Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cascais and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,351 in Cascais, rent and utilities included – about $17,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

112

Cost of Living Index in Cascais
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Cascais Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Cascais

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,351

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,351 in Cascais versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Cascais $2,351
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,777 in Cascais versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Cascais $3,777
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,204 in Cascais versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Cascais $5,204
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Cascais is roughly 151% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cascais is 73% above, Chiang Mai is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.86 €14.21

$2.24 ฿75.6

608.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.62 €39.99

$19.00 ฿641

134.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.49 €8.50

$5.55 ฿187

70.99%

Cappuccino

$2.69 €2.41

$1.67 ฿56.5

61.08%

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

$2.16 €1.94

$0.64 ฿21.55

237.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 €1.98

$0.31 ฿10.31

612.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.30 €2.96

$2.36 ฿79.6

39.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.49 €4.92

$3.66 ฿124

50.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.95 ฿65.8

-32.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.44 ฿48.48

59.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 €1.47

$1.33 ฿45.04

23.31%

Eggs

$3.32 €2.97

$2.28 ฿77.1

45.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.79 €9.67

$16.45 ฿555

-34.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.02 €6.29

$2.78 ฿93.9

152.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.08 €13.52

$9.31 ฿314

61.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.84 €2.54

$2.35 ฿79.4

20.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$0.97 ฿32.80

55.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 €2.28

$1.60 ฿53.9

59.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.25 €2.01

$1.50 ฿50.6

50.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.56 €1.40

$1.28 ฿43.12

21.88%

Onion (1kg)

$2.29 €2.05

$1.10 ฿37.19

108.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 €1.53

$0.71 ฿23.82

140.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.06 €0.95

$0.49 ฿16.37

116.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.70 €5.11

$4.14 ฿140

37.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.73 €6.93

$17.52 ฿591

-55.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 €1.14

$1.61 ฿54.5

-21.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 €3.96

$2.78 ฿94.0

58.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.19 €1.96

$0.87 ฿29.31

151.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.02 €40.34

$54.1 ฿1,826

-16.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.21 €1.98

$1.16 ฿39.06

90.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 €1.85

$1.45 ฿48.90

42.07%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$21.1K ฿710.7K

62.36%

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

$38.0K €34.0K

$26.9K ฿909.3K

41.02%

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

$134 €120

$62.2 ฿2,098

114.80%

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

$24.90 €22.31

$12.17 ฿411

104.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.0 €50.2

$20.12 ฿679

178.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.84 €38.39

$37.31 ฿1,259

14.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.36 €10.18

$3.77 ฿127

201.33%

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 €6.38

$6.49 ฿219

9.71%

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

$839 €752

$736 ฿24.8K

13.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.6K €16.7K

$14.8K ฿498.3K

26.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.5 €69.4

$53.4 ฿1,801

45.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.50 €33.60

$24.64 ฿831

52.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.9

$91.5 ฿3,087

14.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$136 €122

$71.9 ฿2,428

89.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,859 €1,666

$482 ฿16.3K

285.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,358 €1,217

$309 ฿10.4K

339.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,213 €3,776

$1,006 ฿33.9K

318.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,032 €2,717

$633 ฿21.4K

378.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,644 €6,850

$2,363 ฿79.8K

223.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,596

$1,589 ฿53.6K

222.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,246 €2,013

$590 ฿19.9K

280.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.67

5.57

-34.11%

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

Last update for Cascais: 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

Cascais

$1.4K 57.8%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 77.2% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Cascais

$273 11.6%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 14.1% $38

Eating Out

Cascais

$233 9.9%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 66.6% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cascais

$214 9.1%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 56% $120

Clothing & Footwear

Cascais

$160 6.8%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 32.2% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Cascais

$57 2.4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 11.9% $6.8

Getting Around

Cascais

$56 * 2.4%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 9.6% $5.4

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,859 in Cascais and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cascais pays about 3.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $45 in Cascais vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $234 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Cascais

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

04:08 4:08 AM

11:08 11:08 AM

7 h ahead of Cascais

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

214,158

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

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Between locations

Cascais Chiang Mai 10,210 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cascais
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

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

Chiang Mai is about 60% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Cascais is about 3.8 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: $1,859 in Cascais versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 16% higher in Cascais. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Chiang Mai – a meal for two runs $19 versus $45 in Cascais. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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, Cascais 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, Cascais on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.