Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Madeira

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $1,605 in Madeira, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 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
77

Cost of Living Index in Madeira
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Madeira Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Madeira

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,605

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $935 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,605 in Madeira, rent included.

Chiang Mai $935
Madeira $1,605

A couple spends around $1,467 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,364 in Madeira, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,467
Madeira $2,364

A family of three spends $1,999 per month in Chiang Mai vs $3,124 in Madeira, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,999
Madeira $3,124

Chiang Mai is about 42% cheaper than Madeira, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Chiang Mai sits 31% below the global median, while Madeira is 19% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 ฿72.0

$11.64 €10.41

-81.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.62 ฿628

$46.55 €41.63

-60.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 ฿189

$9.47 €8.47

-40.87%

Cappuccino

$1.66 ฿56.1

$2.14 €1.91

-22.43%

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

$0.65 ฿21.83

$1.95 €1.74

-66.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 ฿10.29

$1.36 €1.21

-77.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.32 ฿78.4

$2.30 €2.05

0.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 ฿124

$3.56 €3.19

3.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 ฿68.0

$1.05 €0.94

92.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.51

$1.52 €1.36

-7.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 ฿46.96

$1.61 €1.44

-13.66%

Eggs

$2.37 ฿79.9

$3.08 €2.75

-23.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.52 ฿557

$11.55 €10.33

43.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.67 ฿90.1

$7.59 €6.79

-64.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.02 ฿304

$14.30 €12.79

-36.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 ฿80.9

$2.39 €2.14

0.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 ฿35.13

$1.43 €1.28

-27.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.81 €1.61

-8.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.6

$2.58 €2.30

-39.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ฿41.76

$1.45 €1.30

-14.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 ฿36.66

$1.85 €1.66

-41.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 ฿25.70

$1.54 €1.37

-50.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.35

$0.80 €0.72

-36.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.12 ฿139

$6.19 €5.53

-33.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.93 ฿605

$5.12 €4.58

250.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ฿54.8

$1.25 €1.12

29.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 ฿95.2

$2.32 €2.07

21.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.53

$2.34 €2.09

-60.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,785

$42.53 €38.03

24.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ฿39.70

$4.11 €3.67

-71.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.17 ฿5.79

$0.65 €0.58

-73.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 ฿61.1

$17.57 €15.71

-89.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.69

$1.99 €1.78

-26.13%

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

$21.0K ฿708.9K

$34.4K €30.7K

-38.87%

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

$26.5K ฿894.6K

$38.7K €34.6K

-31.43%

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

$62.6 ฿2,111

$135 €121

-53.58%

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

$11.60 ฿392

$21.17 €18.93

-45.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.30 ฿685

$41.39 €37.02

-50.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,278

$44.66 €39.93

-15.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿125

$17.38 €15.54

-78.71%

Cinema Ticket

$6.51 ฿220

$8.19 €7.32

-20.51%

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

$727 ฿24.5K

$469 €420

54.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ฿559.2K

$8,199 €7,331

102.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ฿1,807

$74.2 €66.3

-27.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.80 ฿837

$39.27 €35.11

-36.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.4 ฿3,050

$94.0 €84.0

-3.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.0 ฿2,428

$93.0 €83.2

-22.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 ฿16.2K

$922 €825

-47.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$310 ฿10.5K

$727 €650

-57.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.7K

$1,442 €1,289

-26.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ฿22.2K

$1,168 €1,044

-43.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.6K

$3,034 €2,713

-20.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿54.3K

$2,318 €2,073

-30.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.01

11.18%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Last update for Madeira: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1%

Madeira

$727 45.3% 135% $417

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3%

Madeira

$246 15.3% 3.8% $9.1

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6%

Madeira

$135 8.4% 24.8% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Madeira

$197 12.3% 109% $103

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2%

Madeira

$179 11.2% 134% $102

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3%

Madeira

$59 3.7% 1% $0.6

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4%

Madeira

$61 3.8% 19.9% $10

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $481 in Chiang Mai versus $922 in Madeira. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $47 in Madeira. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $237 vs $246 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇵🇹 Madeira

🕒 Local time

20:35 8:35 PM

13:35 1:35 PM

7 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

154

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.77 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.894 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Madeira 11,120 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Madeira

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 Madeira: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Madeira costs about 72% 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 $2,407 in Madeira. 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 $481 there versus $922 in Madeira.

Kindergarten costs $727 per month in Chiang Mai and $469 in Madeira. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 4% more in Madeira, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $935 in Chiang Mai and $1,605 in Madeira. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.