Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Taby

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,105 in Taby, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in Taby
Learn more

Taby Living Index

Jump to prices

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Taby

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,105

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,105 in Taby, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Taby $2,105

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $3,045 in Taby, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Taby $3,045

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $3,984 in Taby, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Taby $3,984

Chiang Mai is about 56% cheaper than Taby, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Chiang Mai sits 31% below the global median, while Taby is 55% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$13.75 SEK 135

-83.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$66.6 SEK 654

-71.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$10.11 SEK 99.3

-45.10%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$4.28 SEK 42.05

-60.98%

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

$0.64 ฿21.55

$3.62 SEK 35.55

-82.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.31

$2.33 SEK 22.91

-86.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$7.10 SEK 69.7

-66.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$9.12 SEK 89.5

-59.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$1.67 SEK 16.42

16.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.48

$3.10 SEK 30.47

-53.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.04

$3.92 SEK 38.45

-66.07%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$5.01 SEK 49.23

-54.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$12.81 SEK 126

28.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$13.03 SEK 128

-78.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$17.42 SEK 171

-46.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$3.14 SEK 30.78

-25.16%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.80

$2.59 SEK 25.41

-62.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$2.04 SEK 20.06

-21.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$4.56 SEK 44.78

-67.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.12

$1.70 SEK 16.66

-24.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.19

$1.74 SEK 17.06

-36.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.82

$2.23 SEK 21.93

-68.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.37

$1.91 SEK 18.79

-74.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$7.12 SEK 69.9

-41.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$11.98 SEK 118

46.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.97 SEK 19.34

-18.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$2.24 SEK 22.03

24.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.31

$4.34 SEK 42.64

-79.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,826

$103 SEK 1,007

-47.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.06

$6.08 SEK 59.7

-80.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

$1.48 SEK 14.49

-64.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$57.3 SEK 563

-95.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.90

$1.83 SEK 18.00

-20.77%

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

$21.1K ฿710.7K

$32.8K SEK 322.4K

-35.85%

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

$26.9K ฿909.3K

$33.4K SEK 328.4K

-19.45%

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

$62.2 ฿2,098

$176 SEK 1,731

-64.74%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$27.88 SEK 274

-56.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$40.11 SEK 394

-49.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$17.22 SEK 169

-62.31%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$159 SEK 1,565

361.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.3K

$16.3K SEK 160.2K

-9.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,801

$97.3 SEK 956

-45.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$53.7 SEK 527

-54.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,087

$95.0 SEK 933

-3.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,428

$182 SEK 1,784

-60.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$992 SEK 9,742

-51.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$851 SEK 8,359

-63.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$1,403 SEK 13.8K

-28.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$1,198 SEK 11.8K

-47.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$6,062 SEK 59.5K

-61.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$6,965 SEK 68.4K

-77.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$3,358 SEK 33.0K

-82.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.8

98.93%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Taby: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Taby

$851 40.4% 176% $542

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Taby

$380 18.1% 62.2% $146

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Taby

$192 9.1% 77.1% $84

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Taby

$244 11.6% 159% $150

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Taby

$269 12.8% 247% $192

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Taby

$133 6.3% 117% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Taby

$34 * 1.6% 31.5% $16

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 $992 in Taby. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Taby are about 5.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $67 in Taby. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $234 vs $380 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇸🇪 Taby

🕒 Local time

11:06 11:06 AM

05:06 5:06 AM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

58,123

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 SEK = 10.18 USD

100 SEK = 9.12 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.82 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 SEK (100 SEK = 9.12 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Taby 7,710 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Taby

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 Taby: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Taby costs about 125% 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 $3,158 in Taby. 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 $992 in Taby.

Kindergarten costs $736 per month in Chiang Mai and $159 in Taby. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 62% more in Taby, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $2,105 in Taby. 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 $2,105 in Taby. 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, Taby makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.