Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chalcis and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,427 in Chalcis, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

68

Cost of Living Index in Chalcis
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Chalcis Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Chalcis

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,427

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,427 in Chalcis versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Chalcis $1,427
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,185 in Chalcis versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Chalcis $2,185
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,944 in Chalcis versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Chalcis $2,944
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Chalcis is roughly 52% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chalcis is 5% above, Chiang Mai is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.15 €9.99

$2.24 ฿75.5

397.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.37 €41.55

$19.00 ฿640

144.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.16 €8.21

$5.55 ฿187

65.05%

Cappuccino

$3.61 €3.24

$1.67 ฿56.4

116.17%

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

$2.30 €2.06

$0.64 ฿21.51

259.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.63 €0.57

$0.31 ฿10.29

103.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.38 €3.02

$2.36 ฿79.5

43.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 €3.91

$3.66 ฿123

19.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 €1.41

$1.95 ฿65.7

-19.49%

White Bread (500g)

$1.34 €1.20

$1.44 ฿48.41

-6.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.33 ฿44.97

65.41%

Eggs

$4.38 €3.92

$2.28 ฿77.0

92.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.28 €11.00

$16.45 ฿554

-25.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.14 €9.09

$2.78 ฿93.8

264.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.82 €14.17

$9.31 ฿314

69.92%

Apples (1kg)

$1.92 €1.72

$2.35 ฿79.3

-18.30%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.82

$0.97 ฿32.75

109.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.65 €1.48

$1.60 ฿53.8

3.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 €1.82

$1.50 ฿50.6

35.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 €0.98

$1.28 ฿43.06

-14.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.10 ฿37.14

5.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 €0.77

$0.71 ฿23.79

21.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 €0.77

$0.49 ฿16.34

75.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.95 €4.44

$4.14 ฿140

19.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.34 €6.58

$17.52 ฿590

-58.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 €1.55

$1.61 ฿54.4

6.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 €2.94

$2.78 ฿93.8

18.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.38 €1.23

$0.87 ฿29.27

58.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,823

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 €3.95

$1.16 ฿39.00

279.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.10 €0.99

$0.53 ฿17.78

107.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.89 €15.13

$2.42 ฿81.6

597.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.45 ฿48.82

44.14%

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

$27.5K €24.6K

$21.1K ฿709.7K

30.47%

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

$24.3K €21.8K

$26.9K ฿907.9K

-9.86%

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

$172 €155

$62.2 ฿2,095

177.35%

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

$25.77 €23.09

$12.17 ฿410

111.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.53 €24.67

$20.12 ฿678

36.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.3 €60.3

$37.31 ฿1,257

80.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$9.43 €8.45

$6.49 ฿219

45.30%

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

$284 €254

$736 ฿24.8K

-61.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,705 €4,216

$14.8K ฿497.6K

-68.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.2 €72.8

$53.4 ฿1,799

52.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.84 €34.81

$24.64 ฿830

57.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.3 €71.9

$91.5 ฿3,083

-12.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 €95.7

$71.9 ฿2,424

48.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$602 €540

$482 ฿16.3K

24.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$485 €435

$309 ฿10.4K

57.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,050 €941

$1,006 ฿33.9K

4.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$897 €803

$633 ฿21.3K

41.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,433 €2,181

$2,363 ฿79.6K

2.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,002 €1,794

$1,589 ฿53.6K

26.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,014 €909

$590 ฿19.9K

71.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.38

5.57

-21.36%

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

Last update for Chalcis: October 27, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chalcis

$485 34%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 36.4% $177

Groceries & Markets

Chalcis

$278 19.5%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 15.8% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chalcis

$226 15.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 58.2% $131

Eating Out

Chalcis

$197 13.8%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 60.7% $120

Clothing & Footwear

Chalcis

$138 9.7%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 21.4% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Chalcis

$86 6%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 41.6% $36

Getting Around

Chalcis

$15 * 1.1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 298% $46

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 $602 in Chalcis and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chalcis pays 72% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $46 in Chalcis vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $278 vs $234 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Chalcis

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

06:26 6:26 AM

11:26 11:26 AM

5 h ahead of Chalcis

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

59,125

127,240

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Chalcis Chiang Mai 7,470 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Chalcis
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

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

Chiang Mai is about 34% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 72% higher in Chalcis, 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: $602 in Chalcis versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Chalcis. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,427 per month in Chalcis versus $936 in Chiang Mai – Chiang Mai is about 34% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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