Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Roatan

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,228 in Roatan, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Roatan
Learn more

Roatan Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Roatan

🇭🇳 Honduras

$1,228

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,228 in Roatan, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Roatan $1,228

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,000 in Roatan, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Roatan $2,000

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,773 in Roatan, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Roatan $2,773

Chiang Mai is about 24% cheaper than Roatan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Chiang Mai and Roatan are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 31% lower, Roatan 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.7

$8.18 HNL 220

-72.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿642

$40.19 HNL 1,080

-52.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿188

$8.59 HNL 231

-35.39%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.6

$4.28 HNL 115

-60.98%

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

$0.64 ฿21.56

$0.95 HNL 25.49

-32.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.32

$0.86 HNL 23.21

-63.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$2.51 HNL 67.6

-5.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$5.15 HNL 138

-28.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$1.44 HNL 38.73

35.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.51

$3.15 HNL 84.8

-54.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.07

$2.46 HNL 66.2

-45.93%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$1.97 HNL 53.0

15.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿556

$11.17 HNL 300

47.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$6.46 HNL 174

-56.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$17.61 HNL 473

-47.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.5

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.82

$1.12 HNL 30.10

-13.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$1.12 HNL 30.18

42.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$0.52 HNL 14.04

188.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.15

$1.63 HNL 43.84

-21.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.22

$1.49 HNL 40.10

-26.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.84

$1.17 HNL 31.41

-39.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.38

$2.93 HNL 78.8

-83.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$2.92 HNL 78.4

41.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿592

$7.91 HNL 212

121.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.33 HNL 35.77

21.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$2.59 HNL 69.5

7.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.33

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.08

$2.06 HNL 55.3

-43.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.82

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$10.14 HNL 272

-76.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$1.03 HNL 27.63

40.78%

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

$21.1K ฿711.2K

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

$26.9K ฿909.8K

$29.5K HNL 793.4K

-8.77%

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

$62.2 ฿2,100

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

$12.17 ฿411

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿680

$99.6 HNL 2,675

-79.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,260

$61.2 HNL 1,644

-39.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

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

$736 ฿24.9K

$505 HNL 13.6K

45.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,802

$40.37 HNL 1,084

32.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿832

$19.93 HNL 535

23.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,089

$39.69 HNL 1,066

130.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,429

$50.2 HNL 1,349

43.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$838 HNL 22.5K

-42.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$553 HNL 14.9K

-44.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿34.0K

$1,968 HNL 52.9K

-48.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$1,236 HNL 33.2K

-48.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$1,906 HNL 51.2K

24.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

$1,323 HNL 35.5K

20.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$497 HNL 13.3K

18.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-69.06%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Roatan: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Roatan

$553 45.1% 79% $244

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Roatan

$272 * 22.1% 15.9% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Roatan

$68 5.5% 37.8% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Roatan

$100 * 8.1% 5.4% $5.1

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Roatan

$173 14.1% 123% $95

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Roatan

$2.1 * 0.2% 96.6% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Roatan

$61 * 5% 21.7% $11

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 $838 in Roatan. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 19% higher in Chiang Mai, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $40 in Roatan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $234 vs $272 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇭🇳 Roatan

🕒 Local time

23:55 11:55 PM

10:55 10:55 AM

13 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

17,425

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Honduran Lempira HNL L

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 HNL = 3.72 USD

100 HNL = 3.34 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HNL, 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 = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Honduran Lempira exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 26.87 HNL (100 HNL = 3.72 USD). 1 EUR = 29.9 HNL (100 HNL = 3.34 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Roatan 16,060 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Roatan

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 Roatan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Roatan costs about 31% 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 $1,842 in Roatan. 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 $838 in Roatan.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai and $40 in Roatan. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 16% more in Roatan, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,228 in Roatan. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $936 versus $1,228 in Roatan. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.