Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Auckland

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,421 in Auckland, rent and utilities included – about $17,800 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
117

Cost of Living Index in Auckland
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Auckland Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Auckland

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,421

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $936 in Chiang Mai versus $2,421 in Auckland.

Chiang Mai $936
Auckland $2,421

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,457 in Chiang Mai versus $3,382 in Auckland.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Auckland $3,382

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,979 in Chiang Mai versus $4,343 in Auckland.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Auckland $4,343

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 31% below, Auckland is 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.7

$14.26 NZ$25.42

-84.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿642

$67.0 NZ$119

-71.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿188

$9.12 NZ$16.26

-39.14%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.6

$3.47 NZ$6.19

-51.87%

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

$0.64 ฿21.56

$2.04 NZ$3.63

-68.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.32

$1.75 NZ$3.11

-82.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$6.79 NZ$12.10

-65.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$6.78 NZ$12.08

-46.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$1.92 NZ$3.41

1.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.51

$2.17 NZ$3.87

-33.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.07

$1.83 NZ$3.27

-27.32%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$6.16 NZ$10.99

-62.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿556

$8.97 NZ$15.99

83.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$9.99 NZ$17.80

-72.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$17.72 NZ$31.59

-47.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.5

$2.97 NZ$5.29

-20.88%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.82

$2.08 NZ$3.71

-53.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$3.07 NZ$5.48

-47.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$5.72 NZ$10.19

-73.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.15

$2.17 NZ$3.86

-41.01%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.22

$1.54 NZ$2.75

-28.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.84

$2.04 NZ$3.64

-65.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.38

$1.10 NZ$1.96

-55.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$27.07 NZ$48.24

-84.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿592

$10.21 NZ$18.20

71.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$2.87 NZ$5.11

-43.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$3.38 NZ$6.03

-17.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.33

$1.93 NZ$3.44

-54.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

$123 NZ$219

-55.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.08

$2.29 NZ$4.08

-49.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.82

$2.02 NZ$3.60

-73.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$32.32 NZ$57.6

-92.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$1.83 NZ$3.27

-20.77%

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

$21.1K ฿711.2K

$27.2K NZ$48.5K

-22.66%

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

$26.9K ฿909.8K

$22.2K NZ$39.5K

21.63%

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

$62.2 ฿2,100

$184 NZ$329

-66.29%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$26.77 NZ$47.72

-54.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿680

$51.6 NZ$91.9

-60.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,260

$42.05 NZ$74.9

-11.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$18.31 NZ$32.63

-79.41%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$12.18 NZ$21.70

-46.72%

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

$736 ฿24.9K

$1,063 NZ$1,895

-30.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.6K

$19.5K NZ$34.8K

-24.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,802

$80.3 NZ$143

-33.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿832

$39.90 NZ$71.1

-38.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,089

$92.7 NZ$165

-1.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,429

$113 NZ$201

-36.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$1,271 NZ$2,265

-62.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$1,213 NZ$2,161

-74.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿34.0K

$2,222 NZ$3,960

-54.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$1,658 NZ$2,955

-61.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$7,413 NZ$13.2K

-68.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

$5,429 NZ$9,675

-70.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$2,958 NZ$5,271

-80.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.37

3.72%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Auckland: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Auckland

$1.2K 50.1% 293% $904

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Auckland

$344 14.2% 46.6% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Auckland

$147 6.1% 34.9% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Auckland

$263 10.9% 178% $168

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Auckland

$246 10.2% 217% $168

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Auckland

$143 5.9% 133% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Auckland

$66 2.7% 32.1% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $482 in Chiang Mai and $1,271 in Auckland. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Auckland pays about 5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $67 in Auckland for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $344 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇳🇿 Auckland

🕒 Local time

21:13 9:13 PM

03:13 3:13 AM

6 h ahead of Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

1,463,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.561 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiang Mai Auckland 10,050 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Auckland

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 Auckland: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 61% lower than in Auckland. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Chiang Mai the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 80% 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 $1,271 in Auckland. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $736 in Chiang Mai versus $1,063 in Auckland. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 47% higher in Auckland. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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 – similar infrastructure 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 Auckland 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 61% less than in Auckland. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.