Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Horten

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,702 in Horten, rent and utilities included – about $21,200 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
130

Cost of Living Index in Horten
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Horten Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Horten

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,702

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,702 in Horten, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Horten $2,702

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $3,828 in Horten, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Horten $3,828

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $4,954 in Horten, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Horten $4,954

Chiang Mai is about 65% cheaper than Horten, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Chiang Mai sits 31% below the global median, while Horten is 99% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$21.23 NOK 197

-89.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$127 NOK 1,174

-85.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$16.02 NOK 149

-65.36%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$6.12 NOK 56.7

-72.71%

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

$0.64 ฿21.53

$3.00 NOK 27.82

-78.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.30

$3.19 NOK 29.56

-90.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

$11.94 NOK 111

-80.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$12.77 NOK 118

-71.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.7

$2.39 NOK 22.13

-18.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.45

$3.65 NOK 33.82

-60.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.01

$4.14 NOK 38.36

-67.87%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.0

$5.30 NOK 49.10

-56.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$7.97 NOK 73.9

106.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.8

$15.72 NOK 146

-82.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$12.10 NOK 112

-23.06%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$3.33 NOK 30.90

-29.43%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.78

$2.70 NOK 25.03

-64.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$3.52 NOK 32.66

-54.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$5.87 NOK 54.4

-74.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.10

$2.80 NOK 25.99

-54.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.17

$2.90 NOK 26.88

-62.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.81

$2.20 NOK 20.37

-67.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.36

$2.43 NOK 22.48

-79.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$19.01 NOK 176

-78.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$16.87 NOK 156

3.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$3.51 NOK 32.53

-54.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$4.27 NOK 39.60

-34.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.29

$4.94 NOK 45.82

-82.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

$89.6 NOK 831

-39.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.03

$12.29 NOK 114

-90.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.79

$1.91 NOK 17.69

-72.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.7

$70.1 NOK 649

-96.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.87

$2.45 NOK 22.71

-40.82%

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

$21.1K ฿710.3K

$48.4K NOK 448.8K

-56.51%

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

$26.9K ฿908.7K

$45.2K NOK 419.3K

-40.45%

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

$62.2 ฿2,097

$430 NOK 3,984

-85.54%

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

$12.17 ฿410

$34.72 NOK 322

-64.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$53.8 NOK 499

-62.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$20.50 NOK 190

-68.34%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$130 NOK 1,205

466.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.0K

$15.8K NOK 146.4K

-6.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,800

$105 NOK 973

-49.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$42.84 NOK 397

-42.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,086

$58.3 NOK 540

57.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,426

$158 NOK 1,469

-54.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$1,133 NOK 10.5K

-57.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$1,021 NOK 9,466

-69.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$1,810 NOK 16.8K

-44.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$1,292 NOK 12.0K

-50.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.94

12.75%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Horten: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Horten

$1K 37.8% 231% $712

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Horten

$425 15.7% 81.4% $191

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Horten

$164 6.1% 51% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Horten

$518 19.2% 449% $424

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Horten

$401 14.9% 417% $324

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Horten

$131 4.9% 114% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Horten

$41 * 1.5% 18.5% $9.3

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 $1,133 in Horten. 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 $127 in Horten. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $234 vs $425 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇳🇴 Horten

🕒 Local time

02:51 2:51 AM

20:51 8:51 PM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

28,001

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 NOK = 10.79 USD

100 NOK = 9.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.27 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.39 NOK (100 NOK = 9.63 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Horten 8,140 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Horten

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 Horten: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Horten costs about 189% 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 $4,054 in Horten. 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 $1,133 in Horten.

Kindergarten costs $736 per month in Chiang Mai and $130 in Horten. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 81% more in Horten, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $2,702 in Horten. 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 $2,702 in Horten. 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.

For expats, Chiang Mai is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 65% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.