiang Mai.

Cardiff $4,373
Chiang Mai $1,914

Living in Cardiff is roughly 162% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cardiff is 82% above, Chiang Mai is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.04 £15.04

$2.26 ฿75.4

786.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.4 £62.6

$19.18 ฿641

334.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.74 £8.06

$5.59 ฿187

92.13%

Cappuccino

$4.45 £3.34

$1.72 ฿57.6

158.72%

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

$2.92 £2.19

$0.64 ฿21.54

356.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 £1.50

$0.33 ฿11.18

506.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.80 £5.85

$2.36 ฿78.7

230.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.32 £4.74

$3.90 ฿130

62.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 £1.29

$2.05 ฿68.6

-16.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.40 ฿46.70

2.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.15 £1.61

$1.28 ฿42.89

67.97%

Eggs

$3.62 £2.72

$2.25 ฿75.3

60.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.47 £7.11

$16.94 ฿566

-44.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.85 £6.64

$2.74 ฿91.6

222.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.18 £12.14

$9.36 ฿313

72.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 £2.10

$2.40 ฿80.3

16.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 £1.16

$1.01 ฿33.92

53.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 £2.28

$1.61 ฿53.9

88.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.51 £2.63

$1.52 ฿50.7

130.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 £1.50

$1.28 ฿42.90

55.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 £1.15

$1.11 ฿37.22

38.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 £0.82

$0.72 ฿24.09

51.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 £1.23

$0.52 ฿17.54

215.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.08 £17.31

$4.33 ฿145

433.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.07 £8.31

$17.73 ฿593

-37.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.05 £2.29

$1.63 ฿54.4

87.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 £2.48

$2.85 ฿95.3

16.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.21 £2.41

$0.85 ฿28.31

277.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$79.1 £59.3

$53.9 ฿1,801

46.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.58 £3.44

$1.17 ฿39.18

291.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.66 £1.25

$0.57 ฿19.00

191.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.87 £26.91

$2.37 ฿79.2

1413.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.55

$1.45 ฿48.32

42.07%

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

$37.9K £28.4K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

84.86%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

54.13%

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

$335 £252

$62.3 ฿2,083

438.12%

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

$25.35 £19.02

$12.27 ฿410

106.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.54 £32.67

$19.97 ฿668

118.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.26 £27.95

$37.91 ฿1,267

-1.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.37 £8.53

$3.76 ฿126

202.39%

Cinema Ticket

$10.36 £7.77

$6.71 ฿224

54.40%

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

$1,990 £1,493

$797 ฿26.6K

149.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.5K £24.4K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

119.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$97.8 £73.4

$53.3 ฿1,780

83.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.54 £36.41

$25.05 ฿837

93.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 £86.9

$91.6 ฿3,062

26.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.4 £74.6

$73.5 ฿2,455

35.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,168 £876

$464 ฿15.5K

151.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,102 £826

$305 ฿10.2K

261.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,136 £1,602

$915 ฿30.6K

133.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,482 £1,112

$552 ฿18.5K

168.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,255 £3,942

$1,912 ฿63.9K

174.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,432 £2,575

$1,438 ฿48.1K

138.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,179 £2,385

$595 ฿19.9K

434.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

5.57

-8.26%

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

Last update for Cardiff: October 12, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cardiff

$1.1K 44.9%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 72.3% $797

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cardiff

$404 16.5%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 76.6% $310

Eating Out

Cardiff

$317 12.9%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 75.1% $238

Groceries & Markets

Cardiff

$306 12.5%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 22.2% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Cardiff

$163 6.6%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 32.7% $53

Getting Around

Cardiff

$105 4.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 41.5% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Cardiff

$58 2.4%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 11.5% $6.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,168 in Cardiff and $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cardiff pays 434% 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: $83.0 in Cardiff vs $19.00 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $306 vs $238 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Cardiff

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

20:35 8:35 PM

02:35 2:35 AM

6 h ahead of Cardiff

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

346,100

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cardiff Chiang Mai 9,190 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cardiff
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

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

Cardiff and Chiang Mai differ by about 162% in total monthly costs ($2,454 vs $938 including rent). Chiang Mai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 434% higher in Cardiff, 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: $1,168 in Cardiff versus $464 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Chiang Mai – a meal for two runs $19.00 versus $83.0 in Cardiff. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,454 per month in Cardiff versus $938 in Chiang Mai – a 162% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $938 in Chiang Mai versus $2,454 in Cardiff, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Cardiff. 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, Cardiff 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 162% less than in Cardiff. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.