Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Alcabideche

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $1,626 in Alcabideche, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Alcabideche
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Alcabideche Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Alcabideche

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,626

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $935 in Chiang Mai versus $1,626 in Alcabideche.

Chiang Mai $935
Alcabideche $1,626

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,467 in Chiang Mai versus $2,382 in Alcabideche.

Chiang Mai $1,467
Alcabideche $2,382

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,999 in Chiang Mai versus $3,137 in Alcabideche.

Chiang Mai $1,999
Alcabideche $3,137

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 42% less than in Alcabideche, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 31% below, Alcabideche is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 ฿72.0

$12.24 €10.94

-82.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.62 ฿628

$55.8 €49.89

-66.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 ฿189

$8.76 €7.83

-36.07%

Cappuccino

$1.66 ฿56.1

$2.54 €2.27

-34.65%

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

$0.65 ฿21.83

$1.50 €1.34

-56.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 ฿10.29

$1.21 €1.08

-75.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.32 ฿78.4

$2.77 €2.48

-16.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 ฿124

$3.31 €2.96

10.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 ฿68.0

$1.03 €0.92

96.12%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.51

$1.21 €1.08

16.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 ฿46.96

$1.53 €1.37

-9.15%

Eggs

$2.37 ฿79.9

$3.38 €3.02

-29.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.52 ฿557

$8.79 €7.86

87.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.67 ฿90.1

$7.56 €6.76

-64.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.02 ฿304

$14.83 €13.26

-39.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 ฿80.9

$3.00 €2.68

-20.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 ฿35.13

$1.30 €1.17

-20.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.85 €1.65

-10.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.6

$2.28 €2.04

-31.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ฿41.76

$2.05 €1.84

-39.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 ฿36.66

$1.63 €1.46

-33.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 ฿25.70

$1.56 €1.39

-51.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.35

$0.68 €0.60

-25.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.12 ฿139

$5.80 €5.19

-28.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.93 ฿605

$3.29 €2.94

444.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ฿54.8

$0.91 €0.82

78.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 ฿95.2

$2.43 €2.17

16.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.53

$2.28 €2.04

-59.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,785

$40.43 €36.15

30.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ฿39.70

$3.70 €3.31

-68.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.17 ฿5.79

$0.75 €0.67

-77.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 ฿61.1

$16.54 €14.79

-89.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.69

$2.10 €1.87

-30.00%

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

$21.0K ฿708.9K

$33.8K €30.2K

-37.76%

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

$26.5K ฿894.6K

$38.8K €34.7K

-31.61%

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

$62.6 ฿2,111

$101 €90.2

-38.00%

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

$11.60 ฿392

$20.90 €18.69

-44.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.30 ฿685

$34.74 €31.06

-41.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,278

$39.95 €35.72

-5.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿125

$16.87 €15.08

-78.07%

Cinema Ticket

$6.51 ฿220

$7.80 €6.98

-16.54%

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

$727 ฿24.5K

$590 €528

23.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ฿559.2K

$11.2K €10.0K

47.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ฿1,807

$115 €103

-53.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.80 ฿837

$34.16 €30.55

-27.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.4 ฿3,050

$83.1 €74.3

8.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.0 ฿2,428

$105 €93.7

-31.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 ฿16.2K

$961 €860

-49.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$310 ฿10.5K

$787 €704

-60.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.7K

$1,615 €1,444

-34.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ฿22.2K

$1,164 €1,040

-43.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.6K

$3,100 €2,772

-22.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿54.3K

$2,343 €2,096

-31.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.1K

$1,092 €977

-45.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.54

57.34%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Last update for Alcabideche: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1%

Alcabideche

$787 48.4% 154% $477

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3%

Alcabideche

$232 14.3% 1.9% $4.5

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6%

Alcabideche

$152 9.3% 39.9% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Alcabideche

$157 9.6% 65.7% $62

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2%

Alcabideche

$186 11.4% 143% $109

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3%

Alcabideche

$57 3.5% 2.9% $1.7

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4%

Alcabideche

$56 3.4% 9.1% $4.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $481 in Chiang Mai and $961 in Alcabideche. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Alcabideche pays 84% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $56 in Alcabideche. Groceries flip the comparison at $237 vs $232, with Alcabideche cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇵🇹 Alcabideche

🕒 Local time

00:20 12:20 AM

17:20 5:20 PM

7 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

44,177

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 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 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.77 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.894 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiang Mai Alcabideche 10,210 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Alcabideche

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 Alcabideche: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 42% lower than in Alcabideche. 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 46% 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 $961 in Alcabideche. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $727 in Chiang Mai versus $590 in Alcabideche. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Chiang Mai – a meal for two runs $19 versus $56 in Alcabideche. 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.

Safety-wise, Chiang Mai and Alcabideche 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, Alcabideche on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.