Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Kalmar

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,953 in Kalmar, rent and utilities included – about $12,200 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
94

Cost of Living Index in Kalmar
Learn more

Kalmar Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Kalmar

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,953

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,953 in Kalmar, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Kalmar $1,953

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,895 in Kalmar, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Kalmar $2,895

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $3,837 in Kalmar, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Kalmar $3,837

Chiang Mai is about 52% cheaper than Kalmar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Chiang Mai sits 31% below the global median, while Kalmar is 44% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$15.36 SEK 152

-85.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$71.1 SEK 703

-73.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$10.47 SEK 104

-46.99%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$4.67 SEK 46.20

-64.24%

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

$0.64 ฿21.53

$2.81 SEK 27.82

-77.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.30

$2.55 SEK 25.22

-87.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

$9.69 SEK 95.8

-75.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$7.25 SEK 71.7

-49.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.7

$1.48 SEK 14.58

31.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.45

$3.01 SEK 29.80

-52.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.01

$3.07 SEK 30.37

-56.68%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.0

$4.65 SEK 46.00

-50.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$16.58 SEK 164

-0.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.8

$10.89 SEK 108

-74.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$22.80 SEK 225

-59.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$2.49 SEK 24.59

-5.62%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.78

$2.77 SEK 27.34

-64.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$3.57 SEK 35.29

-55.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$4.46 SEK 44.11

-66.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.10

$1.67 SEK 16.54

-23.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.17

$2.27 SEK 22.46

-51.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.81

$1.93 SEK 19.04

-63.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.36

$1.67 SEK 16.53

-70.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$7.79 SEK 77.0

-46.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$9.14 SEK 90.3

91.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.93 SEK 19.10

-16.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$2.54 SEK 25.15

9.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.29

$3.21 SEK 31.74

-72.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

$78.4 SEK 775

-31.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.03

$10.03 SEK 99.2

-88.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.79

$1.72 SEK 17.02

-69.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.7

$47.45 SEK 469

-94.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.87

$1.71 SEK 16.86

-15.20%

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

$21.1K ฿710.3K

$30.2K SEK 298.3K

-30.21%

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

$26.9K ฿908.7K

$29.3K SEK 289.9K

-8.14%

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

$62.2 ฿2,097

$144 SEK 1,428

-56.95%

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

$12.17 ฿410

$27.58 SEK 273

-55.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$32.34 SEK 320

-37.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$30.33 SEK 300

23.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$26.38 SEK 261

-85.71%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$14.58 SEK 144

-55.49%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$142 SEK 1,399

420.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.0K

$4,986 SEK 49.3K

196.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,800

$49.41 SEK 488

8.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$44.31 SEK 438

-44.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,086

$79.2 SEK 783

15.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,426

$100 SEK 990

-28.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$908 SEK 8,977

-46.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$778 SEK 7,687

-60.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$1,325 SEK 13.1K

-24.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$1,123 SEK 11.1K

-43.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

$4,073 SEK 40.3K

-41.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$2,733 SEK 27.0K

-41.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$2,864 SEK 28.3K

-79.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.93

41.73%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Kalmar: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Kalmar

$778 39.8% 152% $469

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Kalmar

$384 19.7% 64% $150

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Kalmar

$123 6.3% 13.1% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Kalmar

$204 10.5% 116% $110

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Kalmar

$295 15.1% 280% $217

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Kalmar

$110 5.6% 79.1% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Kalmar

$59 3.1% 18.3% $9.2

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $908 in Kalmar. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Kalmar are about 4.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $71 in Kalmar. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $234 vs $384 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇸🇪 Kalmar

🕒 Local time

21:55 9:55 PM

15:55 3:55 PM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

35,170

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 SEK = 10.12 USD

100 SEK = 9.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 9.88 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.03 SEK (100 SEK = 9.07 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Kalmar 7,830 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Kalmar

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 Kalmar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kalmar costs about 109% 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 $2,930 in Kalmar. 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 $908 in Kalmar.

Kindergarten costs $736 per month in Chiang Mai and $142 in Kalmar. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 64% more in Kalmar, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,953 in Kalmar. 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 $1,953 in Kalmar. 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.

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