Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Balzers

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $3,201 in Balzers, rent and utilities included – about $27,200 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
155

Cost of Living Index in Balzers
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Balzers Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Balzers

🇱🇮 Liechtenstein

$3,201

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $936 in Chiang Mai versus $3,201 in Balzers.

Chiang Mai $936
Balzers $3,201

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,457 in Chiang Mai versus $5,015 in Balzers.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Balzers $5,015

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,979 in Chiang Mai versus $6,828 in Balzers.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Balzers $6,828

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 71% less than in Balzers, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 31% below, Balzers is 135% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$29.80 CHF 24.57

-92.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$122 CHF 101

-84.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$21.58 CHF 17.80

-74.28%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$5.38 CHF 4.44

-68.96%

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

$0.64 ฿21.55

$5.97 CHF 4.93

-89.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.31

$5.45 CHF 4.50

-94.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$7.16 CHF 5.91

-67.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$7.46 CHF 6.15

-50.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$2.74 CHF 2.26

-28.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.48

$2.94 CHF 2.43

-51.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.04

$2.80 CHF 2.31

-52.50%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$11.95 CHF 9.86

-80.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$25.34 CHF 20.90

-35.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$23.48 CHF 19.37

-88.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$50.6 CHF 41.74

-81.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$3.41 CHF 2.81

-31.09%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.80

$3.64 CHF 3.01

-73.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$4.08 CHF 3.36

-60.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$2.59 CHF 2.14

-42.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.12

$2.35 CHF 1.94

-45.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.19

$2.14 CHF 1.76

-48.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.82

$2.06 CHF 1.70

-65.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.37

$1.66 CHF 1.37

-70.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$12.08 CHF 9.96

-65.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$13.81 CHF 11.39

26.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$2.02 CHF 1.66

-20.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$1.71 CHF 1.41

62.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.31

$3.51 CHF 2.89

-75.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,826

$81.1 CHF 66.9

-33.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.06

$1.74 CHF 1.43

-33.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

$5.90 CHF 4.87

-91.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$8.36 CHF 6.89

-71.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.90

$2.24 CHF 1.85

-35.27%

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

$21.1K ฿710.7K

$34.1K CHF 28.1K

-38.22%

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

$26.9K ฿909.3K

$32.4K CHF 26.7K

-16.83%

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

$62.2 ฿2,098

$212 CHF 175

-70.64%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$40.00 CHF 32.99

-69.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$71.4 CHF 58.9

-71.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$91.1 CHF 75.2

-59.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$24.38 CHF 20.11

-84.54%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$24.13 CHF 19.90

-73.10%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$298 CHF 246

146.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.3K

$8,878 CHF 7,322

66.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,801

$127 CHF 105

-58.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$50.4 CHF 41.56

-51.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,087

$174 CHF 143

-47.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,428

$218 CHF 180

-66.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$987 CHF 814

-51.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$1,282 CHF 1,058

-75.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$2,864 CHF 2,362

-64.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$2,315 CHF 1,909

-72.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$16.3K CHF 13.5K

-85.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$5,142 CHF 4,241

-69.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$8,481 CHF 6,995

-93.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

7.55

-26.23%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Balzers: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Balzers

$1.3K 40.1% 315% $973

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Balzers

$610 19.1% 160% $376

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Balzers

$256 8% 136% $148

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Balzers

$323 10.1% 242% $229

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Balzers

$464 14.5% 498% $387

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Balzers

$126 4% 106% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Balzers

$139 4.4% 177% $89

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $482 in Chiang Mai and $987 in Balzers. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Balzers pays about 14 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $122 in Balzers for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $610 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇱🇮 Balzers

🕒 Local time

17:42 5:42 PM

11:42 11:42 AM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

4,600

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.825 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.92 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiang Mai Balzers 8,450 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Balzers

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 Balzers: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai is about 71% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 93% 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 $987 in Balzers. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 160% higher in Balzers. 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 $122 in Balzers. 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.

Safety-wise, Chiang Mai and Balzers 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 71% less than in Balzers. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.