Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Gafsa

For one person, living is cheaper in Gafsa: $585 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
28

Cost of Living Index in Gafsa
Learn more

Gafsa Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Gafsa

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$585

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $585 in Gafsa, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Gafsa $585

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $900 in Gafsa, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Gafsa $900

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,215 in Gafsa, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Gafsa $1,215

Chiang Mai costs about 60% more than Gafsa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Chiang Mai and Gafsa are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 31% lower, Gafsa 57% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$3.75 TND 11.26

-40.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$9.96 TND 29.93

90.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$2.57 TND 7.71

115.95%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$0.61 TND 1.82

173.77%

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

$0.64 ฿21.55

$0.52 TND 1.57

23.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.31

$0.24 TND 0.72

29.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$1.71 TND 5.15

38.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$1.64 TND 4.92

123.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$0.44 TND 1.32

343.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.48

$0.14 TND 0.42

928.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.04

$1.64 TND 4.93

-18.90%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$1.06 TND 3.18

115.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$12.84 TND 38.57

28.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$6.03 TND 18.13

-53.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$11.62 TND 34.90

-19.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$1.40 TND 4.19

67.86%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.80

$3.12 TND 9.37

-68.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$0.87 TND 2.62

83.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$0.88 TND 2.63

70.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.12

$0.74 TND 2.23

72.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.19

$0.47 TND 1.42

134.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.82

$0.46 TND 1.37

54.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.37

$0.27 TND 0.81

81.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$2.53 TND 7.61

63.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$4.94 TND 14.84

254.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.23 TND 3.68

30.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$1.33 TND 3.99

109.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.31

$0.33 TND 0.98

163.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,826

$10.97 TND 32.94

393.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.06

$0.29 TND 0.87

300.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

$0.25 TND 0.76

112.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$3.95 TND 11.86

-38.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.90

$0.89 TND 2.66

62.92%

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

$21.1K ฿710.7K

$38.6K TND 115.9K

-45.40%

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

$26.9K ฿909.3K

$31.4K TND 94.4K

-14.23%

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

$62.2 ฿2,098

$39.77 TND 119

56.32%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$8.37 TND 25.13

45.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$19.37 TND 58.2

3.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$15.20 TND 45.66

145.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$12.34 TND 37.09

-69.45%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$3.33 TND 10.01

94.89%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$61.2 TND 184

1103.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.3K

$987 TND 2,966

1395.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,801

$39.95 TND 120

33.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$51.9 TND 156

-52.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,087

$104 TND 314

-12.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,428

$114 TND 343

-37.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$143 TND 431

236.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$102 TND 306

203.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$206 TND 620

387.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$149 TND 448

324.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$959 TND 2,881

146.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$348 TND 1,044

357.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$304 TND 913

94.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

8.88

-37.27%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Gafsa: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Gafsa

$102 17.4% 67.1% $207

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Gafsa

$181 30.9% 23% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Gafsa

$140 23.9% 28.6% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Gafsa

$68 11.5% 28.5% $27

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Gafsa

$60 10.2% 22.9% $18

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Gafsa

$14 2.4% 77.5% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Gafsa

$22 3.7% 56.5% $28

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $143 in Gafsa. 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 94% higher in Chiang Mai. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $10 in Gafsa. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $234 vs $181 – making Gafsa the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇹🇳 Gafsa

🕒 Local time

18:41 6:41 PM

12:41 12:41 PM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

111,170

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 TND = 0.333 USD

1 TND = 0.298 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TND, USD, EUR 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 = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3 TND (1 TND = 0.333 USD). 1 EUR = 3.35 TND (1 TND = 0.298 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiang Mai Gafsa 8,860 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Gafsa

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 Gafsa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 60% more than Gafsa, 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 $878 in Gafsa. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Gafsa, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $143 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

Kindergarten costs $736 per month in Chiang Mai and $61 in Gafsa. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 30% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

Families tend to lean toward Gafsa – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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