Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Ar-rawdah

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,418 in Ar-rawdah, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 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
66

Cost of Living Index in Ar-rawdah
Learn more

Ar-rawdah Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Ar-rawdah

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,418

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Ar-rawdah

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 Ar-rawdah actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $936 in Chiang Mai versus $1,418 in Ar-rawdah.

Chiang Mai $936
Ar-rawdah $1,418

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,457 in Chiang Mai versus $2,339 in Ar-rawdah.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Ar-rawdah $2,339

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,979 in Chiang Mai versus $3,260 in Ar-rawdah.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Ar-rawdah $3,260

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 34% less than in Ar-rawdah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 31% below, Ar-rawdah is 4% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$12.71 KWD 3.92

-82.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$64.8 KWD 19.98

-70.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$9.04 KWD 2.78

-38.61%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 KWD 0.98

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.92 KWD 1.52

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$5.06 KWD 1.56

-67.00%

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

$0.64 ฿21.53

$0.74 KWD 0.23

-13.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.30

$0.31 KWD 0.10

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.7

$1.57 KWD 0.48

24.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.45

$1.47 KWD 0.45

-2.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.01

$1.99 KWD 0.61

-33.17%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.0

$2.11 KWD 0.65

8.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$4.38 KWD 1.35

275.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.8

$6.72 KWD 2.07

-58.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$10.38 KWD 3.20

-10.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$2.48 KWD 0.76

-5.24%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.78

$1.92 KWD 0.59

-49.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$1.87 KWD 0.58

-14.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.55 KWD 0.48

-3.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.10

$1.32 KWD 0.41

-3.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.17

$1.44 KWD 0.44

-23.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.81

$2.29 KWD 0.71

-69.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.36

$0.57 KWD 0.18

-14.04%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.26 KWD 1.00

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.00 KWD 0.31

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.39 KWD 0.43

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$2.70 KWD 0.83

53.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.9

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.29

$0.71 KWD 0.22

22.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.03

$4.85 KWD 1.49

-76.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.79

$3.18 KWD 0.98

-83.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.7

$16.40 KWD 5.05

-85.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.87

$0.35 KWD 0.11

314.29%

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

$21.1K ฿710.3K

$23.6K KWD 7,284

-10.90%

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

$26.9K ฿908.7K

$19.8K KWD 6,088

36.40%

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

$62.2 ฿2,097

$66.6 KWD 20.52

-6.62%

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

$12.17 ฿410

$22.11 KWD 6.81

-44.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$29.76 KWD 9.17

-32.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$108 KWD 33.25

-65.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$12.82 KWD 3.95

-49.38%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$505 KWD 156

45.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.0K

$9,226 KWD 2,843

60.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,800

$38.22 KWD 11.78

39.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$39.68 KWD 12.23

-37.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,086

$96.8 KWD 29.84

-5.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,426

$89.4 KWD 27.55

-19.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$795 KWD 245

-39.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$643 KWD 198

-51.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$1,611 KWD 496

-37.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$1,361 KWD 419

-53.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$1,605 KWD 495

-0.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

6.53

-14.70%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Ar-rawdah: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Ar-rawdah

$643 45.4% 108% $334

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Ar-rawdah

$187 13.2% 20.3% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Ar-rawdah

$119 8.4% 9.4% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Ar-rawdah

$118 8.4% 25.4% $24

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Ar-rawdah

$194 13.7% 150% $116

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Ar-rawdah

$24 * 1.7% 61.5% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Ar-rawdah

$134 9.4% 166% $83

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 $795 in Ar-rawdah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $65 in Ar-rawdah. Groceries flip the comparison at $234 vs $187, with Ar-rawdah cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇰🇼 Ar-rawdah

🕒 Local time

22:06 10:06 PM

18:06 6:06 PM

4 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 KWD = 3.24 USD

1 KWD = 2.91 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KWD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.24 USD). 1 EUR = 0.344 KWD (1 KWD = 2.91 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Ar-rawdah 5,270 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Ar-rawdah

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 Ar-rawdah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 34% lower than in Ar-rawdah. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Chiang Mai the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,403 in Chiang Mai and $2,127 in Ar-rawdah to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $482 in Chiang Mai versus $795 in Ar-rawdah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Ar-rawdah pay roughly 20% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $936 per month in Chiang Mai versus $1,418 in Ar-rawdah – Chiang Mai is about 34% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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 Ar-rawdah are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.