Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Bexley

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $2,278 in Bexley, rent and utilities included – about $16,100 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
116

Cost of Living Index in Bexley
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Bexley Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Bexley

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $935 in Chiang Mai versus $2,278 in Bexley.

Chiang Mai $935
Bexley $2,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,467 in Chiang Mai versus $3,603 in Bexley.

Chiang Mai $1,467
Bexley $3,603

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,999 in Chiang Mai versus $4,927 in Bexley.

Chiang Mai $1,999
Bexley $4,927

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 59% less than in Bexley, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 31% below, Bexley is 69% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 ฿71.7

$24.65 £18.29

-91.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.62 ฿625

$93.7 £69.5

-80.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 ฿188

$10.01 £7.43

-44.06%

Cappuccino

$1.66 ฿55.9

$4.73 £3.51

-64.90%

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

$0.65 ฿21.73

$3.11 £2.30

-79.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 ฿10.24

$2.30 £1.71

-86.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.32 ฿78.0

$8.82 £6.54

-73.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 ฿123

$8.05 £5.97

-54.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 ฿67.7

$1.95 £1.45

3.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.29

$2.05 £1.52

-31.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 ฿46.75

$2.14 £1.59

-35.05%

Eggs

$2.37 ฿79.5

$4.43 £3.29

-46.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.52 ฿555

$12.24 £9.08

34.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.67 ฿89.7

$9.02 £6.69

-70.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.02 ฿303

$15.47 £11.48

-41.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 ฿80.6

$2.98 £2.21

-19.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 ฿34.98

$1.38 £1.02

-24.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 ฿55.7

$2.78 £2.06

-40.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.4

$3.35 £2.49

-53.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ฿41.57

$1.61 £1.20

-22.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 ฿36.50

$1.78 £1.32

-38.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 ฿25.59

$1.22 £0.90

-37.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.27

$1.67 £1.24

-69.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.12 ฿138

$24.23 £17.98

-83.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.93 ฿602

$11.11 £8.24

61.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ฿54.5

$2.95 £2.19

-45.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 ฿94.8

$3.27 £2.43

-13.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.39

$4.29 £3.18

-78.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,777

$92.9 £69.0

-43.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ฿39.52

$5.07 £3.76

-76.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.17 ฿5.76

$2.69 £2.00

-93.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 ฿60.9

$25.41 £18.85

-92.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.47

$2.09 £1.55

-29.67%

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

$21.0K ฿705.8K

$38.3K £28.4K

-45.09%

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

$26.5K ฿890.7K

$40.1K £29.7K

-33.83%

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

$62.6 ฿2,101

$286 £212

-78.11%

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

$11.60 ฿390

$17.19 £12.76

-32.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.30 ฿682

$41.32 £30.66

-50.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,272

$48.88 £36.26

-22.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿124

Cinema Ticket

$6.51 ฿219

$18.01 £13.36

-63.85%

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

$727 ฿24.4K

$2,068 £1,535

-64.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ฿556.7K

$33.4K £24.8K

-50.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ฿1,798

$91.2 £67.7

-41.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.80 ฿833

$45.87 £34.04

-45.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.4 ฿3,036

$103 £76.8

-12.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.0 ฿2,418

$90.9 £67.4

-20.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 ฿16.2K

$1,292 £958

-62.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$310 ฿10.4K

$883 £655

-64.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.5K

$2,097 £1,556

-49.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ฿22.1K

$1,846 £1,370

-64.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.2K

$5,018 £3,723

-51.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿54.0K

$4,137 £3,069

-61.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.0K

$2,390 £1,773

-75.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.78

16.53%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Last update for Bexley: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1%

Bexley

$883 38.8% 185% $574

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3%

Bexley

$322 14.2% 36.2% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6%

Bexley

$149 6.6% 37.7% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Bexley

$344 15.1% 265% $250

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2%

Bexley

$366 16.1% 378% $289

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3%

Bexley

$129 5.6% 119% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4%

Bexley

$85 3.7% 66.8% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $481 in Chiang Mai and $1,292 in Bexley. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bexley pays about 4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $94 in Bexley for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $322 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇬🇧 Bexley

🕒 Local time

18:28 6:28 PM

11:28 11:28 AM

7 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

228,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 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 November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.59 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.75 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.742 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Bexley 8,980 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Bexley

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 Bexley: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 59% lower than in Bexley. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Chiang Mai the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 75% 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: $481 in Chiang Mai versus $1,292 in Bexley. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Chiang Mai runs roughly 43% less than in Bexley. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $727 in Chiang Mai versus $2,068 in Bexley. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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 Bexley 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 59% less than in Bexley. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.