Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cento and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $1,638 in Cento, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Cento
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Cento Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Cento

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,638

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,638 in Cento versus $935 in Chiang Mai.

Cento $1,638
Chiang Mai $935

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,655 in Cento versus $1,467 in Chiang Mai.

Cento $2,655
Chiang Mai $1,467

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,672 in Cento versus $1,999 in Chiang Mai.

Cento $3,672
Chiang Mai $1,999

Living in Cento is roughly 75% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cento is 21% above, Chiang Mai is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.05 €17.81

$2.13 ฿71.8

841.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.2 €80.2

$18.62 ฿626

384.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.35 €11.86

$5.60 ฿188

138.39%

Cappuccino

$2.27 €2.02

$1.66 ฿55.9

36.75%

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

$3.45 €3.06

$0.65 ฿21.75

430.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 €1.45

$0.30 ฿10.25

446.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.09 €5.41

$2.32 ฿78.1

162.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$3.67 ฿123

53.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 €1.27

$2.02 ฿67.8

-29.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.76 €2.45

$1.41 ฿47.34

95.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.72 €2.41

$1.39 ฿46.79

95.68%

Eggs

$3.87 €3.44

$2.37 ฿79.6

63.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.13 €16.10

$16.52 ฿555

9.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.27 €10.90

$2.67 ฿89.8

359.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.32 €15.39

$9.02 ฿303

92.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 €1.99

$2.40 ฿80.6

-6.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 €1.51

$1.04 ฿35.01

63.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 €1.73

$1.66 ฿55.8

17.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.46 €2.18

$1.56 ฿52.4

57.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.35 €1.20

$1.24 ฿41.61

8.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.41 €1.25

$1.09 ฿36.53

29.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.63 €1.45

$0.76 ฿25.61

114.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 €0.50

$0.51 ฿17.29

9.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.67 €5.92

$4.12 ฿139

61.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.91

$17.93 ฿603

-56.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 €1.38

$1.62 ฿54.6

-3.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.68

$2.82 ฿94.9

-32.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.63 €1.45

$0.93 ฿31.42

75.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.22 €37.51

$52.9 ฿1,778

-20.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.48 €3.98

$1.18 ฿39.56

279.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$0.17 ฿5.76

770.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.78 €24.68

$1.81 ฿60.9

1434.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.10 €1.86

$1.47 ฿49.51

42.86%

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

$35.5K €31.6K

$21.0K ฿706.4K

69.05%

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

$37.9K €33.7K

$26.5K ฿891.4K

43.06%

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

$237 €211

$62.6 ฿2,103

278.82%

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

$11.28 €10.02

$11.60 ฿390

-2.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.99 €24.86

$20.30 ฿683

37.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.5 €47.56

$37.88 ฿1,274

41.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.42 €20.80

$3.70 ฿124

532.97%

Cinema Ticket

$10.15 €9.02

$6.51 ฿219

55.91%

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

$425 €377

$727 ฿24.4K

-41.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,424 €3,930

$16.6K ฿557.2K

-73.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.3 €78.4

$53.5 ฿1,800

64.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.51 €38.65

$24.80 ฿834

75.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.5 €83.0

$90.4 ฿3,039

3.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$150 €133

$72.0 ฿2,420

108.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$536 €476

$481 ฿16.2K

11.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$444 €394

$310 ฿10.4K

43.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,062 €943

$1,058 ฿35.6K

0.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$915 €813

$659 ฿22.1K

38.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,942 €2,613

$2,418 ฿81.3K

21.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,022 €1,796

$1,609 ฿54.1K

25.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,779 €1,580

$595 ฿20.0K

199.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

5.57

-42.73%

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

Last update for Cento: November 1, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cento

$444 27.1%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 30.1% $134

Groceries & Markets

Cento

$325 19.8%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 27.1% $88

Eating Out

Cento

$290 17.7%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 73.6% $213

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cento

$276 16.9%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 65.8% $182

Clothing & Footwear

Cento

$169 10.3%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 35.9% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Cento

$74 4.5%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 31.1% $23

Getting Around

Cento

$61 3.7%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 3.3% $2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $536 in Cento and $481 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cento pays about 3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $90 in Cento vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $237 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Cento

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

00:28 12:28 AM

06:28 6:28 AM

6 h ahead of Cento

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

35,582

127,240

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.13 USD

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Cento Chiang Mai 8,370 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cento
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

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

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 43% lower than in Cento. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Chiang Mai the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Cento is about 3 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: $536 in Cento versus $481 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Cento runs roughly 20% less than in Chiang Mai. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $425 in Cento versus $727 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.

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