Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Altamura

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,710 in Altamura, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 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
82

Cost of Living Index in Altamura
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Altamura Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Altamura

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,710

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $936 in Chiang Mai versus $1,710 in Altamura.

Chiang Mai $936
Altamura $1,710

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,457 in Chiang Mai versus $2,567 in Altamura.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Altamura $2,567

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,979 in Chiang Mai versus $3,424 in Altamura.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Altamura $3,424

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 31% below, Altamura is 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$16.50 €14.80

-86.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$73.5 €65.9

-74.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$11.21 €10.06

-50.49%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$2.33 €2.09

-28.33%

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

$0.64 ฿21.54

$2.44 €2.19

-73.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.31

$1.32 €1.19

-76.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

$5.54 €4.97

-57.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$5.51 €4.94

-33.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.7

$1.94 €1.74

0.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.46

$1.93 €1.73

-25.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.03

$3.31 €2.96

-59.82%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$4.59 €4.11

-50.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$16.46 €14.76

-0.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$12.53 €11.24

-77.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$20.45 €18.35

-54.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$2.49 €2.24

-5.62%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.79

$2.06 €1.85

-52.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$2.21 €1.98

-27.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$3.74 €3.35

-59.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.11

$1.71 €1.53

-25.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.18

$1.82 €1.63

-39.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.82

$1.42 €1.28

-50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.36

$0.62 €0.56

-20.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$6.80 €6.10

-39.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$6.12 €5.49

186.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.85 €1.66

-12.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$3.16 €2.83

-12.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.30

$1.47 €1.32

-40.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

$37.65 €33.78

43.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.04

$4.58 €4.11

-74.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

$1.21 €1.09

-56.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.7

$23.20 €20.81

-89.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.88

$2.17 €1.95

-33.18%

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

$21.1K ฿710.5K

$35.8K €32.1K

-41.09%

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

$26.9K ฿909.0K

$37.8K €33.9K

-28.64%

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

$62.2 ฿2,098

$200 €179

-68.87%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$9.15 €8.21

33.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$31.06 €27.86

-35.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$57.2 €51.3

-34.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$26.11 €23.42

-85.56%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$9.86 €8.85

-34.18%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$446 €400

64.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.2K

$7,838 €7,031

88.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,801

$94.1 €84.5

-43.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$41.91 €37.60

-41.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,087

$105 €93.9

-12.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,427

$137 €123

-47.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$809 €725

-40.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$576 €517

-46.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$1,042 €935

-3.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$820 €735

-22.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

$2,936 €2,633

-19.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$2,216 €1,988

-28.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$1,721 €1,544

-65.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.08

80.84%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Altamura: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Altamura

$576 33.7% 86.5% $267

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Altamura

$346 20.2% 47.5% $111

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Altamura

$170 9.9% 56.3% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Altamura

$240 14% 154% $145

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Altamura

$247 14.5% 219% $170

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Altamura

$54 3.2% 11.7% $7.2

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Altamura

$77 4.5% 53% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $482 in Chiang Mai and $809 in Altamura. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Altamura pays about 2.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $74 in Altamura for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $346 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇮🇹 Altamura

🕒 Local time

05:34 5:34 AM

23:34 11:34 PM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

70,396

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.61 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 0.897 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiang Mai Altamura 8,030 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Altamura

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 Altamura: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 83% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 66% 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: $482 in Chiang Mai versus $809 in Altamura. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 48% higher in Altamura. 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 $74 in Altamura. 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 Altamura are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

It comes down to priorities – Chiang Mai wins on affordability, Altamura on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.