Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Benidorm

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,707 in Benidorm, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 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
82

Cost of Living Index in Benidorm
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Benidorm Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Benidorm

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,707

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,707 in Benidorm, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Benidorm $1,707

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,498 in Benidorm, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Benidorm $2,498

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $3,290 in Benidorm, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Benidorm $3,290

Chiang Mai is about 45% cheaper than Benidorm, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Chiang Mai sits 31% below the global median, while Benidorm is 25% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.5

$17.28 €15.49

-87.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿640

$52.9 €47.44

-64.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$12.28 €11.00

-54.80%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.4

$2.32 €2.08

-28.02%

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

$0.64 ฿21.51

$2.29 €2.05

-72.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.29

$1.18 €1.06

-73.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

$3.41 €3.06

-30.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿123

$3.67 €3.29

-0.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.7

$1.14 €1.02

71.05%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.41

$1.30 €1.16

10.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿44.97

$1.41 €1.26

-5.67%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.0

$3.50 €3.14

-34.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿554

$10.98 €9.84

49.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.8

$8.10 €7.26

-65.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$15.68 €14.05

-40.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.3

$2.10 €1.88

11.90%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.75

$1.83 €1.64

-46.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.8

$1.92 €1.72

-16.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$2.66 €2.38

-43.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.06

$1.72 €1.54

-25.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.14

$1.77 €1.59

-37.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.79

$1.10 €0.99

-35.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.34

$0.44 €0.39

11.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$5.96 €5.34

-30.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿590

$5.73 €5.13

205.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.4

$0.87 €0.78

85.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.8

$0.94 €0.84

195.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.27

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,823

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.00

$4.50 €4.03

-74.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.78

$1.35 €1.21

-60.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.6

$24.26 €21.74

-90.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.82

$1.72 €1.54

-15.70%

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

$21.1K ฿709.7K

$34.2K €30.6K

-38.39%

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

$26.9K ฿907.9K

$29.3K €26.3K

-8.07%

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

$62.2 ฿2,095

$157 €141

-60.43%

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

$12.17 ฿410

$16.38 €14.67

-25.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿678

$22.55 €20.21

-10.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,257

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$10.78 €9.66

-39.80%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$575 €515

27.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿497.6K

$9,688 €8,682

52.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,799

$91.2 €81.7

-41.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿830

$42.40 €37.99

-41.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,083

$96.1 €86.2

-4.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,424

$119 €106

-39.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$1,002 €898

-51.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$838 €751

-63.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$1,766 €1,582

-43.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.3K

$1,324 €1,186

-52.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.6K

$5,197 €4,657

-54.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$2,542 €2,278

-37.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$1,785 €1,599

-66.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.3

68.79%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Benidorm: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Benidorm

$838 49.1% 171% $529

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Benidorm

$243 14.2% 3.7% $8.6

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Benidorm

$157 9.2% 44.2% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Benidorm

$196 11.5% 108% $102

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Benidorm

$241 14.1% 211% $164

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Benidorm

$11 * 0.7% 81.7% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Benidorm

$22 * 1.3% 57.1% $29

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $1,002 in Benidorm. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Benidorm are about 3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $53 in Benidorm. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $234 vs $243 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇪🇸 Benidorm

🕒 Local time

13:28 1:28 PM

07:28 7:28 AM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

72,342

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 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 October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiang Mai Benidorm 9,480 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Benidorm

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 Benidorm: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Benidorm is pricier by about 82%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,403 per month in Chiang Mai and $2,561 in Benidorm. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chiang Mai, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $482 there versus $1,002 in Benidorm.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,707 in Benidorm. That makes Chiang Mai about 45% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $736 per month in Chiang Mai and $575 in Benidorm. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,707 in Benidorm. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $936 in Chiang Mai to $1,707 in Benidorm. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Benidorm makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.