Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Ballerup

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,202 in Ballerup, rent and utilities included – about $15,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
106

Cost of Living Index in Ballerup
Learn more

Ballerup Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Ballerup

🇩🇰 Denmark

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $936 in Chiang Mai versus $2,202 in Ballerup.

Chiang Mai $936
Ballerup $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,457 in Chiang Mai versus $3,495 in Ballerup.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Ballerup $3,495

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,979 in Chiang Mai versus $4,788 in Ballerup.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Ballerup $4,788

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 31% below, Ballerup is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.7

$22.20 DKK 149

-89.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿642

$120 DKK 804

-84.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿188

$14.84 DKK 99.6

-62.60%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.6

$7.18 DKK 48.21

-76.74%

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

$0.64 ฿21.56

$4.18 DKK 28.05

-84.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.32

$3.42 DKK 22.99

-90.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$9.19 DKK 61.7

-74.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$7.49 DKK 50.3

-51.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$2.06 DKK 13.83

-5.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.51

$3.80 DKK 25.50

-62.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.07

$2.28 DKK 15.33

-41.67%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$4.86 DKK 32.66

-53.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿556

$15.42 DKK 104

6.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$11.32 DKK 76.0

-75.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$18.11 DKK 122

-48.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.5

$3.19 DKK 21.43

-26.33%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.82

$3.01 DKK 20.22

-67.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$3.82 DKK 25.62

-58.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$5.14 DKK 34.50

-70.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.15

$2.31 DKK 15.50

-44.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.22

$2.09 DKK 14.02

-47.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.84

$2.12 DKK 14.24

-66.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.38

$1.31 DKK 8.78

-62.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$9.66 DKK 64.9

-57.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿592

$10.08 DKK 67.7

73.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.85 DKK 12.40

-12.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$2.46 DKK 16.52

13.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.33

$3.56 DKK 23.89

-75.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

$86.2 DKK 579

-37.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.08

$5.91 DKK 39.68

-80.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.82

$1.62 DKK 10.88

-67.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$63.0 DKK 423

-96.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$2.58 DKK 17.35

-43.80%

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

$21.1K ฿711.2K

$51.4K DKK 345.1K

-59.02%

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

$26.9K ฿909.8K

$52.8K DKK 354.3K

-48.94%

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

$62.2 ฿2,100

$183 DKK 1,229

-66.05%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$11.39 DKK 76.5

6.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿680

$37.57 DKK 252

-46.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,260

$41.79 DKK 281

-10.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$24.41 DKK 164

-84.56%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$19.58 DKK 132

-66.85%

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

$736 ฿24.9K

$741 DKK 4,977

-0.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.6K

$5,934 DKK 39.8K

148.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,802

$108 DKK 728

-50.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿832

$46.28 DKK 311

-46.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,089

$127 DKK 853

-27.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,429

$187 DKK 1,258

-61.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$914 DKK 6,138

-47.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$775 DKK 5,201

-60.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿34.0K

$1,650 DKK 11.1K

-39.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$1,346 DKK 9,039

-52.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$4,984 DKK 33.5K

-52.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

$3,793 DKK 25.5K

-58.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$5,906 DKK 39.7K

-90.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.67

51.77%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Ballerup: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Ballerup

$775 35.2% 151% $466

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Ballerup

$389 17.7% 65.9% $155

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Ballerup

$211 9.6% 94.3% $102

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Ballerup

$232 10.5% 146% $138

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Ballerup

$400 18.2% 415% $322

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Ballerup

$114 5.2% 86.5% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Ballerup

$81 3.7% 61% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $482 in Chiang Mai and $914 in Ballerup. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ballerup pays about 10 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $120 in Ballerup for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $389 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇩🇰 Ballerup

🕒 Local time

23:56 11:56 PM

17:56 5:56 PM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

39,087

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Danish Krone DKK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 DKK = 0.149 USD

1 DKK = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DKK, 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).

Danish Krone exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.71 DKK (1 DKK = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.47 DKK (1 DKK = 0.134 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Ballerup 8,080 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Ballerup

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 Ballerup: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 135% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 90% 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 $914 in Ballerup. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $736 in Chiang Mai versus $741 in Ballerup. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 66% higher in Ballerup. 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 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 Ballerup 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 58% less than in Ballerup. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.