Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Ma'an

For one person, living is cheaper in Ma’an: $835 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Chiang Mai outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Ma'an
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Ma'an Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Ma'an

🇯🇴 Jordan

$835

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Ma'an

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $835 in Ma’an, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Ma'an $835

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,381 in Ma’an, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Ma'an $1,381

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,927 in Ma’an, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Ma'an $1,927

Chiang Mai costs about 12% more than Ma’an, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Chiang Mai and Ma’an are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 31% lower, Ma’an 39% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.5

$7.03 JOD 4.98

-68.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿640

$70.8 JOD 50.1

-73.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$7.15 JOD 5.06

-22.38%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.4

$4.56 JOD 3.23

-63.38%

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

$0.64 ฿21.51

$0.64 JOD 0.45

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.29

$0.58 JOD 0.41

-46.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

$8.25 JOD 5.84

-71.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿123

$10.99 JOD 7.78

-66.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.7

$1.68 JOD 1.19

16.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.41

$0.66 JOD 0.47

118.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿44.97

$1.60 JOD 1.14

-16.88%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.0

$2.28 JOD 1.62

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿554

$8.93 JOD 6.33

84.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.8

$6.31 JOD 4.47

-55.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$12.63 JOD 8.94

-26.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.3

$2.58 JOD 1.82

-8.91%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.75

$1.97 JOD 1.40

-50.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.8

$1.79 JOD 1.27

-10.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$0.77 JOD 0.55

94.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.06

$0.94 JOD 0.67

36.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.14

$0.84 JOD 0.60

30.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.79

$0.64 JOD 0.45

10.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.34

$0.66 JOD 0.47

-25.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$3.91 JOD 2.77

5.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿590

$21.27 JOD 15.06

-17.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.4

$4.83 JOD 3.42

-66.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.8

$5.03 JOD 3.56

-44.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.27

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,823

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.00

$0.63 JOD 0.45

84.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.78

$1.39 JOD 0.98

-61.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.6

$7.22 JOD 5.11

-66.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.82

$1.77 JOD 1.25

-18.08%

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

$21.1K ฿709.7K

$32.6K JOD 23.1K

-35.39%

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

$26.9K ฿907.9K

$33.9K JOD 24.0K

-20.44%

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

$62.2 ฿2,095

$135 JOD 95.6

-53.97%

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

$12.17 ฿410

$15.65 JOD 11.08

-22.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿678

$32.19 JOD 22.79

-37.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,257

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$11.36 JOD 8.04

-42.87%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$544 JOD 385

35.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿497.6K

$9,259 JOD 6,556

59.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,799

$63.6 JOD 45.03

-16.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿830

$80.6 JOD 57.1

-69.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,083

$126 JOD 89.0

-27.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,424

$83.6 JOD 59.2

-13.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.6K

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

6.94

-19.74%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Ma'an: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Ma'an

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Ma'an

$263 31.4% 12.1% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Ma'an

$159 19% 46.4% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Ma'an

$183 21.9% 93.6% $88

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Ma'an

$201 24% 159% $123

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Ma'an

$7.6 * 0.9% 87.7% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Ma'an

$23 * 2.7% 54.8% $28

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $71 in Ma’an. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $234 vs $263 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇯🇴 Ma'an

🕒 Local time

13:29 1:29 PM

09:29 9:29 AM

4 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

50,350

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Jordanian Dinar JOD د.ا

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

1 JOD = 1.41 USD

1 JOD = 1.27 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JOD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

Jordanian Dinar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.708 JOD (1 JOD = 1.41 USD). 1 EUR = 0.788 JOD (1 JOD = 1.27 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiang Mai Ma'an 6,450 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Ma'an

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 Ma'an: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 12% more than Ma’an, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. 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 $1,253 in Ma’an. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai and $71 in Ma’an. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 11% cheaper in Chiang Mai – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $936 in Chiang Mai and $835 in Ma’an, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $835 in Ma’an to $936 in Chiang Mai. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.