Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Ad Dammam

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,217 in Ad Dammam, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Ad Dammam
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Ad Dammam Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Ad Dammam

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,217

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Ad Dammam

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 Ad Dammam actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $936 in Chiang Mai versus $1,217 in Ad Dammam.

Chiang Mai $936
Ad Dammam $1,217

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,457 in Chiang Mai versus $1,838 in Ad Dammam.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Ad Dammam $1,838

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,979 in Chiang Mai versus $2,460 in Ad Dammam.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Ad Dammam $2,460

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 23% less than in Ad Dammam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Chiang Mai 31% lower, Ad Dammam 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$7.12 SAR 26.74

-68.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$34.16 SAR 128

-44.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$6.82 SAR 25.60

-18.62%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.91 SAR 7.17

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 SAR 8.45

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$3.02 SAR 11.33

-44.70%

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

$0.64 ฿21.54

$0.78 SAR 2.94

-17.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.31

$0.17 SAR 0.63

82.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.7

$1.73 SAR 6.51

12.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.46

$1.29 SAR 4.85

11.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.03

$1.94 SAR 7.29

-31.44%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$2.18 SAR 8.20

4.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$7.60 SAR 28.52

116.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$7.83 SAR 29.37

-64.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$12.77 SAR 47.91

-27.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$2.22 SAR 8.33

5.86%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.79

$1.71 SAR 6.42

-43.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$1.64 SAR 6.15

-2.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.58 SAR 5.94

-5.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.11

$1.12 SAR 4.21

14.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.18

$1.16 SAR 4.35

-5.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.82

$1.33 SAR 4.98

-46.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.36

$0.62 SAR 2.31

-20.97%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.06 SAR 15.24

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 SAR 5.67

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 SAR 7.96

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$7.58 SAR 28.46

-45.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.9

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.30

$0.91 SAR 3.41

-4.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

$38.54 SAR 145

40.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.04

$2.74 SAR 10.27

-57.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

$2.74 SAR 10.28

-80.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.7

$13.10 SAR 49.15

-81.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.88

$0.64 SAR 2.40

126.56%

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

$21.1K ฿710.5K

$29.1K SAR 109.1K

-27.57%

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

$26.9K ฿909.0K

$21.5K SAR 80.5K

25.56%

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

$62.2 ฿2,098

$131 SAR 493

-52.64%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$32.48 SAR 122

-62.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$62.9 SAR 236

-67.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$72.9 SAR 273

-48.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$28.56 SAR 107

-86.80%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$13.54 SAR 50.8

-52.07%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$416 SAR 1,560

77.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.2K

$8,051 SAR 30.2K

83.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,801

$42.09 SAR 158

26.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$50.5 SAR 189

-51.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,087

$96.1 SAR 361

-4.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,427

$92.6 SAR 348

-22.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$535 SAR 2,008

-9.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$387 SAR 1,450

-20.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$970 SAR 3,640

3.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$670 SAR 2,513

-5.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

$962 SAR 3,610

145.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$707 SAR 2,653

124.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$1,475 SAR 5,536

-60.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.9

-5.59%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Ad Dammam: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Ad Dammam

$386 31.8% 25.1% $78

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Ad Dammam

$201 16.5% 14.1% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Ad Dammam

$127 10.4% 16.5% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Ad Dammam

$227 18.6% 140% $132

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Ad Dammam

$117 9.7% 51.4% $40

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Ad Dammam

$59 4.8% 4.5% $2.8

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Ad Dammam

$100 8.2% 98.8% $50

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $482 in Chiang Mai and $535 in Ad Dammam. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ad Dammam pays about 2.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $34 in Ad Dammam. Groceries flip the comparison at $234 vs $201, with Ad Dammam cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇸🇦 Ad Dammam

🕒 Local time

19:46 7:46 PM

15:46 3:46 PM

4 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

903,312

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.19 SAR (1 SAR = 0.239 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Ad Dammam 5,060 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Ad Dammam

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 Ad Dammam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 23% lower than in Ad Dammam. 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 60% 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: $482 in Chiang Mai versus $535 in Ad Dammam. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $936 per month in Chiang Mai versus $1,217 in Ad Dammam – Chiang Mai is about 23% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Ad Dammam runs roughly 29% less than in Chiang Mai. 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, Chiang Mai and Ad Dammam 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, Ad Dammam on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.