Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Agen

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $960 a month against $1,749 in Agen, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
84

Cost of Living Index in Agen
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Agen Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$960

/mo nomad

Agen

🇫🇷 France

$1,749

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $960 in Chiang Mai versus $1,749 in Agen.

Chiang Mai $960
Agen $1,749

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,499 in Chiang Mai versus $2,584 in Agen.

Chiang Mai $1,499
Agen $2,584

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,037 in Chiang Mai versus $3,419 in Agen.

Chiang Mai $2,037
Agen $3,419

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 45% less than in Agen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 28% below, Agen is 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.12 ฿71.8

$11.38 €10.29

-81.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.74 ฿635

$56.8 €51.3

-66.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.39 ฿183

$11.73 €10.61

-54.05%

Cappuccino

$1.74 ฿58.8

$4.01 €3.62

-56.61%

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

$0.71 ฿24.18

$2.96 €2.68

-76.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ฿11.22

$1.39 €1.26

-76.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.38 ฿80.8

$6.65 €6.02

-64.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿130

$4.46 €4.03

-14.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.99 ฿67.5

$1.21 €1.09

64.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿48.53

$2.02 €1.83

-29.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.92

$2.72 €2.46

-50.00%

Eggs

$2.31 ฿78.2

$3.32 €3.01

-30.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.65 ฿564

$13.67 €12.36

21.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.80 ฿95.0

$12.96 €11.72

-78.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.38 ฿318

$16.46 €14.88

-43.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.48 ฿84.2

$2.18 €1.97

13.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 ฿35.76

$2.09 €1.89

-49.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.3

$2.46 €2.22

-31.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.63 ฿55.2

$4.40 €3.98

-62.95%

Potato (1kg)

$1.32 ฿44.83

$2.04 €1.85

-35.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.11 ฿37.52

$2.85 €2.58

-61.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 ฿24.71

$1.31 €1.19

-44.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.78

$0.47 €0.43

17.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 ฿148

$13.18 €11.92

-66.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.62 ฿597

$9.02 €8.16

95.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 ฿53.7

$3.96 €3.58

-60.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿94.5

$4.09 €3.69

-31.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 ฿29.14

$2.06 €1.87

-58.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.4 ฿1,843

$42.03 €38.01

29.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 ฿41.32

$3.09 €2.79

-60.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ฿7.37

$1.19 €1.08

-81.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.75 ฿59.4

$46.19 €41.77

-96.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$1.87 €1.69

-22.46%

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

$21.0K ฿711.5K

$33.0K €29.9K

-36.42%

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

$26.7K ฿905.0K

$38.9K €35.2K

-31.35%

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

$63.5 ฿2,150

$256 €232

-75.21%

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

$11.87 ฿402

$15.65 €14.15

-24.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.59 ฿697

$30.74 €27.79

-33.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.33 ฿1,468

$45.89 €41.50

-5.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.68 ฿159

$22.09 €19.97

-78.81%

Cinema Ticket

$6.62 ฿224

$13.03 €11.78

-49.19%

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

$743 ฿25.2K

$810 €733

-8.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ฿561.4K

$12.7K €11.5K

30.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.6 ฿1,816

$118 €106

-54.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ฿855

$44.40 €40.15

-43.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.1 ฿3,155

$106 €95.8

-12.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.1 ฿2,443

$144 €130

-49.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$488 ฿16.5K

$613 €554

-20.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$320 ฿10.9K

$561 €507

-42.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 ฿35.1K

$970 €877

6.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 ฿22.6K

$883 €798

-24.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,407 ฿81.6K

$4,356 €3,939

-44.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,647 ฿55.8K

$3,164 €2,861

-47.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿20.0K

$2,370 €2,143

-75.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.5

59.14%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 8, 2026

Last update for Agen: November 7, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$320 33.4%

Agen

$561 32.1% 75.1% $240

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$239 24.9%

Agen

$336 19.2% 40.3% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$110 11.5%

Agen

$185 10.6% 68.8% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$96 10%

Agen

$302 17.3% 215% $206

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.1%

Agen

$234 13.4% 201% $156

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$60 6.3%

Agen

$59 3.4% 1.3% $0.8

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$57 5.9%

Agen

$72 4.1% 27.2% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $488 in Chiang Mai and $613 in Agen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Agen pays about 4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $57 in Agen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $239 vs $336 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇫🇷 Agen

🕒 Local time

16:45 4:45 PM

10:45 10:45 AM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

32,485

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.95 USD

100 THB = 2.68 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 14, 2026: 1 USD = 33.88 THB (100 THB = 2.95 USD). 1 EUR = 37.36 THB (100 THB = 2.68 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 14, 2026: 1 USD = 0.904 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiang Mai Agen 9,200 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Agen

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 Agen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 45% lower than in Agen. 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 75% 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: $488 in Chiang Mai versus $613 in Agen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 40% higher in Agen. 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 $57 in Agen. 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 Agen 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, Agen on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.