Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Fethiye

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,439 in Fethiye, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 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
69

Cost of Living Index in Fethiye
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Fethiye Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Fethiye

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,439

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,439 in Fethiye, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Fethiye $1,439

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,163 in Fethiye, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Fethiye $2,163

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,888 in Fethiye, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Fethiye $2,888

Chiang Mai is about 35% cheaper than Fethiye, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Chiang Mai sits 31% below the global median, while Fethiye is 6% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.5

$10.04 ₺500

-77.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿640

$64.1 ₺3,190

-70.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$9.50 ₺473

-41.58%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.4

$3.49 ₺174

-52.15%

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

$0.64 ฿21.51

$2.15 ₺107

-70.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.29

$1.42 ₺70.7

-78.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

$3.99 ₺199

-40.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿123

$6.19 ₺308

-40.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.7

$1.07 ₺53.3

82.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.41

$1.60 ₺79.8

-10.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿44.97

$2.61 ₺130

-49.04%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.0

$2.24 ₺111

1.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿554

$13.49 ₺672

21.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.8

$6.08 ₺303

-54.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$27.27 ₺1,358

-65.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.3

$1.62 ₺80.8

45.06%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.75

$2.37 ₺118

-59.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.8

$1.43 ₺71.3

11.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.35 ₺67.4

11.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.06

$0.85 ₺42.44

50.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.14

$0.76 ₺37.83

44.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.79

$1.72 ₺85.7

-58.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.34

$0.76 ₺37.95

-35.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$2.83 ₺141

46.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿590

$14.97 ₺745

17.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.4

$2.39 ₺119

-32.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.8

$3.06 ₺153

-9.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.27

$1.38 ₺68.8

-36.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,823

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.00

$5.05 ₺251

-77.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.78

$1.01 ₺50.5

-47.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.6

$4.94 ₺246

-51.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.82

$1.51 ₺75.3

-3.97%

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

$21.1K ฿709.7K

$49.9K ₺2.5M

-57.82%

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

$26.9K ฿907.9K

$44.2K ₺2.2M

-39.00%

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

$62.2 ฿2,095

$77.2 ₺3,843

-19.43%

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

$12.17 ฿410

$10.60 ₺528

14.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿678

$23.20 ₺1,155

-13.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,257

$58.4 ₺2,906

-36.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$7.86 ₺391

-17.43%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$501 ₺25.0K

46.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿497.6K

$7,890 ₺392.9K

87.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,799

$102 ₺5,067

-47.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿830

$56.4 ₺2,810

-56.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,083

$152 ₺7,571

-39.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,424

$118 ₺5,863

-38.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$753 ₺37.5K

-35.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$546 ₺27.2K

-43.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$1,031 ₺51.3K

-2.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.3K

$752 ₺37.4K

-15.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.6K

$1,975 ₺98.4K

19.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$1,305 ₺65.0K

21.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$1,356 ₺67.5K

-56.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

38.25

-85.44%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Fethiye: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Fethiye

$546 38% 76.9% $238

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Fethiye

$302 21% 28.7% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Fethiye

$193 13.4% 77.2% $84

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Fethiye

$111 7.7% 17.5% $17

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Fethiye

$197 13.7% 154% $120

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Fethiye

$16 * 1.1% 74.5% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Fethiye

$74 5.2% 47.3% $24

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $753 in Fethiye. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Fethiye are about 2.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $64 in Fethiye. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $234 vs $302 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇹🇷 Fethiye

🕒 Local time

17:43 5:43 PM

13:43 1:43 PM

4 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

170,379

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 TRY = 2.01 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.61 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 49.8 TRY (100 TRY = 2.01 USD). 1 EUR = 55.58 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Fethiye 7,010 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Fethiye

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 Fethiye: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Fethiye costs about 54% 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 $2,158 in Fethiye. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chiang Mai, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $482 there versus $753 in Fethiye.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai and $64 in Fethiye. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 29% more in Fethiye, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,439 in Fethiye. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $936 versus $1,439 in Fethiye. 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.

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