Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Al Kharijah

For one person, living is cheaper in Al Kharijah: $407 a month against $935 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 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
19

Cost of Living Index in Al Kharijah
Learn more

Al Kharijah Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Al Kharijah

🇪🇬 Egypt

$407

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Al Kharijah

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

A single person spends $935 per month in Chiang Mai vs $407 in Al Kharijah, rent included.

Chiang Mai $935
Al Kharijah $407

A couple spends around $1,467 per month in Chiang Mai vs $658 in Al Kharijah, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,467
Al Kharijah $658

A family of three spends $1,999 per month in Chiang Mai vs $909 in Al Kharijah, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,999
Al Kharijah $909

Chiang Mai costs about 130% more than Al Kharijah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Chiang Mai and Al Kharijah are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 31% lower, Al Kharijah 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 ฿72.0

$3.61 E£200

-41.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.62 ฿628

$14.18 E£784

31.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 ฿189

$4.32 E£239

29.63%

Cappuccino

$1.66 ฿56.1

$1.17 E£64.9

41.88%

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

$0.65 ฿21.82

$0.28 E£15.32

132.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 ฿10.29

$0.10 E£5.65

200.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.32 ฿78.3

$1.27 E£70.3

82.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 ฿124

$2.72 E£150

34.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 ฿68.0

$0.82 E£45.37

146.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.49

$0.67 E£36.88

110.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 ฿46.94

$0.58 E£32.31

139.66%

Eggs

$2.37 ฿79.9

$1.16 E£64.1

104.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.52 ฿557

$3.16 E£174

422.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.67 ฿90.1

$3.67 E£203

-27.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.02 ฿304

$7.77 E£429

16.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 ฿80.9

$1.35 E£74.6

77.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 ฿35.12

$0.64 E£35.28

62.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$0.45 E£25.10

268.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.6

$0.32 E£17.79

387.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ฿41.75

$0.30 E£16.54

313.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 ฿36.65

$0.29 E£15.95

275.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 ฿25.70

$0.23 E£12.71

230.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.34

$0.19 E£10.63

168.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.12 ฿139

$1.76 E£97.3

134.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.93 ฿605

$5.86 E£324

205.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ฿54.8

$1.11 E£61.5

45.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 ฿95.2

$1.88 E£104

50.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.52

$0.16 E£9.06

481.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,784

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ฿39.69

$0.38 E£20.85

210.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.17 ฿5.78

$0.19 E£10.32

-10.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 ฿61.1

$1.18 E£65.5

53.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.67

$0.39 E£21.74

276.92%

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

$21.0K ฿708.7K

$30.3K E£1.7M

-30.56%

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

$26.5K ฿894.4K

$23.7K E£1.3M

12.07%

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

$62.6 ฿2,110

$14.11 E£780

343.37%

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

$11.60 ฿391

$6.21 E£343

86.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.30 ฿685

$12.59 E£696

61.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,278

$15.28 E£844

147.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿125

Cinema Ticket

$6.51 ฿220

$2.70 E£149

141.11%

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

$727 ฿24.5K

$80.6 E£4,455

801.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ฿559.0K

$1,792 E£99.0K

824.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ฿1,806

$16.28 E£900

228.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.80 ฿836

$41.32 E£2,283

-39.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.4 ฿3,049

$110 E£6,086

-17.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.0 ฿2,428

$51.1 E£2,824

40.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 ฿16.2K

$128 E£7,069

276.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$310 ฿10.5K

$70.7 E£3,909

338.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.7K

$241 E£13.3K

339.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ฿22.2K

$137 E£7,587

379.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.5K

$712 E£39.3K

239.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿54.3K

$325 E£18.0K

394.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

16.21

-65.64%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Last update for Al Kharijah: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1%

Al Kharijah

$71 17.4% 77.2% $239

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3%

Al Kharijah

$113 27.7% 52.4% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6%

Al Kharijah

$98 24.2% 9.1% $9.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Al Kharijah

$33 8.1% 65.2% $62

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2%

Al Kharijah

$69 17% 9.5% $7.3

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3%

Al Kharijah

$2 * 0.5% 96.6% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4%

Al Kharijah

$21 5.1% 59.4% $30

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $481 in Chiang Mai versus $128 in Al Kharijah. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $14 in Al Kharijah. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $237 vs $113 – making Al Kharijah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇪🇬 Al Kharijah

🕒 Local time

10:24 10:24 AM

05:24 5:24 AM

5 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

83,108

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 EGP = 1.81 USD

100 EGP = 1.62 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, 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 = 37.72 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 55.26 EGP (100 EGP = 1.81 USD). 1 EUR = 61.8 EGP (100 EGP = 1.62 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Al Kharijah 7,020 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Al Kharijah

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 Al Kharijah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Chiang Mai is pricier by about 130%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,403 per month in Chiang Mai and $610 in Al Kharijah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Al Kharijah, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $128 there versus $481 in Chiang Mai.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $935 in Chiang Mai and $407 in Al Kharijah. That makes Al Kharijah about 57% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $727 per month in Chiang Mai and $81 in Al Kharijah. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Families tend to lean toward Al Kharijah – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.