Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and El Gouna

For one person, living is cheaper in El Gouna: $462 a month against $935 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 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
22

Cost of Living Index in El Gouna
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El Gouna Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

El Gouna

🇪🇬 Egypt

$462

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in El Gouna

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

A single person spends $935 per month in Chiang Mai vs $462 in El Gouna, rent included.

Chiang Mai $935
El Gouna $462

A couple spends around $1,467 per month in Chiang Mai vs $727 in El Gouna, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,467
El Gouna $727

A family of three spends $1,999 per month in Chiang Mai vs $991 in El Gouna, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,999
El Gouna $991

Chiang Mai costs about 103% more than El Gouna, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Chiang Mai and El Gouna are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 31% lower, El Gouna 66% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 ฿71.2

$3.63 E£196

-41.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.62 ฿622

$15.64 E£843

19.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 ฿187

$4.48 E£242

25.00%

Cappuccino

$1.66 ฿55.5

$1.48 E£79.9

12.16%

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

$0.65 ฿21.59

$0.31 E£16.93

109.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 ฿10.18

$0.12 E£6.34

150.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.32 ฿77.5

$1.25 E£67.6

85.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 ฿122

$3.04 E£164

20.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 ฿67.3

$0.87 E£46.85

132.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.00

$0.57 E£30.74

147.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 ฿46.46

$0.69 E£37.30

101.45%

Eggs

$2.37 ฿79.0

$1.45 E£78.0

63.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.52 ฿551

$3.32 E£179

397.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.67 ฿89.1

$4.29 E£231

-37.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.02 ฿301

$8.71 E£469

3.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 ฿80.1

$1.48 E£79.5

62.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 ฿34.76

$0.59 E£31.62

76.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 ฿55.4

$0.43 E£23.09

286.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.0

$0.36 E£19.48

333.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ฿41.31

$0.37 E£20.13

235.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 ฿36.27

$0.40 E£21.53

172.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 ฿25.43

$0.24 E£12.97

216.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.16

$0.20 E£10.87

155.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.12 ฿138

$1.95 E£105

111.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.93 ฿598

$6.28 E£339

185.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ฿54.2

$1.25 E£67.3

29.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 ฿94.2

$1.82 E£98.1

54.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.19

$0.19 E£10.38

389.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,766

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ฿39.28

$0.38 E£20.57

210.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.17 ฿5.72

$0.31 E£16.82

-45.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 ฿60.5

$1.94 E£105

-6.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.16

$0.31 E£16.59

374.19%

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

$21.0K ฿701.4K

$35.7K E£1.9M

-41.12%

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

$26.5K ฿885.1K

$33.4K E£1.8M

-20.73%

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

$62.6 ฿2,088

$11.91 E£642

425.27%

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

$11.60 ฿387

$6.85 E£369

69.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.30 ฿678

$11.17 E£602

81.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,264

$21.06 E£1,135

79.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿123

Cinema Ticket

$6.51 ฿217

$2.99 E£161

117.73%

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

$727 ฿24.3K

$89.0 E£4,799

716.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ฿553.2K

$1,856 E£100.1K

792.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ฿1,787

$27.96 E£1,507

91.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.80 ฿828

$44.86 E£2,418

-44.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.4 ฿3,017

$107 E£5,743

-15.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.0 ฿2,402

$50.9 E£2,744

41.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 ฿16.1K

$191 E£10.3K

151.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$310 ฿10.3K

$102 E£5,473

205.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.3K

$278 E£15.0K

280.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ฿22.0K

$155 E£8,340

325.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿80.7K

$796 E£42.9K

203.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿53.7K

$332 E£17.9K

384.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

16.67

-66.59%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Last update for El Gouna: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1%

El Gouna

$102 22% 67.2% $208

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3%

El Gouna

$123 26.6% 48.2% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6%

El Gouna

$104 22.4% 4.3% $4.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

El Gouna

$30 6.5% 68.3% $65

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2%

El Gouna

$74 16.1% 2.9% $2.2

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3%

El Gouna

$2.7 * 0.6% 95.4% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4%

El Gouna

$27 5.9% 46.9% $24

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $481 in Chiang Mai versus $191 in El Gouna. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $16 in El Gouna. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $237 vs $123 – making El Gouna the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇪🇬 El Gouna

🕒 Local time

20:35 8:35 PM

15:35 3:35 PM

5 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

15,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 3 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

100 EGP = 1.86 USD

100 EGP = 1.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.38 THB (100 THB = 3 USD). 1 EUR = 37.51 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 53.9 EGP (100 EGP = 1.86 USD). 1 EUR = 60.57 EGP (100 EGP = 1.65 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai El Gouna 6,680 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
El Gouna

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 El Gouna: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 103% more than El Gouna, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. 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 $693 in El Gouna. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in El Gouna, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $191 there versus $481 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai and $16 in El Gouna. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 93% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. El Gouna costs $462 versus $935 in Chiang Mai. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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