Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Mandal

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,725 in Mandal, rent and utilities included – about $21,500 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
136

Cost of Living Index in Mandal
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Mandal Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Mandal

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,725

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,725 in Mandal, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Mandal $2,725

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $4,267 in Mandal, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Mandal $4,267

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $5,809 in Mandal, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Mandal $5,809

Chiang Mai is about 66% cheaper than Mandal, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Chiang Mai sits 31% below the global median, while Mandal is 100% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.5

$25.01 NOK 231

-91.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿640

$98.7 NOK 913

-80.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$16.02 NOK 148

-65.36%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.4

$6.34 NOK 58.6

-73.66%

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

$0.64 ฿21.51

$5.72 NOK 52.9

-88.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.29

$4.69 NOK 43.37

-93.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

$13.93 NOK 129

-83.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿123

$10.59 NOK 97.9

-65.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.7

$2.24 NOK 20.71

-12.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.41

$3.50 NOK 32.36

-58.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿44.97

$3.90 NOK 36.05

-65.90%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.0

$3.20 NOK 29.59

-28.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿554

$13.80 NOK 128

19.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.8

$17.23 NOK 159

-83.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$36.02 NOK 333

-74.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.3

$3.69 NOK 34.15

-36.31%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.75

$2.79 NOK 25.81

-65.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.8

$3.51 NOK 32.50

-54.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$5.06 NOK 46.79

-70.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.06

$2.67 NOK 24.66

-52.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.14

$3.20 NOK 29.60

-65.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.79

$1.60 NOK 14.77

-55.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.34

$2.31 NOK 21.33

-78.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$18.32 NOK 169

-77.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿590

$18.74 NOK 173

-6.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.4

$3.26 NOK 30.20

-50.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.8

$3.00 NOK 27.78

-7.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.27

$4.18 NOK 38.71

-79.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,823

$97.6 NOK 903

-44.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.00

$6.07 NOK 56.2

-80.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.78

$1.28 NOK 11.83

-58.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.6

$106 NOK 977

-97.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.82

$2.28 NOK 21.06

-36.40%

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

$21.1K ฿709.7K

$49.7K NOK 460.0K

-57.65%

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

$26.9K ฿907.9K

$42.6K NOK 394.4K

-36.81%

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

$62.2 ฿2,095

$247 NOK 2,284

-74.81%

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

$12.17 ฿410

$34.68 NOK 321

-64.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿678

$80.0 NOK 740

-74.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,257

$49.47 NOK 458

-24.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$38.91 NOK 360

-90.31%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$22.61 NOK 209

-71.30%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$333 NOK 3,080

121.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿497.6K

$14.6K NOK 134.8K

1.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,799

$130 NOK 1,203

-58.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿830

$62.2 NOK 576

-60.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,083

$147 NOK 1,357

-37.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,424

$202 NOK 1,868

-64.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$1,277 NOK 11.8K

-62.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$937 NOK 8,669

-67.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$2,009 NOK 18.6K

-49.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.3K

$1,819 NOK 16.8K

-65.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.6K

$5,862 NOK 54.2K

-59.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$4,360 NOK 40.3K

-63.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$4,450 NOK 41.2K

-86.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.24

6.30%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mandal: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Mandal

$937 34.4% 203% $628

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Mandal

$504 18.5% 115% $270

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Mandal

$243 8.9% 124% $135

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Mandal

$362 13.3% 283% $267

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Mandal

$457 16.8% 489% $379

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Mandal

$127 4.7% 107% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Mandal

$95 3.5% 88.3% $44

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $1,277 in Mandal. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Mandal are about 7.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $99 in Mandal. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $234 vs $504 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇳🇴 Mandal

🕒 Local time

13:28 1:28 PM

07:28 7:28 AM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

11,477

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

100 NOK = 10.81 USD

100 NOK = 9.71 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, 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).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 9.25 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.3 NOK (100 NOK = 9.71 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Mandal 8,330 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Mandal

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 Mandal: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mandal costs about 191% 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 $4,087 in Mandal. 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 $1,277 in Mandal.

Kindergarten costs $736 per month in Chiang Mai and $333 in Mandal. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 115% more in Mandal, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $2,725 in Mandal. 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 $2,725 in Mandal. 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, Mandal makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.