Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Marsta

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,657 in Marsta, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Marsta
Learn more

Marsta Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Marsta

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,657

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,657 in Marsta, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Marsta $1,657

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,563 in Marsta, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Marsta $2,563

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $3,468 in Marsta, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Marsta $3,468

Chiang Mai is about 44% cheaper than Marsta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Chiang Mai sits 31% below the global median, while Marsta is 22% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.7

$13.29 SEK 132

-83.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿642

$64.3 SEK 639

-70.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿188

$10.28 SEK 102

-46.01%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.6

$4.31 SEK 42.79

-61.25%

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

$0.64 ฿21.56

$2.00 SEK 19.90

-68.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.32

$1.83 SEK 18.15

-83.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$6.88 SEK 68.4

-65.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$6.94 SEK 68.9

-47.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$1.72 SEK 17.04

13.37%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.51

$3.15 SEK 31.28

-54.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.07

$5.73 SEK 56.9

-76.79%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$3.67 SEK 36.47

-37.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿556

$13.27 SEK 132

23.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$9.05 SEK 89.8

-69.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$16.91 SEK 168

-44.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.5

$2.93 SEK 29.13

-19.80%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.82

$2.68 SEK 26.66

-63.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$2.08 SEK 20.62

-23.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$3.67 SEK 36.42

-59.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.15

$1.43 SEK 14.25

-10.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.22

$1.48 SEK 14.70

-25.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.84

$1.99 SEK 19.80

-64.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.38

$1.91 SEK 19.00

-74.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$6.96 SEK 69.2

-40.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿592

$10.01 SEK 99.4

75.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.97 SEK 19.55

-18.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$2.15 SEK 21.38

29.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.33

$3.39 SEK 33.71

-74.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

$77.3 SEK 767

-30.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.08

$13.37 SEK 133

-91.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.82

$2.07 SEK 20.52

-74.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$56.9 SEK 565

-95.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$1.77 SEK 17.57

-18.08%

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

$21.1K ฿711.2K

$33.7K SEK 334.5K

-37.48%

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

$26.9K ฿909.8K

$33.8K SEK 336.1K

-20.38%

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

$62.2 ฿2,100

$61.2 SEK 608

1.58%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$28.72 SEK 285

-57.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿680

$40.48 SEK 402

-50.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,260

$37.42 SEK 372

-0.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$26.31 SEK 261

-85.67%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$16.10 SEK 160

-59.69%

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

$736 ฿24.9K

$219 SEK 2,174

236.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.6K

$4,996 SEK 49.6K

195.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,802

$50.5 SEK 502

5.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿832

$29.77 SEK 296

-17.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,089

$91.2 SEK 905

0.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,429

$103 SEK 1,020

-29.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$811 SEK 8,049

-40.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$615 SEK 6,108

-49.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿34.0K

$1,380 SEK 13.7K

-27.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$1,006 SEK 9,991

-37.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$4,040 SEK 40.1K

-41.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

$2,789 SEK 27.7K

-43.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$4,609 SEK 45.8K

-87.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.8

98.93%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Marsta: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Marsta

$615 37.1% 99.1% $306

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Marsta

$352 21.2% 50.1% $117

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Marsta

$123 7.5% 13.6% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Marsta

$130 7.9% 38% $36

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Marsta

$252 15.2% 225% $175

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Marsta

$115 6.9% 86.7% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Marsta

$70 4.2% 38.5% $19

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $811 in Marsta. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Marsta are about 7.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $64 in Marsta. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $234 vs $352 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇸🇪 Marsta

🕒 Local time

05:55 5:55 AM

23:55 11:55 PM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

24,068

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 SEK = 10.07 USD

100 SEK = 9.05 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.93 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.06 SEK (100 SEK = 9.05 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Marsta 7,720 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Marsta

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 Marsta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Marsta costs about 77% 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 $2,486 in Marsta. 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 $811 in Marsta.

Kindergarten costs $736 per month in Chiang Mai and $219 in Marsta. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 50% more in Marsta, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,657 in Marsta. 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 $1,657 in Marsta. 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, Marsta makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.