Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Hurghada

For one person, living is cheaper in Hurghada: $445 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 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
21

Cost of Living Index in Hurghada
Learn more

Hurghada Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Hurghada

🇪🇬 Egypt

$445

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $445 in Hurghada, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Hurghada $445

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $932 in Hurghada, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Hurghada $932

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,419 in Hurghada, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Hurghada $1,419

Chiang Mai costs about 110% more than Hurghada, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Chiang Mai and Hurghada are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 31% lower, Hurghada 67% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.7

$3.56 E£199

-37.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿642

$38.24 E£2,140

-50.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿188

$5.30 E£297

4.72%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.6

$1.93 E£108

-13.47%

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

$0.64 ฿21.56

$0.45 E£25.24

42.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.32

$0.18 E£10.01

72.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$1.75 E£98.1

34.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$2.98 E£167

22.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$0.89 E£49.55

119.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.51

$0.79 E£44.22

82.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.07

$0.60 E£33.80

121.67%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$1.79 E£100

27.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿556

$3.09 E£173

432.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$5.49 E£307

-49.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$9.34 E£523

-0.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.5

$1.38 E£77.2

70.29%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.82

$0.50 E£27.98

94.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$0.41 E£23.19

290.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$0.37 E£20.49

305.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.15

$0.32 E£17.94

300.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.22

$0.35 E£19.55

214.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.84

$0.26 E£14.41

173.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.38

$0.17 E£9.26

188.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$2.00 E£112

107.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿592

$7.36 E£412

138.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.21 E£67.9

33.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$1.64 E£92.1

69.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.33

$0.08 E£4.35

987.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

$5.22 E£292

936.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.08

$0.90 E£50.6

28.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.82

$0.20 E£11.06

165.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$1.77 E£98.9

36.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$0.39 E£21.88

271.79%

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

$21.1K ฿711.2K

$29.9K E£1.7M

-29.58%

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

$26.9K ฿909.8K

$22.4K E£1.3M

20.46%

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

$62.2 ฿2,100

$24.18 E£1,353

157.11%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$7.63 E£427

59.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿680

$8.75 E£490

129.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,260

$26.47 E£1,482

40.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$5.84 E£327

-35.45%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$3.28 E£184

97.87%

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

$736 ฿24.9K

$99.3 E£5,557

641.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.6K

$595 E£33.3K

2383.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,802

$18.80 E£1,052

183.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿832

$30.81 E£1,724

-20.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,089

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,429

$26.42 E£1,478

172.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$205 E£11.5K

135.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$111 E£6,232

177.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿34.0K

$216 E£12.1K

365.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$542 E£30.3K

16.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$513 E£28.7K

360.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

$572 E£32.0K

177.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$141 E£7,864

319.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Hurghada: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Hurghada

$111 25% 64% $198

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Hurghada

$133 30% 43.2% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Hurghada

$34 * 7.7% 68.5% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Hurghada

$41 9.1% 57.1% $54

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Hurghada

$85 19.1% 9.4% $7.3

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Hurghada

$7.4 1.7% 87.9% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Hurghada

$33 7.4% 34.3% $17

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 $205 in Hurghada. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Chiang Mai are about 4.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $38 in Hurghada. Groceries tell a different story – $234 in Chiang Mai vs $133 in Hurghada – so Hurghada wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇪🇬 Hurghada

🕒 Local time

18:19 6:19 PM

14:19 2:19 PM

4 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

160,901

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.61 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 55.97 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.29 EGP (100 EGP = 1.61 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Hurghada 6,660 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Hurghada

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 Hurghada: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 110% more than Hurghada, 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 $667 in Hurghada. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Hurghada, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $205 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

Kindergarten costs $736 per month in Chiang Mai and $99 in Hurghada. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 76% more in Chiang Mai, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

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

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