Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Cham

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $3,575 in Cham, rent and utilities included – about $31,700 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
172

Cost of Living Index in Cham
Learn more

Cham Living Index

Jump to prices

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Cham

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,575

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $936 in Chiang Mai versus $3,575 in Cham.

Chiang Mai $936
Cham $3,575

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,457 in Chiang Mai versus $5,453 in Cham.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Cham $5,453

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,979 in Chiang Mai versus $7,331 in Cham.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Cham $7,331

Living in Chiang Mai costs roughly 74% less than in Cham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiang Mai is 31% below, Cham is 163% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.7

$29.74 CHF 24.67

-92.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿642

$122 CHF 101

-84.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿188

$17.93 CHF 14.87

-69.05%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.6

$5.82 CHF 4.83

-71.31%

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

$0.64 ฿21.56

$5.32 CHF 4.42

-87.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.32

$4.87 CHF 4.04

-93.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$8.45 CHF 7.01

-72.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$6.53 CHF 5.42

-43.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$2.13 CHF 1.76

-8.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.51

$3.76 CHF 3.12

-61.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.07

$3.62 CHF 3.00

-63.26%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$7.27 CHF 6.03

-68.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿556

$26.38 CHF 21.88

-37.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$28.65 CHF 23.77

-90.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$42.06 CHF 34.89

-77.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.5

$3.91 CHF 3.25

-39.90%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.82

$2.15 CHF 1.78

-54.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$3.10 CHF 2.57

-48.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$4.58 CHF 3.80

-67.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.15

$2.25 CHF 1.87

-43.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.22

$2.24 CHF 1.86

-50.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.84

$2.39 CHF 1.98

-70.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.38

$1.11 CHF 0.92

-55.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$11.02 CHF 9.15

-62.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿592

$12.08 CHF 10.02

45.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$2.82 CHF 2.34

-42.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$3.10 CHF 2.58

-10.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.33

$5.13 CHF 4.26

-83.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

$146 CHF 121

-62.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.08

$4.44 CHF 3.69

-73.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.82

$2.96 CHF 2.45

-82.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$59.7 CHF 49.49

-95.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$2.19 CHF 1.82

-33.79%

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

$21.1K ฿711.2K

$39.7K CHF 32.9K

-46.92%

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

$26.9K ฿909.8K

$39.9K CHF 33.1K

-32.50%

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

$62.2 ฿2,100

$286 CHF 237

-78.26%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$29.15 CHF 24.18

-58.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿680

$54.8 CHF 45.49

-63.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,260

$85.3 CHF 70.7

-56.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$40.01 CHF 33.19

-90.58%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$22.10 CHF 18.34

-70.63%

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

$736 ฿24.9K

$1,488 CHF 1,234

-50.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.6K

$24.7K CHF 20.5K

-40.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,802

$137 CHF 114

-61.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿832

$54.0 CHF 44.76

-54.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,089

$157 CHF 130

-41.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,429

$249 CHF 206

-71.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$1,780 CHF 1,477

-72.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$1,566 CHF 1,299

-80.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿34.0K

$2,896 CHF 2,402

-65.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$2,704 CHF 2,243

-76.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$13.0K CHF 10.8K

-81.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

$11.7K CHF 9,730

-86.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.03

174.38%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Cham: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Cham

$1.6K 43.8% 407% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Cham

$597 16.7% 155% $363

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Cham

$268 7.5% 147% $160

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Cham

$370 10.4% 292% $276

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Cham

$458 12.8% 490% $380

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Cham

$186 5.2% 203% $124

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Cham

$129 3.6% 158% $79

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $482 in Chiang Mai and $1,780 in Cham. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $19 in Chiang Mai vs $122 in Cham for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $597 per month, with Chiang Mai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇨🇭 Cham

🕒 Local time

05:05 5:05 AM

23:05 11:05 PM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

17,060

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.83 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.924 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Cham 8,530 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Cham

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 Cham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai is about 74% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,403 in Chiang Mai and $5,362 in Cham 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 $1,780 in Cham. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $736 in Chiang Mai versus $1,488 in Cham. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 155% higher in Cham. 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.

Safety-wise, Chiang Mai and Cham 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 74% less than in Cham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.