Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Biella

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,455 in Biella, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Biella
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Biella Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Biella

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,455

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $936 in Chiang Mai versus $1,455 in Biella.

Chiang Mai $936
Biella $1,455

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,457 in Chiang Mai versus $2,244 in Biella.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Biella $2,244

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,979 in Chiang Mai versus $3,034 in Biella.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Biella $3,034

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 36% less than in Biella, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 31% below, Biella is 7% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$16.68 €14.95

-86.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$67.1 €60.2

-71.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$10.59 €9.49

-47.59%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$1.76 €1.58

-5.11%

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

$0.64 ฿21.55

$2.96 €2.65

-78.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.31

$1.35 €1.21

-77.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$5.17 €4.64

-54.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$4.41 €3.95

-17.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$1.26 €1.13

54.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.48

$2.28 €2.04

-36.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.04

$2.95 €2.64

-54.92%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$3.71 €3.32

-38.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$14.40 €12.90

14.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$8.90 €7.98

-68.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$21.24 €19.04

-56.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$3.05 €2.74

-22.95%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.80

$2.17 €1.94

-55.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$1.94 €1.73

-17.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$4.83 €4.33

-68.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.12

$1.85 €1.66

-30.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.19

$1.81 €1.62

-39.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.82

$1.47 €1.32

-51.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.37

$0.35 €0.32

40.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$6.74 €6.04

-38.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$6.62 €5.94

164.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$2.01 €1.80

-19.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$2.53 €2.27

9.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.31

$1.90 €1.71

-54.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,826

$38.48 €34.48

40.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.06

$14.64 €13.12

-92.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

$1.66 €1.49

-68.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$29.62 €26.54

-91.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.90

$1.99 €1.78

-27.14%

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

$21.1K ฿710.7K

$36.5K €32.7K

-42.37%

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

$26.9K ฿909.3K

$35.9K €32.2K

-24.96%

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

$62.2 ฿2,098

$190 €170

-67.30%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$7.66 €6.86

58.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$27.66 €24.79

-27.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$66.3 €59.4

-43.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$24.85 €22.27

-84.83%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$9.10 €8.15

-28.68%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$687 €615

7.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.3K

$10.2K €9,185

44.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,801

$87.2 €78.2

-38.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$44.14 €39.56

-44.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,087

$82.4 €73.8

11.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,428

$112 €100

-35.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$414 €371

16.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$370 €331

-16.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$678 €607

48.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$562 €503

12.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$1,598 €1,432

47.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$850 €762

86.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$1,819 €1,630

-67.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.65

52.60%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Biella: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Biella

$370 25.4% 19.7% $61

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Biella

$321 22.1% 37.1% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Biella

$146 10.1% 34.8% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Biella

$225 15.5% 139% $131

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Biella

$238 16.4% 207% $161

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Biella

$69 4.8% 12.5% $7.7

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Biella

$84 5.8% 68% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $482 in Chiang Mai and $414 in Biella. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Biella pays about 3.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $67 in Biella for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $321 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇮🇹 Biella

🕒 Local time

16:08 4:08 PM

10:08 10:08 AM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

45,740

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 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 Biella 8,600 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Biella

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 Biella: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,455 in Biella, so Chiang Mai is about 36% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 68% 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 $414 in Biella. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $736 in Chiang Mai versus $687 in Biella. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 37% higher in Biella. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Chiang Mai wins on affordability, Biella on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.