Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Ayr, South Ayrshire

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $1,828 in Ayr, South Ayrshire, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

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Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Ayr, South Ayrshire
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Ayr, South Ayrshire Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Ayr, South Ayrshire

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,828

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Ayr, South Ayrshire

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 Ayr, South Ayrshire actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $935 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,828 in Ayr, South Ayrshire, rent included.

Chiang Mai $935
Ayr, South Ayrshire $1,828

A couple spends around $1,467 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,756 in Ayr, South Ayrshire, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,467
Ayr, South Ayrshire $2,756

A family of three spends $1,999 per month in Chiang Mai vs $3,684 in Ayr, South Ayrshire, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,999
Ayr, South Ayrshire $3,684

Chiang Mai is about 49% cheaper than Ayr, South Ayrshire, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Chiang Mai sits 31% below the global median, while Ayr, South Ayrshire is 35% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 ฿71.6

$21.20 £15.88

-89.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.62 ฿625

$81.4 £61.0

-77.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 ฿188

$10.68 £7.99

-47.57%

Cappuccino

$1.66 ฿55.8

$4.31 £3.22

-61.48%

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

$0.65 ฿21.70

$2.12 £1.59

-69.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 ฿10.23

$1.32 £0.99

-77.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.32 ฿77.9

$5.46 £4.09

-57.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 ฿123

$5.87 £4.40

-37.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 ฿67.6

$1.12 £0.84

80.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.24

$1.71 £1.28

-17.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 ฿46.69

$0.68 £0.51

104.41%

Eggs

$2.37 ฿79.4

$2.73 £2.04

-13.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.52 ฿554

$7.79 £5.83

112.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.67 ฿89.6

$7.77 £5.82

-65.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.02 ฿303

$13.36 £10.00

-32.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 ฿80.5

$2.52 £1.89

-4.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 ฿34.93

$1.24 £0.93

-16.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 ฿55.7

$2.93 £2.20

-43.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.3

$2.76 £2.07

-43.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ฿41.52

$0.91 £0.68

36.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 ฿36.46

$1.31 £0.98

-16.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 ฿25.56

$1.00 £0.75

-24.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.25

$1.30 £0.98

-60.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.12 ฿138

$22.85 £17.11

-81.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.93 ฿602

$12.17 £9.12

47.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ฿54.5

$3.26 £2.44

-50.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 ฿94.7

$3.24 £2.42

-12.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.35

$3.56 £2.66

-73.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,775

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ฿39.48

$5.80 £4.34

-79.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.17 ฿5.75

$1.89 £1.42

-91.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 ฿60.8

$26.84 £20.10

-93.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.41

$2.10 £1.57

-30.00%

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

$21.0K ฿705.0K

$38.9K £29.1K

-45.98%

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

$26.5K ฿889.6K

$35.5K £26.6K

-25.34%

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

$62.6 ฿2,099

$243 £182

-74.23%

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

$11.60 ฿389

$13.30 £9.96

-12.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.30 ฿681

$31.97 £23.94

-36.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,271

$40.21 £30.10

-5.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿124

Cinema Ticket

$6.51 ฿218

$13.29 £9.95

-51.02%

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

$727 ฿24.4K

$1,845 £1,382

-60.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ฿556.1K

$24.2K £18.1K

-31.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ฿1,796

$99.4 £74.4

-46.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.80 ฿832

$57.2 £42.85

-56.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.4 ฿3,032

$122 £91.1

-25.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.0 ฿2,415

$88.8 £66.5

-18.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 ฿16.1K

$737 £552

-34.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$310 ฿10.4K

$711 £532

-56.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.5K

$1,126 £843

-6.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ฿22.1K

$1,190 £891

-44.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿54.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.0K

$3,595 £2,692

-83.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.5

23.78%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Last update for Ayr, South Ayrshire: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1%

Ayr, South Ayrshire

$711 38.9% 129% $401

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3%

Ayr, South Ayrshire

$262 14.3% 10.7% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6%

Ayr, South Ayrshire

$165 9% 52.5% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Ayr, South Ayrshire

$288 15.8% 205% $194

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2%

Ayr, South Ayrshire

$306 16.8% 300% $230

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3%

Ayr, South Ayrshire

$29 * 1.6% 49.7% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4%

Ayr, South Ayrshire

$67 3.7% 31.2% $16

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $481 in Chiang Mai versus $737 in Ayr, South Ayrshire. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Ayr, South Ayrshire are about 6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $81 in Ayr, South Ayrshire. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $237 vs $262 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇬🇧 Ayr, South Ayrshire

🕒 Local time

11:53 11:53 AM

04:53 4:53 AM

7 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

46,849

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

1 GBP = 1.34 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 8, 2026: 1 USD = 33.55 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.39 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 8, 2026: 1 USD = 0.749 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Ayr, South Ayrshire 9,120 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Ayr, South Ayrshire

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 Ayr, South Ayrshire: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Ayr, South Ayrshire is pricier by about 95%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,403 per month in Chiang Mai and $2,742 in Ayr, South Ayrshire. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chiang Mai, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $481 there versus $737 in Ayr, South Ayrshire.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $935 in Chiang Mai and $1,828 in Ayr, South Ayrshire. That makes Chiang Mai about 49% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $727 per month in Chiang Mai and $1,845 in Ayr, South Ayrshire. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $935 in Chiang Mai and $1,828 in Ayr, South Ayrshire. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Chiang Mai – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Ayr, South Ayrshire makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.