Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Harlow

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $925 a month against $2,330 in Harlow, rent and utilities included – about $16,900 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
113

Cost of Living Index in Harlow
Learn more

Harlow Living Index

Jump to prices

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Harlow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,330

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $925 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,330 in Harlow, rent included.

Chiang Mai $925
Harlow $2,330

A couple spends around $1,414 per month in Chiang Mai vs $3,407 in Harlow, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,414
Harlow $3,407

A family of three spends $1,903 per month in Chiang Mai vs $4,483 in Harlow, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,903
Harlow $4,483

Chiang Mai is about 60% cheaper than Harlow, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Chiang Mai sits 32% below the global median, while Harlow is 72% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.29 ฿76.5

$21.01 £15.76

-89.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.64 ฿656

$91.7 £68.8

-78.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.61 ฿188

$10.47 £7.86

-46.42%

Cappuccino

$1.66 ฿55.6

$5.47 £4.11

-69.65%

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

$0.70 ฿23.40

$2.63 £1.97

-73.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.24

$1.85 £1.39

-83.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.41 ฿80.4

$6.81 £5.11

-64.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.71 ฿124

$6.87 £5.15

-46.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.3

$1.30 £0.98

50.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.03

$1.41 £1.06

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.31 ฿43.62

$1.11 £0.84

18.02%

Eggs

$2.18 ฿72.9

$2.38 £1.79

-8.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.65 ฿556

$6.83 £5.12

143.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.76 ฿92.2

$6.05 £4.54

-54.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.11 ฿304

$6.45 £4.84

41.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.39 ฿80.0

$2.05 £1.54

16.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.03 ฿34.26

$1.23 £0.92

-16.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.63 ฿54.4

$1.15 £0.87

41.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.0

$2.02 £1.52

-25.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.29 ฿43.13

$1.63 £1.22

-20.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.11 ฿37.03

$1.34 £1.01

-17.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 ฿24.08

$1.34 £1.01

-46.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 ฿17.59

$1.43 £1.07

-62.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.31 ฿144

$21.29 £15.97

-79.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.95 ฿600

$9.33 £7.00

92.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 ฿52.9

$2.70 £2.02

-41.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.0

$2.04 £1.53

39.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 ฿28.86

$2.73 £2.04

-68.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.3 ฿1,780

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.21 ฿40.29

$5.84 £4.38

-79.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.57 ฿18.99

$1.68 £1.26

-66.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.35 ฿78.6

$21.15 £15.87

-88.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 ฿47.96

$1.92 £1.44

-25.00%

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

$20.7K ฿692.8K

$39.0K £29.2K

-46.82%

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

$26.8K ฿895.7K

$40.1K £30.1K

-33.23%

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

$62.3 ฿2,083

$226 £169

-72.41%

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

$12.11 ฿405

$11.95 £8.97

1.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.94 ฿666

$28.54 £21.41

-30.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.07 ฿1,239

$47.10 £35.34

-21.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.78 ฿126

$8.06 £6.05

-53.10%

Cinema Ticket

$6.50 ฿217

$12.56 £9.42

-48.25%

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

$793 ฿26.5K

$1,061 £796

-25.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿494.9K

$19.7K £14.8K

-24.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.7 ฿1,796

$68.8 £51.6

-21.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.62 ฿823

$32.19 £24.15

-23.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.9 ฿3,036

$77.0 £57.8

18.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.1 ฿2,378

$39.33 £29.51

80.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$455 ฿15.2K

$1,403 £1,053

-67.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$298 ฿9,954

$1,328 £996

-77.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$908 ฿30.4K

$2,276 £1,708

-60.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$554 ฿18.5K

$2,182 £1,637

-74.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,931 ฿64.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,445 ฿48.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$591 ฿19.7K

$3,013 £2,260

-80.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.91

13.44%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Last update for Harlow: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2%

Harlow

$1.3K 57% 346% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5%

Harlow

$210 9% 10.9% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7%

Harlow

$98 4.2% 9.6% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2%

Harlow

$266 11.4% 182% $172

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5%

Harlow

$331 14.2% 321% $252

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Harlow

$25 * 1.1% 58.6% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Harlow

$72 3.1% 44.2% $22

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $455 in Chiang Mai versus $1,403 in Harlow. 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 410% higher in Harlow, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $20.00 in Chiang Mai versus $92.0 in Harlow. Groceries tell a different story – $235 in Chiang Mai vs $210 in Harlow – so Harlow wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇬🇧 Harlow

🕒 Local time

03:30 3:30 AM

21:30 9:30 PM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

86,191

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Harlow 8,970 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Harlow

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 Harlow: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Harlow costs about 152% 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 $1,388 per month in Chiang Mai and $3,495 in Harlow. 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $20.00 in Chiang Mai and $92.0 in Harlow. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 12% cheaper in Harlow – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Chiang Mai, where all-in costs run around $925, than in Harlow at $2,330. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Harlow it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $925 versus $2,330 in Harlow. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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