Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Acquarossa

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $3,691 in Acquarossa, rent and utilities included – about $33,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index
176

Cost of Living Index in Acquarossa
Learn more

Acquarossa Living Index

Jump to prices

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Acquarossa

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,691

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Acquarossa

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Chiang Mai and in Acquarossa actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $935 in Chiang Mai versus $3,691 in Acquarossa.

Chiang Mai $935
Acquarossa $3,691

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,467 in Chiang Mai versus $5,627 in Acquarossa.

Chiang Mai $1,467
Acquarossa $5,627

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,999 in Chiang Mai versus $7,563 in Acquarossa.

Chiang Mai $1,999
Acquarossa $7,563

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 75% less than in Acquarossa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 31% below, Acquarossa is 173% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 ฿72.0

$34.45 CHF 28.23

-93.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.62 ฿628

$143 CHF 117

-87.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 ฿189

$18.05 CHF 14.79

-68.98%

Cappuccino

$1.66 ฿56.1

$7.13 CHF 5.84

-76.72%

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

$0.65 ฿21.82

$5.77 CHF 4.73

-88.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 ฿10.29

$5.45 CHF 4.47

-94.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.32 ฿78.3

$9.40 CHF 7.70

-75.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 ฿124

$8.56 CHF 7.01

-57.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 ฿68.0

$2.14 CHF 1.75

-5.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.49

$3.96 CHF 3.24

-64.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 ฿46.94

$3.76 CHF 3.08

-63.03%

Eggs

$2.37 ฿79.9

$8.63 CHF 7.08

-72.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.52 ฿557

$26.42 CHF 21.65

-37.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.67 ฿90.1

$28.90 CHF 23.68

-90.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.02 ฿304

$59.8 CHF 49.04

-84.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 ฿80.9

$4.22 CHF 3.46

-43.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 ฿35.12

$2.83 CHF 2.32

-63.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$3.50 CHF 2.87

-52.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.6

$4.51 CHF 3.69

-65.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ฿41.75

$2.51 CHF 2.05

-50.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 ฿36.65

$2.30 CHF 1.89

-52.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 ฿25.70

$2.50 CHF 2.05

-69.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.34

$1.29 CHF 1.06

-60.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.12 ฿139

$11.02 CHF 9.03

-62.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.93 ฿605

$13.62 CHF 11.16

31.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ฿54.8

$2.94 CHF 2.41

-44.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 ฿95.2

$3.14 CHF 2.58

-10.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.52

$4.58 CHF 3.75

-79.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,784

$100 CHF 82.2

-47.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ฿39.69

$7.95 CHF 6.52

-85.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.17 ฿5.78

$4.55 CHF 3.73

-96.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 ฿61.1

$89.7 CHF 73.5

-97.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.67

$2.30 CHF 1.88

-36.09%

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

$21.0K ฿708.7K

$38.8K CHF 31.8K

-45.81%

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

$26.5K ฿894.4K

$39.3K CHF 32.2K

-32.55%

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

$62.6 ฿2,110

$279 CHF 228

-77.54%

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

$11.60 ฿391

$39.62 CHF 32.46

-70.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.30 ฿685

$54.1 CHF 44.30

-62.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,278

$83.1 CHF 68.1

-54.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿125

$45.51 CHF 37.29

-91.87%

Cinema Ticket

$6.51 ฿220

$24.06 CHF 19.72

-72.94%

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

$727 ฿24.5K

$3,419 CHF 2,802

-78.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ฿559.0K

$40.8K CHF 33.4K

-59.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ฿1,806

$141 CHF 116

-62.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.80 ฿836

$53.9 CHF 44.17

-53.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.4 ฿3,049

$159 CHF 130

-43.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.0 ฿2,428

$243 CHF 199

-70.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 ฿16.2K

$1,822 CHF 1,493

-73.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$310 ฿10.5K

$1,570 CHF 1,287

-80.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.7K

$2,892 CHF 2,370

-63.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ฿22.2K

$2,542 CHF 2,083

-74.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.5K

$15.0K CHF 12.3K

-83.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿54.3K

$11.0K CHF 9,040

-85.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.1K

$12.0K CHF 9,843

-95.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.03

174.38%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Last update for Acquarossa: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1%

Acquarossa

$1.6K 42.5% 407% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3%

Acquarossa

$674 18.3% 185% $438

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6%

Acquarossa

$269 7.3% 148% $161

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Acquarossa

$372 10.1% 294% $278

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2%

Acquarossa

$524 14.2% 585% $448

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3%

Acquarossa

$149 4.1% 155% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4%

Acquarossa

$131 3.6% 158% $80

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $481 in Chiang Mai and $1,822 in Acquarossa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Acquarossa pays about 20 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $143 in Acquarossa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $674 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇨🇭 Acquarossa

🕒 Local time

17:04 5:04 PM

11:04 11:04 AM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

1,900

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

1 CHF = 1.22 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.819 CHF (1 CHF = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.919 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Acquarossa 8,510 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Acquarossa

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

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

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 75% lower than in Acquarossa. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Chiang Mai the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 95% lower in Chiang Mai. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $481 in Chiang Mai versus $1,822 in Acquarossa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 185% higher in Acquarossa. 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 $143 in Acquarossa. 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, Chiang Mai and Acquarossa 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 75% less than in Acquarossa. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.