Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Bytom

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,491 in Bytom, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index
72

Cost of Living Index in Bytom
Learn more

Bytom Living Index

Jump to prices

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Bytom

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,491

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $936 in Chiang Mai versus $1,491 in Bytom.

Chiang Mai $936
Bytom $1,491

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,457 in Chiang Mai versus $2,091 in Bytom.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Bytom $2,091

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,979 in Chiang Mai versus $2,690 in Bytom.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Bytom $2,690

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 37% less than in Bytom, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 31% below, Bytom is 10% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$10.20 zł 40.31

-78.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$35.95 zł 142

-47.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$8.94 zł 35.35

-37.92%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$3.35 zł 13.23

-50.15%

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

$0.64 ฿21.55

$2.21 zł 8.74

-71.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.31

$1.86 zł 7.34

-83.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$3.58 zł 14.14

-34.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$4.67 zł 18.48

-21.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$1.08 zł 4.28

80.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.48

$1.20 zł 4.75

20.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.04

$1.47 zł 5.81

-9.52%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$3.22 zł 12.73

-29.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$9.50 zł 37.54

73.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$5.48 zł 21.68

-49.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$11.79 zł 46.61

-21.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$1.07 zł 4.21

119.63%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.80

$1.63 zł 6.46

-40.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$1.50 zł 5.95

6.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$2.53 zł 10.01

-40.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.12

$0.95 zł 3.77

34.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.19

$0.78 zł 3.07

41.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.82

$1.28 zł 5.07

-44.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.37

$0.66 zł 2.62

-25.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$5.55 zł 21.96

-25.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$6.31 zł 24.93

177.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.00 zł 3.95

61.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$1.62 zł 6.40

71.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.31

$1.25 zł 4.95

-30.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,826

$34.82 zł 138

55.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.06

$1.75 zł 6.92

-33.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

$0.74 zł 2.93

-28.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$10.17 zł 40.20

-76.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.90

$1.64 zł 6.50

-11.59%

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

$21.1K ฿710.7K

$30.5K zł 120.7K

-31.01%

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

$26.9K ฿909.3K

$27.6K zł 109.3K

-2.55%

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

$62.2 ฿2,098

$318 zł 1,256

-80.43%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$7.63 zł 30.18

59.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$16.84 zł 66.6

19.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$38.27 zł 151

-2.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$18.97 zł 75.0

-80.13%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$7.42 zł 29.32

-12.53%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$472 zł 1,866

55.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.3K

$11.9K zł 46.9K

24.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,801

$67.7 zł 268

-21.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$30.72 zł 121

-19.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,087

$88.7 zł 351

3.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,428

$92.7 zł 366

-22.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$523 zł 2,069

-7.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$527 zł 2,084

-41.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$979 zł 3,869

2.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$801 zł 3,166

-20.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$2,962 zł 11.7K

-20.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$2,203 zł 8,707

-27.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

7.19

-22.53%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Bytom: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Bytom

$527 35.4% 70.7% $218

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Bytom

$205 13.8% 12.5% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Bytom

$126 8.5% 15.9% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Bytom

$342 23% 262% $248

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Bytom

$192 12.9% 148% $115

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Bytom

$45 3% 26.2% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Bytom

$53 3.6% 5.6% $2.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $482 in Chiang Mai and $523 in Bytom. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $36 in Bytom. Groceries flip the comparison at $234 vs $205, with Bytom cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇵🇱 Bytom

🕒 Local time

16:00 4:00 PM

10:00 10:00 AM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

162,250

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Polish Złoty PLN zł

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 PLN = 0.253 USD

1 PLN = 0.227 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PLN, USD, EUR 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).

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3.95 PLN (1 PLN = 0.253 USD). 1 EUR = 4.41 PLN (1 PLN = 0.227 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Bytom 7,720 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Bytom

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 Bytom: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai wins on cost – living expenses run 37% lower than in Bytom. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Chiang Mai the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,403 in Chiang Mai and $2,236 in Bytom to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $482 in Chiang Mai versus $523 in Bytom. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $936 per month in Chiang Mai versus $1,491 in Bytom – Chiang Mai is about 37% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Bytom runs roughly 36% less than in Chiang Mai. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

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 Bytom are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.