Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Carrefour

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $925 a month against $1,801 in Carrefour, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Carrefour
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Carrefour Living Index

Jump to prices

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Carrefour

🇭🇹 Haiti

$1,801

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $925 in Chiang Mai versus $1,801 in Carrefour.

Chiang Mai $925
Carrefour $1,801

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,414 in Chiang Mai versus $2,698 in Carrefour.

Chiang Mai $1,414
Carrefour $2,698

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,903 in Chiang Mai versus $3,595 in Carrefour.

Chiang Mai $1,903
Carrefour $3,595

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 49% less than in Carrefour, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 32% below, Carrefour is 33% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.29 ฿76.5

$14.82 HTG 1,930

-84.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.64 ฿656

$91.5 HTG 11.9K

-78.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.61 ฿188

$6.93 HTG 902

-19.05%

Cappuccino

$1.66 ฿55.6

$1.68 HTG 218

-1.19%

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

$0.70 ฿23.40

$1.52 HTG 198

-53.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.24

$1.49 HTG 194

-79.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.41 ฿80.4

$5.12 HTG 666

-52.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.71 ฿124

$7.19 HTG 937

-48.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.3

$1.54 HTG 201

26.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.03

$2.34 HTG 305

-39.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.31 ฿43.62

$3.14 HTG 408

-58.28%

Eggs

$2.18 ฿72.9

$2.72 HTG 354

-19.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.65 ฿556

$7.83 HTG 1,020

112.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.76 ฿92.2

$5.93 HTG 773

-53.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.11 ฿304

$11.94 HTG 1,555

-23.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.39 ฿80.0

$1.81 HTG 235

32.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.03 ฿34.26

$2.46 HTG 320

-58.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.63 ฿54.4

$0.96 HTG 126

69.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.0

$2.35 HTG 306

-36.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.29 ฿43.13

$6.02 HTG 784

-78.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.11 ฿37.03

$0.97 HTG 127

14.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 ฿24.08

$0.68 HTG 89.0

5.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 ฿17.59

$0.99 HTG 129

-46.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.31 ฿144

$3.95 HTG 514

9.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.95 ฿600

$11.56 HTG 1,506

55.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 ฿52.9

$0.92 HTG 120

71.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.0

$1.54 HTG 201

84.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 ฿28.86

$0.18 HTG 23.95

377.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.3 ฿1,780

$19.93 HTG 2,596

167.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.21 ฿40.29

$0.36 HTG 47.27

236.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.57 ฿18.99

$0.42 HTG 54.3

35.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.35 ฿78.6

$20.16 HTG 2,626

-88.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 ฿47.96

$1.29 HTG 168

11.63%

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

$20.7K ฿692.8K

$40.5K HTG 5.3M

-48.79%

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

$26.8K ฿895.7K

$44.5K HTG 5.8M

-39.83%

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

$62.3 ฿2,083

$100 HTG 13.0K

-37.79%

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

$12.11 ฿405

$50.3 HTG 6,556

-75.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.94 ฿666

$163 HTG 21.2K

-87.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.07 ฿1,239

$69.5 HTG 9,046

-46.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.78 ฿126

$19.74 HTG 2,571

-80.85%

Cinema Ticket

$6.50 ฿217

$10.13 HTG 1,319

-35.83%

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

$793 ฿26.5K

$101 HTG 13.1K

686.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿494.9K

$7,117 HTG 926.9K

108.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.7 ฿1,796

$80.2 HTG 10.4K

-33.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.62 ฿823

$74.8 HTG 9,736

-67.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.9 ฿3,036

$118 HTG 15.4K

-23.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.1 ฿2,378

$153 HTG 19.9K

-53.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$455 ฿15.2K

$868 HTG 113.1K

-47.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$298 ฿9,954

$716 HTG 93.3K

-58.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$908 ฿30.4K

$1,278 HTG 166.4K

-28.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$554 ฿18.5K

$1,084 HTG 141.2K

-48.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,931 ฿64.5K

$765 HTG 99.7K

152.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,445 ฿48.3K

$604 HTG 78.7K

138.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$591 ฿19.7K

$1,402 HTG 182.5K

-57.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-62.87%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Last update for Carrefour: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2%

Carrefour

$716 39.8% 141% $418

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5%

Carrefour

$256 14.2% 8.7% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7%

Carrefour

$192 10.6% 77.1% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2%

Carrefour

$313 17.4% 232% $219

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5%

Carrefour

$211 11.7% 169% $133

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Carrefour

$23 1.3% 62% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Carrefour

$90 5% 79.2% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $455 in Chiang Mai and $868 in Carrefour. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Carrefour pays 137% 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 $92.0 in Carrefour for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $256 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇭🇹 Carrefour

🕒 Local time

18:38 6:38 PM

07:38 7:38 AM

11 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

511,345

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Haitian Gourde HTG G

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 HTG = 7.68 USD

1,000 HTG = 6.83 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HTG, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Haitian Gourde exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 130 HTG (1,000 HTG = 7.68 USD). 1 EUR = 146 HTG (1,000 HTG = 6.83 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiang Mai Carrefour 15,760 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Carrefour

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 Carrefour: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai and Carrefour differ by about 95% in total monthly costs ($925 vs $1,801 including rent). Chiang Mai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 137% lower in Carrefour. 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 $868 in Carrefour. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $793 in Chiang Mai versus $101 in Carrefour. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Carrefour. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $925 in Chiang Mai versus $1,801 in Carrefour, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiang Mai but tight or insufficient in Carrefour. The gap between the two cities makes Chiang Mai the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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 Carrefour 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 95% less than in Carrefour. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.