Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Ashton-under-Lyne

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $2,224 in Ashton-under-Lyne, rent and utilities included – about $15,500 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
109

Cost of Living Index in Ashton-under-Lyne
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Ashton-under-Lyne Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Ashton-under-Lyne

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,224

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Ashton-under-Lyne

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 Ashton-under-Lyne actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $935 in Chiang Mai versus $2,224 in Ashton-under-Lyne.

Chiang Mai $935
Ashton-under-Lyne $2,224

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,467 in Chiang Mai versus $3,437 in Ashton-under-Lyne.

Chiang Mai $1,467
Ashton-under-Lyne $3,437

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,999 in Chiang Mai versus $4,649 in Ashton-under-Lyne.

Chiang Mai $1,999
Ashton-under-Lyne $4,649

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 58% less than in Ashton-under-Lyne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 31% below, Ashton-under-Lyne is 64% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 ฿71.8

$19.91 £14.76

-89.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.62 ฿626

$89.0 £66.0

-79.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 ฿188

$10.40 £7.71

-46.15%

Cappuccino

$1.66 ฿55.9

$4.64 £3.44

-64.22%

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

$0.65 ฿21.75

$2.41 £1.79

-73.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 ฿10.25

$1.75 £1.30

-82.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.32 ฿78.1

$6.57 £4.87

-64.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 ฿123

$6.61 £4.90

-44.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 ฿67.8

$1.43 £1.06

41.26%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.34

$1.77 £1.31

-20.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 ฿46.79

$1.93 £1.43

-27.98%

Eggs

$2.37 ฿79.6

$4.05 £3.00

-41.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.52 ฿555

$8.21 £6.09

101.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.67 ฿89.8

$8.70 £6.45

-69.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.02 ฿303

$14.16 £10.50

-36.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 ฿80.6

$2.77 £2.05

-13.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 ฿35.01

$1.59 £1.18

-34.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 ฿55.8

$2.91 £2.16

-42.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.4

$2.97 £2.20

-47.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ฿41.61

$1.55 £1.15

-20.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 ฿36.53

$1.43 £1.06

-23.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 ฿25.61

$1.24 £0.92

-38.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.29

$1.39 £1.03

-63.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.12 ฿139

$23.97 £17.78

-82.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.93 ฿603

$10.13 £7.52

77.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ฿54.6

$2.47 £1.83

-34.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 ฿94.9

$3.04 £2.26

-7.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.42

$4.30 £3.19

-78.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,778

$107 £79.0

-50.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ฿39.56

$4.67 £3.46

-74.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.17 ฿5.76

$1.81 £1.34

-90.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 ฿60.9

$15.93 £11.81

-88.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.51

$2.10 £1.56

-30.00%

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

$21.0K ฿706.4K

$39.2K £29.1K

-46.38%

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

$26.5K ฿891.4K

$41.4K £30.7K

-35.97%

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

$62.6 ฿2,103

$252 £187

-75.15%

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

$11.60 ฿390

$16.53 £12.26

-29.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.30 ฿683

$41.03 £30.43

-50.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,274

$39.26 £29.11

-3.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿124

Cinema Ticket

$6.51 ฿219

$13.55 £10.05

-51.96%

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

$727 ฿24.4K

$1,493 £1,107

-51.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ฿557.2K

$17.8K £13.2K

-6.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ฿1,800

$85.2 £63.2

-37.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.80 ฿834

$42.93 £31.84

-42.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.4 ฿3,039

$92.5 £68.6

-2.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.0 ฿2,420

$101 £75.2

-29.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 ฿16.2K

$1,280 £950

-62.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$310 ฿10.4K

$973 £721

-68.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.6K

$1,855 £1,376

-42.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ฿22.1K

$1,859 £1,378

-64.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.3K

$4,608 £3,418

-47.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿54.1K

$3,858 £2,861

-58.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.79

16.28%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Last update for Ashton-under-Lyne: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1%

Ashton-under-Lyne

$973 43.7% 214% $663

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3%

Ashton-under-Lyne

$284 12.8% 20.1% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6%

Ashton-under-Lyne

$145 6.5% 33.8% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Ashton-under-Lyne

$309 13.9% 227% $215

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2%

Ashton-under-Lyne

$309 13.9% 304% $232

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3%

Ashton-under-Lyne

$137 6.2% 134% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4%

Ashton-under-Lyne

$66 3% 30.4% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $481 in Chiang Mai and $1,280 in Ashton-under-Lyne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $89 in Ashton-under-Lyne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $284 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇬🇧 Ashton-under-Lyne

🕒 Local time

22:29 10:29 PM

15:29 3:29 PM

7 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

48,604

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 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 November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.69 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.742 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.831 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Ashton-under-Lyne 9,040 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Ashton-under-Lyne

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 Ashton-under-Lyne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 58% lower than in Ashton-under-Lyne. 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 $3,336 in Ashton-under-Lyne 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: $481 in Chiang Mai versus $1,280 in Ashton-under-Lyne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in Ashton-under-Lyne. 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 $89 in Ashton-under-Lyne. 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.

Expats usually find Chiang Mai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 58% less than in Ashton-under-Lyne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.