Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Al Khobar

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $1,405 in Al Khobar, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 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
68

Cost of Living Index in Al Khobar
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Al Khobar Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Al Khobar

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,405

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $938 in Chiang Mai versus $1,405 in Al Khobar.

Chiang Mai $938
Al Khobar $1,405

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,426 in Chiang Mai versus $2,186 in Al Khobar.

Chiang Mai $1,426
Al Khobar $2,186

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,914 in Chiang Mai versus $2,967 in Al Khobar.

Chiang Mai $1,914
Al Khobar $2,967

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 33% less than in Al Khobar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 30% below, Al Khobar is 4% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.26 ฿75.4

$6.53 SAR 24.51

-65.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.18 ฿641

$59.2 SAR 222

-67.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.59 ฿187

$7.86 SAR 29.50

-28.88%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.74 SAR 10.28

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.68 SAR 10.05

Cappuccino

$1.72 ฿57.6

$4.48 SAR 16.79

-61.61%

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

$0.64 ฿21.54

$0.87 SAR 3.25

-26.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ฿11.18

$0.38 SAR 1.42

-13.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿78.7

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.90 ฿130

Milk (1 liter)

$2.05 ฿68.6

$1.70 SAR 6.38

20.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 ฿46.70

$1.28 SAR 4.80

9.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 ฿42.89

$2.46 SAR 9.24

-47.97%

Eggs

$2.25 ฿75.3

$2.32 SAR 8.69

-3.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.94 ฿566

$7.15 SAR 26.84

136.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.74 ฿91.6

$10.24 SAR 38.43

-73.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.36 ฿313

$11.69 SAR 43.86

-19.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 ฿80.3

$2.62 SAR 9.83

-8.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.01 ฿33.92

$1.76 SAR 6.59

-42.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.61 ฿53.9

$1.98 SAR 7.43

-18.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.52 ฿50.7

$1.77 SAR 6.64

-14.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿42.90

$1.36 SAR 5.11

-5.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.11 ฿37.22

$1.66 SAR 6.24

-33.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 ฿24.09

$1.66 SAR 6.23

-56.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.54

$0.53 SAR 2.01

-1.89%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.63 SAR 9.88

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 SAR 5.98

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 SAR 6.91

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.33 ฿145

$6.66 SAR 25.00

-34.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.73 ฿593

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 ฿54.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.3

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 ฿28.31

$0.73 SAR 2.75

16.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.9 ฿1,801

$67.2 SAR 252

-19.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 ฿39.18

$3.23 SAR 12.14

-63.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.57 ฿19.00

$2.72 SAR 10.20

-79.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.37 ฿79.2

$6.48 SAR 24.31

-63.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.32

$0.63 SAR 2.37

130.16%

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

$20.5K ฿684.3K

$66.3K SAR 248.6K

-69.09%

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

$26.5K ฿886.1K

$22.5K SAR 84.6K

17.66%

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

$62.3 ฿2,083

$99.6 SAR 374

-37.40%

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

$12.27 ฿410

$33.32 SAR 125

-63.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.97 ฿668

$70.5 SAR 265

-71.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.91 ฿1,267

$82.0 SAR 308

-53.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.76 ฿126

$37.23 SAR 140

-89.90%

Cinema Ticket

$6.71 ฿224

$15.07 SAR 56.6

-55.47%

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

$797 ฿26.6K

$589 SAR 2,210

35.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿495.7K

$8,524 SAR 32.0K

74.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.3 ฿1,780

$62.0 SAR 233

-14.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.05 ฿837

$83.0 SAR 312

-69.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.6 ฿3,062

$97.2 SAR 365

-5.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.5 ฿2,455

$93.9 SAR 352

-21.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$464 ฿15.5K

$630 SAR 2,363

-26.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$305 ฿10.2K

$499 SAR 1,873

-38.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$915 ฿30.6K

$1,187 SAR 4,454

-22.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$552 ฿18.5K

$860 SAR 3,226

-35.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,912 ฿63.9K

$2,404 SAR 9,020

-20.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,438 ฿48.1K

$1,444 SAR 5,417

-0.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿19.9K

$1,829 SAR 6,864

-67.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.88

-5.27%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Last update for Al Khobar: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5%

Al Khobar

$499 35.5% 63.8% $195

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4%

Al Khobar

$217 15.5% 8.6% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7%

Al Khobar

$151 10.8% 38.1% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1%

Al Khobar

$203 14.5% 115% $109

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4%

Al Khobar

$135 9.6% 70.2% $55

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5%

Al Khobar

$87 6.2% 41.9% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5%

Al Khobar

$112 8% 119% $61

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $464 in Chiang Mai and $630 in Al Khobar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Al Khobar pays 207% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $19.00 in Chiang Mai vs $59.0 in Al Khobar. Groceries flip the comparison at $238 vs $217, with Al Khobar cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇸🇦 Al Khobar

🕒 Local time

07:16 7:16 AM

03:16 3:16 AM

4 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

219,679

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 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 October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Al Khobar 5,050 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Al Khobar

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 Khobar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 50% lower than in Al Khobar. 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 207% lower in Al Khobar. 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: $464 in Chiang Mai versus $630 in Al Khobar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Chiang Mai runs roughly 25% less than in Al Khobar. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $797 in Chiang Mai versus $589 in Al Khobar. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $938 in Chiang Mai versus $1,405 in Al Khobar, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Al Khobar. The gap between the two cities makes Chiang Mai the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Chiang Mai delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $938 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Chiang Mai hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Chiang Mai and Al Khobar are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Chiang Mai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Al Khobar. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.