Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Lidingo

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,828 in Lidingo, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 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
88

Cost of Living Index in Lidingo
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Lidingo Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Lidingo

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,828

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,828 in Lidingo, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Lidingo $1,828

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,796 in Lidingo, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Lidingo $2,796

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $3,764 in Lidingo, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Lidingo $3,764

Chiang Mai is about 49% cheaper than Lidingo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Chiang Mai sits 31% below the global median, while Lidingo is 34% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$13.87 SEK 135

-83.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$70.6 SEK 689

-73.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$11.17 SEK 109

-50.31%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$2.99 SEK 29.13

-44.15%

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

$0.64 ฿21.53

$2.30 SEK 22.44

-72.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.30

$2.54 SEK 24.81

-87.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

$6.36 SEK 62.1

-62.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$5.41 SEK 52.8

-32.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.7

$1.39 SEK 13.57

40.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.45

$3.00 SEK 29.29

-52.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.01

$3.73 SEK 36.39

-64.34%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.0

$3.91 SEK 38.17

-41.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$12.29 SEK 120

33.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.8

$13.03 SEK 127

-78.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$21.95 SEK 214

-57.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$3.19 SEK 31.08

-26.33%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.78

$2.49 SEK 24.24

-61.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$3.75 SEK 36.58

-57.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$4.38 SEK 42.76

-65.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.10

$2.02 SEK 19.68

-36.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.17

$1.87 SEK 18.24

-41.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.81

$2.23 SEK 21.72

-68.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.36

$1.46 SEK 14.26

-66.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$7.67 SEK 74.9

-46.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$13.62 SEK 133

28.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.39 SEK 13.58

15.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$2.21 SEK 21.59

25.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.29

$3.32 SEK 32.42

-73.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

$77.2 SEK 753

-29.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.03

$3.47 SEK 33.85

-66.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.79

$2.47 SEK 24.05

-78.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.7

$79.6 SEK 777

-96.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.87

$1.76 SEK 17.16

-17.61%

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

$21.1K ฿710.3K

$33.3K SEK 324.5K

-36.68%

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

$26.9K ฿908.7K

$33.5K SEK 326.9K

-19.61%

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

$62.2 ฿2,097

$182 SEK 1,780

-65.92%

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

$12.17 ฿410

$22.86 SEK 223

-46.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$43.31 SEK 422

-53.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$37.74 SEK 368

-1.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$26.84 SEK 262

-85.95%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$16.72 SEK 163

-61.18%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$151 SEK 1,474

387.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.0K

$5,124 SEK 50.0K

188.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,800

$106 SEK 1,032

-49.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$39.72 SEK 388

-37.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,086

$86.8 SEK 847

5.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,426

$136 SEK 1,325

-47.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$808 SEK 7,879

-40.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$609 SEK 5,944

-49.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$1,369 SEK 13.4K

-26.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$1,008 SEK 9,829

-37.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

$3,983 SEK 38.9K

-40.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$2,831 SEK 27.6K

-43.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$2,491 SEK 24.3K

-76.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.53

57.79%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Lidingo: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Lidingo

$609 33.3% 97.2% $300

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Lidingo

$385 21.1% 64.3% $151

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Lidingo

$166 9.1% 52.5% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Lidingo

$249 13.6% 163% $154

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Lidingo

$242 13.3% 212% $165

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Lidingo

$106 5.8% 73.2% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Lidingo

$71 3.9% 41.6% $21

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $808 in Lidingo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Lidingo 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 $71 in Lidingo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $234 vs $385 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇸🇪 Lidingo

🕒 Local time

04:16 4:16 AM

22:16 10:16 PM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

48,541

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 SEK = 10.25 USD

100 SEK = 9.15 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.76 SEK (1 SEK = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.93 SEK (100 SEK = 9.15 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Lidingo 7,700 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Lidingo

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 Lidingo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lidingo costs about 95% 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 $2,742 in Lidingo. 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 $808 in Lidingo.

Kindergarten costs $736 per month in Chiang Mai and $151 in Lidingo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

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

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,828 in Lidingo. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $936 versus $1,828 in Lidingo. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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, Lidingo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.