Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Alcoy

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $1,580 in Alcoy, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Alcoy
Learn more

Alcoy Living Index

Jump to prices

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Alcoy

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,580

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $935 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,580 in Alcoy, rent included.

Chiang Mai $935
Alcoy $1,580

A couple spends around $1,467 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,339 in Alcoy, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,467
Alcoy $2,339

A family of three spends $1,999 per month in Chiang Mai vs $3,098 in Alcoy, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,999
Alcoy $3,098

Chiang Mai is about 41% cheaper than Alcoy, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Chiang Mai sits 31% below the global median, while Alcoy is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 ฿71.2

$10.18 €9.07

-79.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.62 ฿622

$56.1 €49.98

-66.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 ฿187

$12.94 €11.53

-56.72%

Cappuccino

$1.66 ฿55.5

$1.77 €1.57

-6.21%

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

$0.65 ฿21.59

$1.77 €1.58

-63.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 ฿10.18

$1.32 €1.18

-77.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.32 ฿77.5

$3.33 €2.97

-30.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 ฿122

$2.34 €2.08

56.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 ฿67.3

$1.04 €0.92

94.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.00

$1.47 €1.31

-4.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 ฿46.46

$1.36 €1.21

2.21%

Eggs

$2.37 ฿79.0

$3.17 €2.83

-25.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.52 ฿551

$13.96 €12.44

18.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.67 ฿89.1

$8.27 €7.37

-67.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.02 ฿301

$15.55 €13.86

-41.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 ฿80.1

$2.58 €2.30

-6.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 ฿34.76

$2.00 €1.78

-48.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 ฿55.4

$2.09 €1.86

-20.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.0

$2.61 €2.32

-40.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ฿41.31

$1.77 €1.58

-29.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 ฿36.27

$2.01 €1.79

-45.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 ฿25.43

$1.39 €1.24

-45.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.16

$0.53 €0.48

-3.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.12 ฿138

$6.10 €5.43

-32.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.93 ฿598

$5.71 €5.09

214.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ฿54.2

$1.17 €1.05

38.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 ฿94.2

$1.39 €1.24

102.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.19

$1.54 €1.38

-39.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,766

$27.54 €24.54

92.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ฿39.28

$3.45 €3.07

-65.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.17 ฿5.72

$1.40 €1.25

-87.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 ฿60.5

$27.20 €24.23

-93.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.16

$1.77 €1.58

-16.95%

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

$21.0K ฿701.4K

$33.3K €29.7K

-36.94%

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

$26.5K ฿885.1K

$29.7K €26.5K

-10.74%

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

$62.6 ฿2,088

$153 €136

-59.00%

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

$11.60 ฿387

$17.87 €15.92

-35.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.30 ฿678

$29.93 €26.66

-32.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,264

$43.79 €39.01

-13.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿123

$15.50 €13.81

-76.13%

Cinema Ticket

$6.51 ฿217

$9.15 €8.15

-28.85%

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

$727 ฿24.3K

$530 €472

37.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ฿553.2K

$9,457 €8,425

75.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ฿1,787

$86.9 €77.5

-38.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.80 ฿828

$35.40 €31.54

-29.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.4 ฿3,017

$91.0 €81.0

-0.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.0 ฿2,402

$112 €99.4

-35.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 ฿16.1K

$905 €806

-46.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$310 ฿10.3K

$691 €616

-55.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.3K

$1,330 €1,185

-20.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ฿22.0K

$1,076 €958

-38.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿80.7K

$3,419 €3,046

-29.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿53.7K

$2,102 €1,873

-23.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿19.9K

$1,898 €1,690

-68.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.3

68.79%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Last update for Alcoy: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1%

Alcoy

$691 43.7% 123% $381

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3%

Alcoy

$261 16.5% 10.2% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6%

Alcoy

$146 9.3% 35% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Alcoy

$200 12.7% 112% $106

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2%

Alcoy

$175 11.1% 129% $99

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3%

Alcoy

$44 2.8% 24.7% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4%

Alcoy

$62 3.9% 22% $11

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $481 in Chiang Mai versus $905 in Alcoy. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Alcoy are about 3.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $56 in Alcoy. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $237 vs $261 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇪🇸 Alcoy

🕒 Local time

05:45 5:45 AM

23:45 11:45 PM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

59,493

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 3 USD

100 THB = 2.67 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.38 THB (100 THB = 3 USD). 1 EUR = 37.47 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Alcoy 9,500 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Alcoy

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 Alcoy: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $935 in Chiang Mai, $1,580 in Alcoy – Chiang Mai comes out roughly 41% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,403 per month in Chiang Mai and $2,370 in Alcoy. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chiang Mai, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $481 there versus $905 in Alcoy.

Groceries cost about 10% more in Alcoy, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai and $56 in Alcoy. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $935 in Chiang Mai and $1,580 in Alcoy. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $935 in Chiang Mai to $1,580 in Alcoy. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Alcoy makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.