Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Bad Säckingen

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $1,857 in Bad Säckingen, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 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
89

Cost of Living Index in Bad Säckingen
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Bad Säckingen Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Bad Säckingen

🇩🇪 Germany

$1,857

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Bad Säckingen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $935 in Chiang Mai versus $1,857 in Bad Säckingen.

Chiang Mai $935
Bad Säckingen $1,857

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,467 in Chiang Mai versus $2,821 in Bad Säckingen.

Chiang Mai $1,467
Bad Säckingen $2,821

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,999 in Chiang Mai versus $3,784 in Bad Säckingen.

Chiang Mai $1,999
Bad Säckingen $3,784

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 50% less than in Bad Säckingen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 31% below, Bad Säckingen is 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 ฿72.0

$11.79 €10.54

-81.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.62 ฿628

$77.2 €69.1

-75.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 ฿189

$11.09 €9.92

-49.50%

Cappuccino

$1.66 ฿56.1

$3.84 €3.43

-56.77%

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

$0.65 ฿21.83

$1.70 €1.52

-61.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 ฿10.29

$1.38 €1.23

-78.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.32 ฿78.4

$4.43 €3.96

-47.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 ฿124

$2.26 €2.02

62.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 ฿68.0

$1.34 €1.20

50.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.51

$2.04 €1.82

-30.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 ฿46.96

$3.56 €3.18

-60.96%

Eggs

$2.37 ฿79.9

$3.33 €2.98

-28.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.52 ฿557

$14.08 €12.59

17.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.67 ฿90.1

$10.37 €9.27

-74.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.02 ฿304

$10.25 €9.17

-12.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 ฿80.9

$3.27 €2.92

-26.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 ฿35.13

$2.24 €2.00

-53.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.97 €1.76

-15.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.6

$3.79 €3.39

-58.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ฿41.76

$1.05 €0.94

18.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 ฿36.66

$1.12 €1.00

-2.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 ฿25.70

$1.54 €1.37

-50.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.35

$1.01 €0.91

-49.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.12 ฿139

$9.18 €8.21

-55.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.93 ฿605

$6.72 €6.01

166.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ฿54.8

$1.18 €1.05

37.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 ฿95.2

$1.72 €1.54

63.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.53

$3.56 €3.18

-73.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,785

$69.5 €62.1

-23.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ฿39.70

$4.54 €4.06

-74.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.17 ฿5.79

$2.62 €2.35

-93.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 ฿61.1

$35.15 €31.43

-94.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.69

$2.14 €1.92

-31.31%

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

$21.0K ฿708.9K

$18.2K €16.2K

15.68%

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

$26.5K ฿894.6K

$38.2K €34.1K

-30.53%

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

$62.6 ฿2,111

$226 €202

-72.30%

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

$11.60 ฿392

$37.58 €33.60

-69.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.30 ฿685

$53.0 €47.35

-61.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,278

$39.76 €35.56

-4.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿125

$26.68 €23.85

-86.13%

Cinema Ticket

$6.51 ฿220

$15.32 €13.70

-57.51%

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

$727 ฿24.5K

$479 €429

51.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ฿559.2K

$15.6K €13.9K

6.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ฿1,807

$102 €91.5

-47.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.80 ฿837

$44.32 €39.63

-44.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.4 ฿3,050

$101 €90.4

-10.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.0 ฿2,428

$175 €156

-58.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 ฿16.2K

$800 €715

-39.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$310 ฿10.5K

$677 €605

-54.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.7K

$1,471 €1,316

-28.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ฿22.2K

$1,148 €1,027

-42.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.6K

$4,781 €4,275

-49.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿54.3K

$3,294 €2,946

-51.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.1K

$2,815 €2,517

-78.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.92

42.09%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Last update for Bad Säckingen: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1%

Bad Säckingen

$677 36.4% 118% $367

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3%

Bad Säckingen

$289 15.6% 22.2% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6%

Bad Säckingen

$190 10.2% 75.5% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Bad Säckingen

$316 17% 235% $222

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2%

Bad Säckingen

$213 11.5% 178% $136

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3%

Bad Säckingen

$101 5.5% 72.8% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4%

Bad Säckingen

$70 3.8% 38.3% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $481 in Chiang Mai and $800 in Bad Säckingen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bad Säckingen pays about 4.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $77 in Bad Säckingen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $289 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇩🇪 Bad Säckingen

🕒 Local time

02:34 2:34 AM

20:34 8:34 PM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

16,673

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.73 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.894 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiang Mai Bad Säckingen 8,550 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Bad Säckingen

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 Bad Säckingen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai is about 50% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 79% 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: $481 in Chiang Mai versus $800 in Bad Säckingen. 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 versus $77 in Bad Säckingen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $935 per month in Chiang Mai versus $1,857 in Bad Säckingen – Chiang Mai is about 50% 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 Bad Säckingen are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Chiang Mai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Bad Säckingen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.