Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Ashford

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $2,427 in Ashford, rent and utilities included – about $17,900 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
117

Cost of Living Index in Ashford
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Ashford Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Ashford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,427

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $938 in Chiang Mai versus $2,427 in Ashford.

Chiang Mai $938
Ashford $2,427

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,426 in Chiang Mai versus $3,351 in Ashford.

Chiang Mai $1,426
Ashford $3,351

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,914 in Chiang Mai versus $4,276 in Ashford.

Chiang Mai $1,914
Ashford $4,276

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 61% less than in Ashford, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 30% below, Ashford is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.26 ฿75.4

$20.96 £15.73

-89.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.18 ฿641

$79.9 £60.0

-76.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.59 ฿187

$10.49 £7.87

-46.71%

Cappuccino

$1.72 ฿57.6

$5.74 £4.30

-70.03%

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

$0.64 ฿21.54

$2.74 £2.05

-76.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ฿11.18

$1.82 £1.37

-81.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿78.7

$3.89 £2.92

-39.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.90 ฿130

$7.09 £5.32

-44.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.05 ฿68.6

$1.48 £1.11

38.51%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 ฿46.70

$1.32 £0.99

6.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 ฿42.89

$1.69 £1.26

-24.26%

Eggs

$2.25 ฿75.3

$3.00 £2.25

-25.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.94 ฿566

$5.22 £3.92

224.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.74 ฿91.6

$6.91 £5.18

-60.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.36 ฿313

$14.39 £10.79

-34.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 ฿80.3

$3.28 £2.46

-26.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.01 ฿33.92

$1.44 £1.08

-29.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.61 ฿53.9

$2.67 £2.01

-39.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.52 ฿50.7

$3.17 £2.38

-52.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿42.90

$1.67 £1.25

-23.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.11 ฿37.22

$1.46 £1.09

-23.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 ฿24.09

$1.44 £1.08

-50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.54

$1.42 £1.07

-63.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.33 ฿145

$18.83 £14.13

-77.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.73 ฿593

$9.24 £6.93

91.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 ฿54.4

$2.67 £2.00

-38.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.3

$3.63 £2.73

-21.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 ฿28.31

$3.89 £2.92

-78.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.9 ฿1,801

$146 £110

-63.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 ฿39.18

$6.11 £4.58

-80.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.57 ฿19.00

$1.68 £1.26

-66.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.37 ฿79.2

$21.44 £16.08

-88.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.32

$2.07 £1.55

-29.95%

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

$20.5K ฿684.3K

$35.0K £26.2K

-41.44%

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

$26.5K ฿886.1K

$41.1K £30.9K

-35.53%

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

$62.3 ฿2,083

$244 £183

-74.43%

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

$12.27 ฿410

$24.30 £18.23

-49.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.97 ฿668

$38.52 £28.90

-48.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.91 ฿1,267

$61.3 £45.99

-38.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.76 ฿126

$18.74 £14.06

-79.94%

Cinema Ticket

$6.71 ฿224

$21.45 £16.10

-68.72%

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

$797 ฿26.6K

$1,076 £808

-25.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿495.7K

$19.8K £14.9K

-25.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.3 ฿1,780

$69.5 £52.1

-23.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.05 ฿837

$31.50 £23.63

-20.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.6 ฿3,062

$76.7 £57.6

19.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.5 ฿2,455

$100 £75.1

-26.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$464 ฿15.5K

$1,115 £836

-58.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$305 ฿10.2K

$1,133 £850

-73.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$915 ฿30.6K

$1,708 £1,282

-46.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$552 ฿18.5K

$1,425 £1,069

-61.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,912 ฿63.9K

$6,328 £4,748

-69.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,438 ฿48.1K

$4,671 £3,504

-69.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿19.9K

$2,452 £1,840

-75.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.91

13.44%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Last update for Ashford: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5%

Ashford

$1.1K 46.7% 272% $828

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4%

Ashford

$262 10.8% 9.9% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7%

Ashford

$125 5.2% 14.2% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1%

Ashford

$307 12.6% 224% $212

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4%

Ashford

$320 13.2% 305% $241

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5%

Ashford

$176 7.3% 188% $115

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5%

Ashford

$104 4.3% 103% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $464 in Chiang Mai and $1,115 in Ashford. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ashford pays 312% 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: $19.00 in Chiang Mai vs $80.0 in Ashford for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $238 vs $262 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇬🇧 Ashford

🕒 Local time

10:45 10:45 AM

04:45 4:45 AM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

58,936

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Ashford 8,940 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Ashford

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 Ashford: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 159% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 312% lower in Ashford. 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: $464 in Chiang Mai versus $1,115 in Ashford. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Chiang Mai – a meal for two runs $19.00 versus $80.0 in Ashford. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $938 per month in Chiang Mai versus $2,427 in Ashford – a 159% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $938 in Chiang Mai versus $2,427 in Ashford, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Ashford. The gap between the two cities makes Chiang Mai the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Chiang Mai is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Ashford, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Chiang Mai and Ashford are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Chiang Mai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 159% less than in Ashford. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.