Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Charleville and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,667 in Charleville, rent and utilities included – about $20,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

122

Cost of Living Index in Charleville
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Charleville Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Charleville

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,667

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,667 in Charleville versus $936 in Chiang Mai.

Charleville $2,667
Chiang Mai $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,579 in Charleville versus $1,457 in Chiang Mai.

Charleville $3,579
Chiang Mai $1,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,492 in Charleville versus $1,979 in Chiang Mai.

Charleville $4,492
Chiang Mai $1,979

Living in Charleville is roughly 185% more expensive than in Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Charleville is 96% above, Chiang Mai is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.93 A$22.74

$2.24 ฿75.6

611.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.9 A$108

$19.00 ฿641

299.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.62 A$13.73

$5.55 ฿187

73.33%

Cappuccino

$3.77 A$5.39

$1.67 ฿56.5

125.75%

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

$2.81 A$4.00

$0.64 ฿21.53

339.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 A$3.18

$0.31 ฿10.30

619.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.37 A$11.95

$2.36 ฿79.5

254.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.18 A$10.25

$3.66 ฿124

96.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$1.95 ฿65.7

-25.13%

White Bread (500g)

$2.81 A$4.01

$1.44 ฿48.45

95.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.12 A$3.03

$1.33 ฿45.01

59.40%

Eggs

$4.65 A$6.63

$2.28 ฿77.0

103.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.74 A$12.47

$16.45 ฿555

-46.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 A$15.01

$2.78 ฿93.8

278.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.35 A$21.91

$9.31 ฿314

64.88%

Apples (1kg)

$3.54 A$5.05

$2.35 ฿79.4

50.64%

Banana (1kg)

$3.34 A$4.77

$0.97 ฿32.78

244.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.61 A$5.16

$1.60 ฿53.9

125.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.02 A$7.16

$1.50 ฿50.6

234.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.63 A$3.76

$1.28 ฿43.10

105.47%

Onion (1kg)

$2.79 A$3.98

$1.10 ฿37.17

153.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.68 A$3.83

$0.71 ฿23.81

277.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 A$2.35

$0.49 ฿16.36

236.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$47.11 A$67.2

$4.14 ฿140

1037.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.54 A$19.32

$17.52 ฿591

-22.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.34 A$7.62

$1.61 ฿54.5

231.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.72 A$8.16

$2.78 ฿93.9

105.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.44 A$3.49

$0.87 ฿29.29

180.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$84.6 A$121

$54.1 ฿1,825

56.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.06 A$4.36

$1.16 ฿39.03

163.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 A$2.03

$0.53 ฿17.79

167.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$42.01 A$60.0

$2.42 ฿81.7

1635.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 A$2.14

$1.45 ฿48.87

3.45%

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

$31.7K A$45.3K

$21.1K ฿710.3K

50.56%

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

$25.1K A$35.9K

$26.9K ฿908.7K

-6.76%

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

$210 A$300

$62.2 ฿2,097

237.94%

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

$26.08 A$37.23

$12.17 ฿410

114.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.76 A$71.0

$20.12 ฿679

147.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.4 A$81.9

$37.31 ฿1,259

53.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.05 A$22.90

$3.77 ฿127

325.73%

Cinema Ticket

$14.95 A$21.34

$6.49 ฿219

130.35%

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

$2,123 A$3,030

$736 ฿24.8K

188.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.8K A$29.7K

$14.8K ฿498.0K

40.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$114

$53.4 ฿1,800

49.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.8 A$82.4

$24.64 ฿831

134.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.8 A$141

$91.5 ฿3,086

8.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 A$161

$71.9 ฿2,426

56.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,435 A$2,048

$482 ฿16.3K

197.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,372 A$1,959

$309 ฿10.4K

344.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,550 A$3,640

$1,006 ฿33.9K

153.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,631 A$2,328

$633 ฿21.4K

157.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,919 A$8,448

$2,363 ฿79.7K

150.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,396 A$7,702

$1,589 ฿53.6K

239.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

5.57

5.92%

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

Last update for Charleville: 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

Charleville

$1.4K 51.5%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 77.5% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Charleville

$381 14.3%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 38.5% $147

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Charleville

$286 10.7%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 67% $191

Eating Out

Charleville

$278 10.4%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 72.1% $200

Clothing & Footwear

Charleville

$157 5.9%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 30.9% $49

Getting Around

Charleville

$105 3.9%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 41.3% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Charleville

$87 3.3%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 42.4% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,435 in Charleville and $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $76 in Charleville vs $19 in Chiang Mai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $381 vs $234 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Charleville

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

10:34 10:34 AM

07:34 7:34 AM

3 h behind Charleville

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,300

127,240

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.701 USD

1 AUD = 0.625 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.701 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.625 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Charleville Chiang Mai 7,160 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Charleville
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

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

Chiang Mai is about 65% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $4,000 in Charleville and $1,403 in Chiang Mai to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,435 in Charleville versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $2,667 per month in Charleville versus $936 in Chiang Mai – Chiang Mai is about 65% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Chiang Mai runs roughly 36% less than in Charleville. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

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, Charleville 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 65% less than in Charleville. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.