Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Leova

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,341 in Leova, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 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
65

Cost of Living Index in Leova
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Leova Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Leova

🇲🇩 Moldova

$1,341

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,341 in Leova, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Leova $1,341

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,057 in Leova, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Leova $2,057

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,773 in Leova, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Leova $2,773

Chiang Mai is about 30% cheaper than Leova, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.7

$10.31 MDL 184

-78.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿642

$33.24 MDL 593

-42.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿188

$8.94 MDL 159

-37.92%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.6

$0.81 MDL 14.55

106.17%

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

$0.64 ฿21.56

$0.49 MDL 8.70

30.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.32

$0.40 MDL 7.22

-22.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$2.48 MDL 44.34

-4.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$2.64 MDL 47.05

38.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$1.69 MDL 30.11

15.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.51

$1.47 MDL 26.23

-2.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.07

$1.38 MDL 24.59

-3.62%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$1.36 MDL 24.34

67.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿556

$13.70 MDL 245

20.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$2.29 MDL 40.94

21.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$4.03 MDL 71.9

131.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.5

$1.28 MDL 22.82

83.59%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.82

$0.86 MDL 15.33

12.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$0.94 MDL 16.76

70.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$1.09 MDL 19.43

37.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.15

$1.52 MDL 27.19

-15.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.22

$0.53 MDL 9.51

107.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.84

$0.46 MDL 8.27

54.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.38

$0.98 MDL 17.53

-50.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$4.41 MDL 78.8

-6.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿592

$14.81 MDL 264

18.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.13 MDL 20.20

42.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$2.67 MDL 47.67

4.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.33

$0.37 MDL 6.69

135.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

$27.71 MDL 495

95.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.08

$2.72 MDL 48.54

-57.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.82

$0.54 MDL 9.56

-1.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$3.42 MDL 61.1

-29.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$1.35 MDL 24.09

7.41%

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

$21.1K ฿711.2K

$34.1K MDL 608.5K

-38.22%

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

$26.9K ฿909.8K

$34.0K MDL 606.0K

-20.64%

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

$62.2 ฿2,100

$184 MDL 3,280

-66.17%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$5.51 MDL 98.4

120.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿680

$20.70 MDL 370

-2.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,260

$83.2 MDL 1,486

-55.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$11.26 MDL 201

-66.52%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$4.52 MDL 80.6

43.58%

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

$736 ฿24.9K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,802

$83.7 MDL 1,493

-36.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿832

$54.4 MDL 970

-54.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,089

$95.4 MDL 1,702

-4.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,429

$110 MDL 1,961

-34.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$641 MDL 11.4K

-24.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$521 MDL 9,304

-40.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿34.0K

$1,506 MDL 26.9K

-33.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$1,086 MDL 19.4K

-41.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$2,489 MDL 44.4K

-5.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

$1,885 MDL 33.6K

-15.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$653 MDL 11.7K

-9.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

7.19

-22.53%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Leova: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Leova

$521 38.9% 68.7% $212

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Leova

$188 14% 19.9% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Leova

$154 11.5% 42.2% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Leova

$210 15.7% 122% $116

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Leova

$140 10.5% 80.9% $63

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Leova

$35 2.6% 43.6% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Leova

$92 6.9% 83.5% $42

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $641 in Leova. 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 11% higher in Leova, 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 $19 in Chiang Mai versus $33 in Leova. Groceries tell a different story – $234 in Chiang Mai vs $188 in Leova – so Leova wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇲🇩 Leova

🕒 Local time

22:02 10:02 PM

17:02 5:02 PM

5 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

10,900

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Moldovan Leu MDL L

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 MDL = 5.6 USD

100 MDL = 5.03 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MDL, 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).

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 17.85 MDL (100 MDL = 5.6 USD). 1 EUR = 19.87 MDL (100 MDL = 5.03 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Leova 7,040 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Leova

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 Leova: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Leova costs about 43% 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 $2,011 in Leova. 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 $641 in Leova.

Public transport costs about 49% less in Leova. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Interestingly, groceries are about 20% cheaper in Leova – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,341 in Leova. 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 $1,341 in Leova. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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