Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Staffanstorp

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,709 in Staffanstorp, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 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
82

Cost of Living Index in Staffanstorp
Learn more

Staffanstorp Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Staffanstorp

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,709

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,709 in Staffanstorp, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Staffanstorp $1,709

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,672 in Staffanstorp, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Staffanstorp $2,672

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $3,635 in Staffanstorp, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Staffanstorp $3,635

Chiang Mai is about 45% cheaper than Staffanstorp, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Chiang Mai sits 31% below the global median, while Staffanstorp is 26% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.7

$13.13 SEK 131

-82.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿642

$75.8 SEK 755

-74.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿188

$11.92 SEK 119

-53.44%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.6

$4.76 SEK 47.38

-64.92%

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

$0.64 ฿21.56

$2.94 SEK 29.22

-78.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.32

$2.27 SEK 22.64

-86.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$6.82 SEK 67.9

-65.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$7.60 SEK 75.6

-51.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$1.67 SEK 16.64

16.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.51

$2.73 SEK 27.14

-47.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.07

$3.26 SEK 32.41

-59.20%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$3.93 SEK 39.14

-41.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿556

$11.57 SEK 115

42.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$11.36 SEK 113

-75.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$16.76 SEK 167

-44.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.5

$3.09 SEK 30.74

-23.95%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.82

$2.42 SEK 24.13

-59.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$3.03 SEK 30.18

-47.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$4.29 SEK 42.70

-65.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.15

$1.70 SEK 16.96

-24.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.22

$1.51 SEK 15.02

-27.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.84

$2.04 SEK 20.25

-65.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.38

$1.18 SEK 11.71

-58.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$8.07 SEK 80.3

-48.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿592

$11.64 SEK 116

50.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$2.00 SEK 19.92

-19.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$2.19 SEK 21.77

26.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.33

$3.28 SEK 32.68

-73.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

$79.5 SEK 791

-31.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.08

$6.11 SEK 60.8

-81.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.82

$1.69 SEK 16.78

-68.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$51.3 SEK 511

-95.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$1.76 SEK 17.51

-17.61%

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

$21.1K ฿711.2K

$33.2K SEK 330.0K

-36.49%

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

$26.9K ฿909.8K

$33.8K SEK 336.8K

-20.40%

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

$62.2 ฿2,100

$105 SEK 1,048

-40.99%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$19.99 SEK 199

-39.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿680

$33.76 SEK 336

-40.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,260

$37.59 SEK 374

-0.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$25.85 SEK 257

-85.42%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$17.40 SEK 173

-62.70%

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

$736 ฿24.9K

$173 SEK 1,726

324.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.6K

$3,353 SEK 33.4K

340.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,802

$87.3 SEK 869

-38.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿832

$33.12 SEK 330

-25.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,089

$89.4 SEK 889

2.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,429

$131 SEK 1,301

-44.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$810 SEK 8,060

-40.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$603 SEK 5,997

-48.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿34.0K

$1,359 SEK 13.5K

-25.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$1,016 SEK 10.1K

-37.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$4,056 SEK 40.4K

-41.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

$2,850 SEK 28.4K

-44.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$2,933 SEK 29.2K

-79.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.05

82.62%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Staffanstorp: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Staffanstorp

$603 35.3% 95.1% $294

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Staffanstorp

$346 20.3% 47.7% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Staffanstorp

$153 9% 41.1% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Staffanstorp

$159 9.3% 68.4% $65

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Staffanstorp

$268 15.7% 246% $191

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Staffanstorp

$107 6.3% 74.6% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Staffanstorp

$72 4.2% 44% $22

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $810 in Staffanstorp. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Staffanstorp are about 5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $76 in Staffanstorp. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $234 vs $346 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇸🇪 Staffanstorp

🕒 Local time

17:07 5:07 PM

11:07 11:07 AM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

26,652

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 SEK = 10.05 USD

100 SEK = 9.03 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, 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).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.95 SEK (1 SEK = 0.1 USD). 1 EUR = 11.08 SEK (100 SEK = 9.03 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Staffanstorp 8,030 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Staffanstorp

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 Staffanstorp: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Staffanstorp costs about 83% 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 $2,563 in Staffanstorp. 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 $810 in Staffanstorp.

Kindergarten costs $736 per month in Chiang Mai and $173 in Staffanstorp. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 48% more in Staffanstorp, 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 $1,709 in Staffanstorp. 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 $1,709 in Staffanstorp. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Staffanstorp makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.