Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Bath

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $925 a month against $2,794 in Bath, rent and utilities included – about $22,400 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
134

Cost of Living Index in Bath
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Bath Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Bath

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,794

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $925 in Chiang Mai versus $2,794 in Bath.

Chiang Mai $925
Bath $2,794

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,414 in Chiang Mai versus $4,002 in Bath.

Chiang Mai $1,414
Bath $4,002

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,903 in Chiang Mai versus $5,210 in Bath.

Chiang Mai $1,903
Bath $5,210

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 67% less than in Bath, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 32% below, Bath is 106% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.29 ฿76.5

$23.73 £17.80

-90.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.64 ฿656

$101 £75.8

-80.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.61 ฿188

$10.78 £8.09

-47.96%

Cappuccino

$1.66 ฿55.6

$5.14 £3.86

-67.70%

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

$0.70 ฿23.40

$2.59 £1.95

-72.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.24

$1.85 £1.39

-83.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.41 ฿80.4

$7.81 £5.86

-69.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.71 ฿124

$6.46 £4.85

-42.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.3

$1.57 £1.18

24.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.03

$1.70 £1.28

-17.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.31 ฿43.62

$2.02 £1.52

-35.15%

Eggs

$2.18 ฿72.9

$4.24 £3.18

-48.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.65 ฿556

$8.48 £6.36

96.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.76 ฿92.2

$9.69 £7.27

-71.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.11 ฿304

$13.05 £9.79

-30.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.39 ฿80.0

$4.22 £3.16

-43.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.03 ฿34.26

$1.81 £1.36

-43.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.63 ฿54.4

$2.71 £2.03

-39.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.0

$4.00 £3.00

-62.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.29 ฿43.13

$2.08 £1.56

-37.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.11 ฿37.03

$1.71 £1.28

-35.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 ฿24.08

$1.22 £0.91

-40.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 ฿17.59

$1.96 £1.47

-72.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.31 ฿144

$23.05 £17.29

-81.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.95 ฿600

$10.68 £8.01

68.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 ฿52.9

$2.85 £2.14

-44.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.0

$3.20 £2.40

-11.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 ฿28.86

$3.56 £2.67

-75.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.3 ฿1,780

$127 £95.6

-58.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.21 ฿40.29

$3.36 £2.52

-63.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.57 ฿18.99

$1.71 £1.28

-66.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.35 ฿78.6

$26.26 £19.70

-91.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 ฿47.96

$2.08 £1.56

-30.77%

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

$20.7K ฿692.8K

$37.8K £28.4K

-45.19%

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

$26.8K ฿895.7K

$40.3K £30.3K

-33.58%

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

$62.3 ฿2,083

$300 £225

-79.24%

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

$12.11 ฿405

$19.61 £14.71

-38.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.94 ฿666

$38.83 £29.13

-48.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.07 ฿1,239

$45.16 £33.88

-17.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.78 ฿126

$19.59 £14.70

-80.70%

Cinema Ticket

$6.50 ฿217

$15.03 £11.28

-56.75%

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

$793 ฿26.5K

$1,631 £1,224

-51.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿494.9K

$25.1K £18.9K

-41.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.7 ฿1,796

$83.6 £62.7

-35.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.62 ฿823

$30.68 £23.02

-19.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.9 ฿3,036

$99.0 £74.3

-8.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.1 ฿2,378

$82.9 £62.2

-14.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$455 ฿15.2K

$1,804 £1,353

-74.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$298 ฿9,954

$1,406 £1,055

-78.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$908 ฿30.4K

$3,506 £2,630

-74.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$554 ฿18.5K

$2,105 £1,579

-73.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,931 ฿64.5K

$9,965 £7,476

-80.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,445 ฿48.3K

$6,723 £5,043

-78.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$591 ฿19.7K

$3,687 £2,766

-83.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.11

9.00%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Last update for Bath: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2%

Bath

$1.4K 50.3% 372% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5%

Bath

$314 11.2% 33.2% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7%

Bath

$133 4.8% 23.2% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2%

Bath

$359 12.8% 280% $264

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5%

Bath

$354 12.7% 350% $275

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Bath

$154 5.5% 153% $93

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Bath

$75 2.7% 50.3% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $455 in Chiang Mai and $1,804 in Bath. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bath pays 524% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $20.00 in Chiang Mai vs $101 in Bath for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $314 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇬🇧 Bath

🕒 Local time

21:53 9:53 PM

15:53 3:53 PM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

88,859

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 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 October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiang Mai Bath 9,140 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Bath

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 Bath: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 202% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 524% lower in Bath. 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: $455 in Chiang Mai versus $1,804 in Bath. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $925 per month in Chiang Mai versus $2,794 in Bath – a 202% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Chiang Mai runs roughly 139% less than in Bath. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $925 in Chiang Mai versus $2,794 in Bath, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Bath. The gap between the two cities makes Chiang Mai the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Chiang Mai is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Bath, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Chiang Mai and Bath 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 202% less than in Bath. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.