Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Antigua Guatemala

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,259 in Antigua Guatemala, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 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
61

Cost of Living Index in Antigua Guatemala
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Antigua Guatemala Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Antigua Guatemala

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,259

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Antigua Guatemala

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $936 in Chiang Mai versus $1,259 in Antigua Guatemala.

Chiang Mai $936
Antigua Guatemala $1,259

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,457 in Chiang Mai versus $2,108 in Antigua Guatemala.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Antigua Guatemala $2,108

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,979 in Chiang Mai versus $2,958 in Antigua Guatemala.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Antigua Guatemala $2,958

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 26% less than in Antigua Guatemala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Chiang Mai 31% lower, Antigua Guatemala 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$6.95 Q 53.1

-67.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$52.1 Q 398

-63.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$8.07 Q 61.6

-31.23%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$3.37 Q 25.79

-50.45%

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

$0.64 ฿21.55

$1.16 Q 8.83

-44.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.31

$0.91 Q 6.96

-65.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$3.34 Q 25.50

-29.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$4.61 Q 35.22

-20.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$2.01 Q 15.33

-2.99%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.48

$3.12 Q 23.87

-53.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.04

$1.98 Q 15.12

-32.83%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$2.40 Q 18.34

-5.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$5.36 Q 40.97

206.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$9.27 Q 70.8

-70.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$10.27 Q 78.5

-9.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$3.79 Q 29.00

-37.99%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.80

$1.72 Q 13.15

-43.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$2.77 Q 21.15

-42.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.67 Q 12.73

-10.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.12

$1.53 Q 11.65

-16.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.19

$1.78 Q 13.63

-38.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.82

$0.69 Q 5.28

2.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.37

$1.19 Q 9.10

-58.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$3.88 Q 29.68

6.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$8.05 Q 61.5

117.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.75 Q 13.36

-8.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$2.59 Q 19.75

7.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.31

$2.56 Q 19.53

-66.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,826

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.06

$4.66 Q 35.58

-75.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$10.39 Q 79.4

-76.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.90

$1.28 Q 9.80

13.28%

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

$21.1K ฿710.7K

$22.7K Q 173.3K

-7.17%

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

$26.9K ฿909.3K

$21.9K Q 167.5K

22.93%

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

$62.2 ฿2,098

$58.5 Q 447

6.24%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$29.40 Q 225

-58.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$45.61 Q 349

-55.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$41.10 Q 314

-9.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$27.98 Q 214

-86.53%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$6.32 Q 48.32

2.69%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$345 Q 2,638

113.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.3K

$6,620 Q 50.6K

123.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,801

$43.61 Q 333

22.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$47.16 Q 360

-47.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,087

$94.0 Q 718

-2.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,428

$79.6 Q 608

-9.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$877 Q 6,702

-45.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$517 Q 3,954

-40.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$1,895 Q 14.5K

-46.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$1,180 Q 9,016

-46.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$3,036 Q 23.2K

-22.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$1,227 Q 9,378

29.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$616 Q 4,705

-4.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.62

-52.07%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Antigua Guatemala: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Antigua Guatemala

$517 41.1% 67.5% $209

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Antigua Guatemala

$266 21.1% 13.5% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Antigua Guatemala

$119 9.5% 9.5% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Antigua Guatemala

$134 10.6% 41.4% $39

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Antigua Guatemala

$154 12.3% 99.1% $77

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Antigua Guatemala

$15 * 1.2% 75.7% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Antigua Guatemala

$54 4.3% 6.9% $3.5

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $482 in Chiang Mai and $877 in Antigua Guatemala. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Antigua Guatemala pays 4% 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 in Chiang Mai vs $52 in Antigua Guatemala for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $266 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇬🇹 Antigua Guatemala

🕒 Local time

09:19 9:19 AM

20:19 8:19 PM

13 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

46,054

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GTQ, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 7.64 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.53 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiang Mai Antigua Guatemala 16,160 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Antigua Guatemala

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 Antigua Guatemala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,259 in Antigua Guatemala, so Chiang Mai is about 26% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 4% 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 $877 in Antigua Guatemala. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $736 in Chiang Mai versus $345 in Antigua Guatemala. 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 $52 in Antigua Guatemala. 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 work as nomad bases, but Chiang Mai delivers better value at $936 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 Antigua Guatemala 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, Antigua Guatemala on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.