Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Banha

For one person, living is cheaper in Banha: $401 a month against $925 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 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
19

Cost of Living Index in Banha
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Banha Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Banha

🇪🇬 Egypt

$401

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $925 per month in Chiang Mai vs $401 in Banha, rent included.

Chiang Mai $925
Banha $401

A couple spends around $1,414 per month in Chiang Mai vs $639 in Banha, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,414
Banha $639

A family of three spends $1,903 per month in Chiang Mai vs $878 in Banha, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,903
Banha $878

Chiang Mai costs about 131% more than Banha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Chiang Mai and Banha are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 32% lower, Banha 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.29 ฿77.2

$3.91 E£218

-41.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.64 ฿663

$11.30 E£630

73.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.61 ฿189

$2.78 E£155

101.80%

Cappuccino

$1.66 ฿56.1

$0.45 E£25.17

268.89%

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

$0.70 ฿23.61

$0.30 E£16.63

133.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.33

$0.09 E£5.27

244.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.41 ฿81.1

$1.29 E£72.2

86.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.71 ฿125

$2.91 E£163

27.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.9

$0.86 E£47.86

126.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.47

$0.67 E£37.52

110.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.31 ฿44.03

$0.65 E£36.08

101.54%

Eggs

$2.18 ฿73.6

$1.14 E£63.5

91.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.65 ฿562

$1.92 E£107

767.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.76 ฿93.0

$4.48 E£250

-38.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.11 ฿307

$9.04 E£504

0.77%

Apples (1kg)

$2.39 ฿80.7

$1.54 E£86.2

55.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.03 ฿34.58

$0.49 E£27.26

110.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.63 ฿54.9

$0.52 E£29.17

213.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$0.33 E£18.32

354.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.29 ฿43.53

$0.26 E£14.53

396.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.11 ฿37.37

$0.30 E£16.59

270.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 ฿24.30

$0.25 E£13.84

188.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 ฿17.76

$0.21 E£11.95

152.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.31 ฿145

$1.36 E£75.8

216.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.95 ฿605

$5.84 E£326

207.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 ฿53.4

$1.20 E£67.0

31.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.30 E£129

23.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 ฿29.13

$0.20 E£11.15

330.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.3 ฿1,797

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.21 ฿40.66

$0.55 E£30.72

120.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.57 ฿19.16

$0.18 E£10.09

216.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$0.96 E£53.7

144.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 ฿48.40

$0.46 E£25.81

213.04%

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

$20.7K ฿699.2K

$31.7K E£1.8M

-34.51%

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

$26.8K ฿904.0K

$26.1K E£1.5M

2.82%

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

$62.3 ฿2,102

$14.12 E£787

341.43%

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

$12.11 ฿408

$2.32 E£130

421.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.94 ฿673

$13.48 E£752

47.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.07 ฿1,250

$15.86 E£885

133.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.78 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$6.50 ฿219

$2.88 E£161

125.69%

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

$793 ฿26.7K

$87.2 E£4,861

809.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿499.5K

$2,099 E£117.0K

605.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.7 ฿1,813

$6.77 E£377

693.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.62 ฿831

$11.36 E£634

116.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.9 ฿3,064

$129 E£7,218

-29.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.1 ฿2,400

$56.1 E£3,130

26.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$455 ฿15.4K

$129 E£7,209

252.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$298 ฿10.0K

$77.1 E£4,301

286.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$908 ฿30.6K

$258 E£14.4K

252.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$554 ฿18.7K

$142 E£7,941

288.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,931 ฿65.1K

$749 E£41.8K

157.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,445 ฿48.7K

$345 E£19.2K

319.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$591 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

21.33

-73.89%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Last update for Banha: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2%

Banha

$77 19.2% 74.1% $221

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5%

Banha

$119 29.8% 49.3% $116

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7%

Banha

$92 22.9% 15.3% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2%

Banha

$30 7.5% 68.3% $64

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5%

Banha

$59 14.7% 25% $20

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Banha

$2.3 * 0.6% 96.3% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Banha

$22 5.4% 56.8% $28

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $455 in Chiang Mai versus $129 in Banha. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $20 in Chiang Mai versus $11 in Banha. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $235 vs $119 – making Banha the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇪🇬 Banha

🕒 Local time

13:17 1:17 PM

09:17 9:17 AM

4 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

167,029

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.6 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.84 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 55.77 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.57 EGP (100 EGP = 1.6 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Banha 6,880 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Banha

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 Banha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $925 in Chiang Mai, $401 in Banha – roughly 131% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,388 per month in Chiang Mai and $601 in Banha. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Banha, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $129 there versus $455 in Chiang Mai.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $925 in Chiang Mai and $401 in Banha. That’s a gap of about 131%.

Kindergarten costs $793 per month in Chiang Mai and $87 in Banha. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $925 in Chiang Mai and $401 in Banha, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

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

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.