Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Cerise

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $1,818 in Cerise, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 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 Cerise
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Cerise Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Cerise

🇫🇷 France

$1,818

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $935 in Chiang Mai versus $1,818 in Cerise.

Chiang Mai $935
Cerise $1,818

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,467 in Chiang Mai versus $2,827 in Cerise.

Chiang Mai $1,467
Cerise $2,827

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,999 in Chiang Mai versus $3,836 in Cerise.

Chiang Mai $1,999
Cerise $3,836

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 31% below, Cerise is 34% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 ฿71.4

$16.47 €14.66

-87.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.62 ฿623

$66.9 €59.5

-72.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 ฿187

$13.32 €11.86

-57.96%

Cappuccino

$1.66 ฿55.6

$3.59 €3.19

-53.76%

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

$0.65 ฿21.63

$3.05 €2.72

-78.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 ฿10.20

$1.81 €1.61

-83.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.32 ฿77.7

$7.19 €6.40

-67.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 ฿123

$5.43 €4.84

-32.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 ฿67.4

$1.32 €1.18

53.03%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.08

$1.90 €1.69

-25.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 ฿46.54

$2.50 €2.22

-44.40%

Eggs

$2.37 ฿79.2

$4.21 €3.75

-43.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.52 ฿552

$19.49 €17.35

-15.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.67 ฿89.3

$12.22 €10.88

-78.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.02 ฿302

$21.28 €18.95

-57.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 ฿80.2

$3.15 €2.80

-23.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 ฿34.82

$2.18 €1.94

-52.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 ฿55.5

$2.99 €2.66

-44.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.1

$3.30 €2.93

-52.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ฿41.39

$1.91 €1.70

-35.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 ฿36.34

$2.28 €2.03

-52.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 ฿25.47

$1.43 €1.27

-46.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.19

$0.72 €0.64

-29.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.12 ฿138

$14.00 €12.47

-70.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.93 ฿600

$7.67 €6.83

133.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ฿54.3

$2.68 €2.38

-39.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 ฿94.4

$3.33 €2.96

-15.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.25

$1.97 €1.76

-52.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,769

$47.91 €42.66

10.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ฿39.35

$5.02 €4.47

-76.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.17 ฿5.73

$2.13 €1.89

-92.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 ฿60.6

$32.83 €29.23

-94.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.25

$2.18 €1.94

-32.57%

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

$21.0K ฿702.6K

$34.1K €30.4K

-38.44%

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

$26.5K ฿886.7K

$37.2K €33.1K

-28.71%

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

$62.6 ฿2,092

$209 €186

-70.07%

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

$11.60 ฿388

$15.27 €13.59

-24.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.30 ฿679

$30.72 €27.35

-33.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,267

$36.06 €32.11

5.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿124

Cinema Ticket

$6.51 ฿218

$13.38 €11.91

-51.35%

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

$727 ฿24.3K

$815 €725

-10.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ฿554.2K

$10.6K €9,417

56.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ฿1,790

$94.0 €83.7

-43.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.80 ฿829

$41.70 €37.13

-40.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.4 ฿3,023

$102 €90.6

-11.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.0 ฿2,407

$136 €121

-47.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 ฿16.1K

$755 €673

-36.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$310 ฿10.4K

$620 €552

-50.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.4K

$1,474 €1,312

-28.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ฿22.0K

$1,179 €1,050

-44.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿80.8K

$4,210 €3,749

-42.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿53.8K

$3,114 €2,773

-48.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.79

46.97%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Last update for Cerise: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1%

Cerise

$620 34.1% 100% $310

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3%

Cerise

$360 19.8% 52% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6%

Cerise

$168 9.3% 55.3% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Cerise

$255 14% 170% $161

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2%

Cerise

$281 15.5% 267% $204

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3%

Cerise

$71 3.9% 21.8% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4%

Cerise

$63 3.5% 23.4% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $481 in Chiang Mai and $755 in Cerise. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $67 in Cerise for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $360 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇫🇷 Cerise

🕒 Local time

11:30 11:30 AM

05:30 5:30 AM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

300

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 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 6, 2026: 1 USD = 33.44 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.54 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiang Mai Cerise 9,090 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Cerise

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 Cerise: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $935 in Chiang Mai and $1,818 in Cerise, so Chiang Mai is about 49% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,403 in Chiang Mai and $2,728 in Cerise 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: $481 in Chiang Mai versus $755 in Cerise. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 52% higher in Cerise. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Chiang Mai – a meal for two runs $19 versus $67 in Cerise. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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