Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and New Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in New Cairo: $677 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 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
33

Cost of Living Index in New Cairo
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New Cairo Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

New Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$677

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in New Cairo

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $677 in New Cairo, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
New Cairo $677

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,026 in New Cairo, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
New Cairo $1,026

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,375 in New Cairo, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
New Cairo $1,375

Chiang Mai costs about 38% more than New Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Chiang Mai and New Cairo are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 31% lower, New Cairo 50% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$5.44 E£303

-58.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$23.75 E£1,323

-20.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$5.48 E£306

1.28%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$1.94 E£108

-13.92%

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

$0.64 ฿21.55

$0.36 E£20.13

77.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.31

$0.13 E£7.36

138.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$2.72 E£152

-13.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$3.10 E£173

18.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$0.91 E£50.5

114.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.48

$0.98 E£54.8

46.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.04

$0.74 E£41.18

79.73%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$1.34 E£74.8

70.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$4.04 E£225

307.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$4.90 E£273

-43.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$8.05 E£448

15.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$1.61 E£90.0

45.96%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.80

$0.69 E£38.58

40.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$0.50 E£27.84

220.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$0.35 E£19.45

328.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.12

$0.33 E£18.41

287.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.19

$0.48 E£26.70

129.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.82

$0.19 E£10.67

273.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.37

$0.20 E£11.14

145.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$1.85 E£103

123.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$9.11 E£508

92.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.26 E£70.3

27.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$1.94 E£108

43.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.31

$0.16 E£8.91

443.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,826

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.06

$0.51 E£28.23

127.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

$0.18 E£10.05

194.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$3.62 E£202

-33.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.90

$0.43 E£23.98

237.21%

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

$21.1K ฿710.7K

$29.9K E£1.7M

-29.58%

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

$26.9K ฿909.3K

$24.8K E£1.4M

8.80%

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

$62.2 ฿2,098

$38.48 E£2,144

61.56%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$9.12 E£508

33.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$13.53 E£754

48.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$27.42 E£1,528

36.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$5.80 E£323

-35.00%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$3.11 E£173

108.68%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$168 E£9,387

337.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.3K

$4,338 E£241.8K

240.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,801

$42.59 E£2,374

25.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$50.8 E£2,829

-51.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,087

$107 E£5,948

-14.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,428

$52.8 E£2,943

36.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$289 E£16.1K

66.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$224 E£12.5K

38.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$504 E£28.1K

99.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$335 E£18.6K

89.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$1,115 E£62.1K

112.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$629 E£35.1K

152.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$177 E£9,861

233.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.4

-51.14%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for New Cairo: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

New Cairo

$224 33.1% 27.6% $85

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

New Cairo

$138 20.3% 41.3% $97

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

New Cairo

$114 16.8% 4.7% $5.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

New Cairo

$61 9% 35.3% $33

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

New Cairo

$105 15.5% 35.4% $27

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

New Cairo

$2.1 * 0.3% 96.7% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

New Cairo

$34 5% 33.1% $17

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $289 in New Cairo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Chiang Mai are about 3.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $24 in New Cairo. Groceries tell a different story – $234 in Chiang Mai vs $138 in New Cairo – so New Cairo wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇪🇬 New Cairo

🕒 Local time

10:23 10:23 AM

05:23 5:23 AM

5 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

298,343

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.61 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 55.73 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.23 EGP (100 EGP = 1.61 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai New Cairo 6,860 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
New Cairo

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 New Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 38% more than New Cairo, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. 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 $1,015 in New Cairo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in New Cairo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $289 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai and $24 in New Cairo. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 70% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in New Cairo, where all-in costs run around $677, than in Chiang Mai at $936. In New Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chiang Mai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward New Cairo – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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 New Cairo. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Chiang Mai makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.