Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Chaves

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,050 in Chaves, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Chaves outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Chaves
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Chaves Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Chaves

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,050

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,050 in Chaves, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Chaves $1,050

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,604 in Chaves, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Chaves $1,604

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,159 in Chaves, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Chaves $2,159

Chiang Mai is about 11% cheaper than Chaves, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Chiang Mai and Chaves are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 31% lower, Chaves 23% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$7.85 €7.04

-71.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$22.39 €20.06

-15.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$7.81 €6.99

-28.94%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$1.57 €1.41

6.37%

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

$0.64 ฿21.55

$1.45 €1.30

-55.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.31

$0.58 €0.52

-46.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$2.20 €1.97

7.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$2.69 €2.41

36.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$1.00 €0.90

95.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.48

$1.10 €0.98

30.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.04

$1.13 €1.01

17.70%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$3.05 €2.74

-25.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$6.17 €5.53

166.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$6.37 €5.71

-56.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$10.54 €9.44

-11.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$1.09 €0.98

115.60%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.80

$1.09 €0.98

-11.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$1.10 €0.98

45.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.11 €0.99

35.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.12

$2.03 €1.82

-36.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.19

$1.09 €0.98

0.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.82

$1.38 €1.23

-48.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.37

$0.86 €0.77

-43.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$5.95 €5.33

-30.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$3.82 €3.42

358.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.13 €1.01

42.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$1.09 €0.98

155.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.31

$0.87 €0.78

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,826

$28.11 €25.19

92.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.06

$3.81 €3.41

-69.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

$0.64 €0.57

-17.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$19.59 €17.55

-87.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.90

$2.02 €1.81

-28.22%

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

$21.1K ฿710.7K

$33.8K €30.3K

-37.72%

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

$26.9K ฿909.3K

$37.9K €33.9K

-28.85%

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

$62.2 ฿2,098

$135 €121

-53.79%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$17.73 €15.89

-31.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$30.95 €27.73

-34.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$24.86 €22.27

50.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$5.52 €4.94

-31.70%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$7.07 €6.34

-8.20%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$220 €197

234.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.3K

$3,547 €3,178

316.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,801

$71.1 €63.7

-24.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$22.77 €20.40

8.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,087

$62.4 €55.9

46.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,428

$89.9 €80.5

-19.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$478 €428

0.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$368 €330

-15.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$937 €840

7.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$752 €674

-15.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$1,876 €1,681

26.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$1,438 €1,288

10.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$994 €890

-40.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

85.67%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chaves: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Chaves

$368 35% 19% $59

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Chaves

$181 17.3% 22.7% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Chaves

$111 10.6% 1.9% $2.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Chaves

$183 17.5% 94% $89

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Chaves

$130 12.3% 67.1% $52

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Chaves

$39 3.7% 37.1% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Chaves

$39 3.7% 22.4% $11

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $478 in Chaves. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 68% higher in Chaves. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $22 in Chaves. Groceries tell a different story – $234 in Chiang Mai vs $181 in Chaves – so Chaves wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇵🇹 Chaves

🕒 Local time

14:05 2:05 PM

07:05 7:05 AM

7 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

37,592

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 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 Chaves 9,920 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Chaves

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 Chaves: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chaves costs about 12% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,403 per month in Chiang Mai and $1,575 in Chaves. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $482 in Chiang Mai and $478 in Chaves. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Public transport costs about 48% less in Chaves. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $736 per month in Chiang Mai and $220 in Chaves. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,050 in Chaves. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $936 in Chiang Mai to $1,050 in Chaves. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Chaves makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.