Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Qalyub

For one person, living is cheaper in Qalyub: $420 a month against $935 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 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
20

Cost of Living Index in Qalyub
Learn more

Qalyub Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Qalyub

🇪🇬 Egypt

$420

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $935 per month in Chiang Mai vs $420 in Qalyub, rent included.

Chiang Mai $935
Qalyub $420

A couple spends around $1,467 per month in Chiang Mai vs $692 in Qalyub, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,467
Qalyub $692

A family of three spends $1,999 per month in Chiang Mai vs $963 in Qalyub, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,999
Qalyub $963

Chiang Mai costs about 123% more than Qalyub, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Chiang Mai and Qalyub are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 31% lower, Qalyub 69% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 ฿72.0

$4.02 E£222

-47.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.62 ฿628

$17.85 E£987

4.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 ฿189

$4.35 E£240

28.74%

Cappuccino

$1.66 ฿56.1

$1.22 E£67.5

36.07%

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

$0.65 ฿21.82

$0.28 E£15.33

132.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 ฿10.29

$0.12 E£6.56

150.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.32 ฿78.3

$1.20 E£66.5

93.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 ฿124

$2.08 E£115

76.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 ฿68.0

$0.81 E£44.49

149.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.49

$0.68 E£37.39

107.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 ฿46.94

$0.55 E£30.51

152.73%

Eggs

$2.37 ฿79.9

$1.10 E£60.9

115.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.52 ฿557

$3.51 E£194

370.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.67 ฿90.1

$4.07 E£225

-34.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.02 ฿304

$8.73 E£482

3.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 ฿80.9

$1.40 E£77.3

71.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 ฿35.12

$0.73 E£40.10

42.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$0.48 E£26.70

245.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.6

$0.32 E£17.85

387.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ฿41.75

$0.25 E£13.87

396.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 ฿36.65

$0.28 E£15.46

289.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 ฿25.70

$0.23 E£12.61

230.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.34

$0.18 E£9.72

183.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.12 ฿139

$1.74 E£96.0

136.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.93 ฿605

$5.40 E£298

232.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ฿54.8

$1.16 E£64.3

39.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 ฿95.2

$1.98 E£110

42.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.52

$0.17 E£9.51

447.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,784

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ฿39.69

$0.38 E£20.77

210.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.17 ฿5.78

$0.16 E£8.91

6.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 ฿61.1

$1.12 E£62.0

61.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.67

$0.42 E£23.45

250.00%

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

$21.0K ฿708.7K

$32.3K E£1.8M

-34.89%

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

$26.5K ฿894.4K

$24.2K E£1.3M

9.61%

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

$62.6 ฿2,110

$13.15 E£727

375.74%

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

$11.60 ฿391

$6.52 E£360

77.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.30 ฿685

$12.62 E£697

60.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,278

$15.13 E£836

150.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿125

$0.85 E£47.16

335.29%

Cinema Ticket

$6.51 ฿220

$2.64 E£146

146.59%

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

$727 ฿24.5K

$80.4 E£4,442

804.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ฿559.0K

$1,971 E£108.9K

740.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ฿1,806

$31.90 E£1,763

67.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.80 ฿836

$42.05 E£2,324

-41.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.4 ฿3,049

$107 E£5,916

-15.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.0 ฿2,428

$53.6 E£2,963

34.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 ฿16.2K

$124 E£6,846

288.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$310 ฿10.5K

$69.8 E£3,856

344.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.7K

$250 E£13.8K

323.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ฿22.2K

$137 E£7,563

381.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.5K

$719 E£39.7K

236.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿54.3K

$327 E£18.0K

392.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

16.21

-65.64%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Last update for Qalyub: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1%

Qalyub

$70 16.6% 77.5% $240

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3%

Qalyub

$118 28.2% 50% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6%

Qalyub

$106 25.2% 2.5% $2.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Qalyub

$32 7.7% 65.8% $62

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2%

Qalyub

$72 17.1% 6.4% $4.9

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3%

Qalyub

$1.9 * 0.5% 96.8% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4%

Qalyub

$20 4.9% 59.9% $30

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $481 in Chiang Mai versus $124 in Qalyub. 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 $18 in Qalyub. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $237 vs $118 – making Qalyub the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇪🇬 Qalyub

🕒 Local time

16:10 4:10 PM

11:10 11:10 AM

5 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

109,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

100 EGP = 1.81 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 55.26 EGP (100 EGP = 1.81 USD). 1 EUR = 61.95 EGP (100 EGP = 1.61 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Qalyub 6,880 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Qalyub

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 Qalyub: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 123% more than Qalyub, 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 $630 in Qalyub. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Qalyub, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $124 there versus $481 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai and $18 in Qalyub. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 100% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

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