Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Papua New Guinea

Name: Papua New Guinea
Address: PG

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $906 a month against $1,325 in Papua New Guinea, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 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
65

Cost of Living Index in Papua New Guinea
Learn more

Papua New Guinea Living Index

Jump to prices

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$906

/mo nomad

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$1,325

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Chiang Mai is 29.7% cheaper than Papua New Guinea without rent, and 31.6% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Chiang Mai is 31.1% cheaper than Papua New Guinea without rent, and 38.5% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 ฿71.4

$7.14 PGK 31.29

-70.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.40 ฿649

$44.69 PGK 196

-56.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.47 ฿183

$5.55 PGK 24.32

-1.44%

Cappuccino

$1.68 ฿56.4

$2.34 PGK 10.24

-28.21%

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

$0.66 ฿22.10

$0.76 PGK 3.33

-13.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.34 ฿11.52

$0.65 PGK 2.86

-47.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.42 ฿81.0

$2.62 PGK 11.47

-7.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.73 ฿125

$3.86 PGK 16.90

-3.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.06 ฿68.9

$1.92 PGK 8.43

7.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿48.78

$1.53 PGK 6.73

-4.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 ฿45.09

$1.36 PGK 5.96

-0.74%

Eggs

$2.27 ฿76.0

$3.81 PGK 16.69

-40.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.31 ฿546

$6.27 PGK 27.49

160.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.70 ฿90.3

$6.00 PGK 26.29

-55.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.20 ฿308

$9.33 PGK 40.88

-1.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.39 ฿80.1

$4.01 PGK 17.56

-40.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 ฿34.66

$3.35 PGK 14.69

-68.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.7

$6.17 PGK 27.05

-74.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.44 ฿48.37

$5.13 PGK 22.47

-71.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.30 ฿43.59

$3.65 PGK 16.00

-64.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.11 ฿37.29

$2.74 PGK 12.03

-59.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.70 ฿23.55

$2.00 PGK 8.77

-65.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.99

$1.14 PGK 4.97

-55.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.13 ฿138

$6.37 PGK 27.94

-35.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.78 ฿595

$10.54 PGK 46.21

68.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 ฿54.7

$2.58 PGK 11.29

-36.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 ฿96.0

$3.66 PGK 16.03

-21.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 ฿28.76

$0.43 PGK 1.87

100.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.2 ฿1,780

$25.43 PGK 111

109.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 ฿40.81

$4.95 PGK 21.70

-75.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.56 ฿18.81

$2.23 PGK 9.78

-74.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.31 ฿77.5

$14.19 PGK 62.2

-83.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 ฿50.2

$0.95 PGK 4.15

57.89%

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

$20.9K ฿698.3K

$28.7K PGK 125.6K

-27.25%

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

$26.7K ฿895.0K

$22.7K PGK 99.6K

17.66%

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

$61.3 ฿2,051

$93.1 PGK 408

-34.19%

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

$12.50 ฿419

$27.52 PGK 121

-54.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.36 ฿682

$116 PGK 506

-82.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.94 ฿1,270

$63.5 PGK 278

-40.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿126

$24.15 PGK 106

-84.39%

Cinema Ticket

$6.60 ฿221

$8.99 PGK 39.42

-26.59%

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

$774 ฿25.9K

$526 PGK 2,307

47.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.4K ฿483.2K

$5,532 PGK 24.2K

160.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.8 ฿1,835

$35.26 PGK 155

55.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.26 ฿846

$30.74 PGK 135

-17.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.6 ฿3,032

$69.0 PGK 302

31.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.3 ฿2,453

$92.3 PGK 404

-20.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$459 ฿15.4K

$1,597 PGK 6,998

-71.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$294 ฿9,835

$444 PGK 1,946

-33.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$919 ฿30.8K

$2,846 PGK 12.5K

-67.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$552 ฿18.5K

$1,033 PGK 4,525

-46.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,917 ฿64.2K

$2,005 PGK 8,789

-4.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,445 ฿48.4K

$3,785 PGK 16.6K

-61.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$592 ฿19.8K

$418 PGK 1,833

41.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

13.67

-59.25%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Papua New Guinea: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$294 31.8%

Papua New Guinea

$444 33.2% 51.1% $150

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$236 25.6%

Papua New Guinea

$302 22.6% 27.9% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$110 11.9%

Papua New Guinea

$102 7.7% 6.8% $7.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2%

Papua New Guinea

$236 17.7% 151% $142

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$77 8.4%

Papua New Guinea

$128 9.6% 66% $51

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Papua New Guinea

$43 3.2% 28.7% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5%

Papua New Guinea

$81 6.1% 59.4% $30

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

🕒 Local time

12:59 12:59 PM

15:59 3:59 PM

3 h ahead of Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

8,935,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 PGK = 0.228 USD

1 PGK = 0.203 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PGK, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.55 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Papua New Guinean Kina exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.38 PGK (1 PGK = 0.228 USD). 1 EUR = 4.92 PGK (1 PGK = 0.203 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Papua New Guinea 6,150 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Papua New Guinea

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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