Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cartago, Costa Rica and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,733 in Cartago, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Cartago
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Cartago Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Cartago

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,733

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,733 in Cartago versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Cartago $1,733
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,363 in Cartago versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Cartago $2,363
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,993 in Cartago versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Cartago $2,993
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Cartago is roughly 85% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cartago is 27% above, Chiang Mai is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.61 ₡3,886

$2.24 ฿75.6

284.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.63 ₡16.1K

$19.00 ฿641

87.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.75 ₡4,400

$5.55 ฿187

75.68%

Cappuccino

$4.55 ₡2,056

$1.67 ฿56.5

172.46%

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

$2.24 ₡1,013

$0.64 ฿21.54

250.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.37 ₡618

$0.31 ฿10.31

341.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.15 ₡972

$2.36 ฿79.5

-8.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.20 ₡1,896

$3.66 ฿124

14.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.39 ₡1,079

$1.95 ฿65.7

22.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.48 ₡1,118

$1.44 ฿48.46

72.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 ₡1,093

$1.33 ฿45.03

81.95%

Eggs

$3.59 ₡1,622

$2.28 ฿77.1

57.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 ₡3,940

$16.45 ฿555

-46.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.61 ₡4,788

$2.78 ฿93.9

281.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.93 ₡6,288

$9.31 ฿314

49.62%

Apples (1kg)

$5.05 ₡2,279

$2.35 ฿79.4

114.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.33 ₡601

$0.97 ฿32.79

37.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.37 ₡1,975

$1.60 ฿53.9

173.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.99 ₡1,350

$1.50 ฿50.6

99.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 ₡977

$1.28 ฿43.11

68.75%

Onion (1kg)

$2.25 ₡1,015

$1.10 ฿37.18

104.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ₡484

$0.71 ฿23.82

50.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.18 ₡985

$0.49 ฿16.36

344.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.98 ₡2,700

$4.14 ฿140

44.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.61 ₡7,047

$17.52 ฿591

-10.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.85 ₡1,286

$1.61 ฿54.5

77.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 ₡911

$2.78 ฿93.9

-27.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.27 ₡571

$0.87 ฿29.30

45.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.1 ₡33.5K

$54.1 ฿1,825

37.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.31 ₡591

$1.16 ฿39.04

12.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡711

$0.53 ฿17.80

196.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.73 ₡3,941

$2.42 ฿81.7

260.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 ₡675

$1.45 ฿48.88

3.45%

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

$34.7K ₡15.7M

$21.1K ฿710.5K

64.72%

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

$42.3K ₡19.1M

$26.9K ฿909.0K

56.94%

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

$53.0 ₡23.9K

$62.2 ฿2,098

-14.75%

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

$36.31 ₡16.4K

$12.17 ฿411

198.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.0 ₡27.1K

$20.12 ฿679

198.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.0 ₡30.7K

$37.31 ฿1,259

82.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$77.5 ₡35.0K

$3.77 ฿127

1956.50%

Cinema Ticket

$7.16 ₡3,234

$6.49 ฿219

10.32%

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

$559 ₡252.2K

$736 ฿24.8K

-24.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,872 ₡3.6M

$14.8K ฿498.2K

-46.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.8 ₡32.9K

$53.4 ฿1,801

36.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.8 ₡25.7K

$24.64 ฿831

130.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 ₡54.8K

$91.5 ฿3,087

32.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.1 ₡39.3K

$71.9 ฿2,427

21.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$733 ₡331.0K

$482 ฿16.3K

52.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 ₡327.1K

$309 ฿10.4K

134.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,920 ₡866.9K

$1,006 ฿33.9K

90.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$702 ₡316.8K

$633 ฿21.4K

10.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,305 ₡589.0K

$590 ฿19.9K

121.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

5.57

54.76%

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

Last update for Cartago: 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

Cartago

$725 41.8%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 57.4% $416

Groceries & Markets

Cartago

$350 20.2%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 33.1% $116

Eating Out

Cartago

$186 10.8%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 58.4% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Cartago

$152 8.8%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 28.6% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cartago

$149 8.6%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 36.7% $55

Getting Around

Cartago

$88 5.1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 30.6% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Cartago

$82 4.8%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 38.9% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $733 in Cartago and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cartago pays about 2.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $36 in Cartago vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $350 vs $234 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Cartago

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

13:35 1:35 PM

02:35 2:35 AM

13 h ahead of Cartago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

110,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cartago Chiang Mai 16,810 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Cartago
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

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

Chiang Mai is about 46% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Cartago is about 2.2 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: $733 in Cartago versus $482 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 27% less than in Cartago. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $559 in Cartago versus $736 in Chiang Mai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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

Expats usually find Chiang Mai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 46% less than in Cartago. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.