Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Santarem

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,303 in Santarem, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Santarem
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Santarem Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Santarem

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,303

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,303 in Santarem, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Santarem $1,303

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,010 in Santarem, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Santarem $2,010

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,717 in Santarem, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Santarem $2,717

Chiang Mai is about 28% cheaper than Santarem, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Chiang Mai and Santarem are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 31% lower, Santarem 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$12.18 €10.87

-81.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$38.63 €34.46

-50.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$8.97 €8.00

-38.13%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$1.77 €1.58

-5.65%

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

$0.64 ฿21.53

$1.71 €1.53

-62.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.30

$1.11 €0.99

-72.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

$2.17 €1.94

8.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$3.28 €2.93

11.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.7

$1.12 €1.00

74.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.45

$0.47 €0.42

206.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.01

$1.10 €0.98

20.91%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.0

$3.29 €2.93

-30.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$10.84 €9.67

51.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.8

$7.01 €6.25

-60.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$13.56 €12.10

-31.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$2.74 €2.45

-14.23%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.78

$1.33 €1.19

-27.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$2.54 €2.26

-37.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$2.14 €1.91

-29.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.10

$1.43 €1.28

-10.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.17

$1.58 €1.41

-30.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.81

$1.15 €1.02

-38.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.36

$0.29 €0.26

68.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$5.68 €5.07

-27.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$5.71 €5.09

206.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.22 €1.09

31.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$3.57 €3.19

-22.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.29

$2.22 €1.98

-60.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

$56.2 €50.1

-3.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.03

$3.70 €3.30

-68.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.79

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.7

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.87

$2.10 €1.88

-30.95%

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

$21.1K ฿710.3K

$33.3K €29.7K

-36.80%

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

$26.9K ฿908.7K

$38.3K €34.2K

-29.69%

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

$62.2 ฿2,097

$127 €113

-51.08%

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

$12.17 ฿410

$20.29 €18.10

-40.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$56.5 €50.4

-64.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$37.18 €33.17

0.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$6.79 €6.06

-4.42%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$425 €379

73.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.0K

$19.0K €16.9K

-22.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,800

$78.8 €70.3

-32.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$37.35 €33.32

-34.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,086

$107 €95.8

-14.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,426

$135 €121

-46.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$653 €583

-26.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$419 €374

-26.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$1,027 €916

-2.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$808 €720

-21.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

$2,173 €1,938

8.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$1,099 €980

44.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$1,080 €964

-45.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

4.76

17.02%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Santarem: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Santarem

$419 32.2% 35.8% $110

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Santarem

$224 17.2% 4.2% $10

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Santarem

$161 12.4% 48.6% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Santarem

$204 15.7% 116% $109

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Santarem

$174 13.4% 125% $97

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Santarem

$69 * 5.3% 12% $7.4

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Santarem

$51 3.9% 1% $0.5

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 $653 in Santarem. 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 83% higher in Santarem. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $39 in Santarem. Groceries tell a different story – $234 in Chiang Mai vs $224 in Santarem – so Santarem wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇵🇹 Santarem

🕒 Local time

22:16 10:16 PM

15:16 3:16 PM

7 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

58,671

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiang Mai Santarem 10,130 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Santarem

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 Santarem: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santarem costs about 39% 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 $1,954 in Santarem. 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 $653 in Santarem.

Kindergarten costs $736 per month in Chiang Mai and $425 in Santarem. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 4% cheaper in Santarem – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,303 in Santarem. 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 $1,303 in Santarem. 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, Santarem makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.