Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Todos Santos

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,418 in Todos Santos, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 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
68

Cost of Living Index in Todos Santos
Learn more

Todos Santos Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Todos Santos

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,418

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Todos Santos

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,418 in Todos Santos, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Todos Santos $1,418

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,111 in Todos Santos, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Todos Santos $2,111

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,804 in Todos Santos, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Todos Santos $2,804

Chiang Mai is about 34% cheaper than Todos Santos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Chiang Mai sits 31% below the global median, while Todos Santos is 4% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$10.71 MX$201

-79.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$42.31 MX$793

-55.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$8.69 MX$163

-36.13%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$3.59 MX$67.2

-53.48%

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

$0.64 ฿21.53

$1.35 MX$25.22

-52.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.30

$0.99 MX$18.57

-68.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.5

$2.48 MX$46.51

-4.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$4.00 MX$75.0

-8.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.7

$1.58 MX$29.55

23.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.45

$2.62 MX$49.09

-45.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.01

$1.52 MX$28.53

-12.50%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.0

$2.47 MX$46.33

-7.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$9.14 MX$171

79.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.8

$9.37 MX$176

-70.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$12.16 MX$228

-23.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$2.73 MX$51.2

-13.92%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.78

$1.48 MX$27.75

-34.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$1.94 MX$36.36

-17.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.76 MX$33.06

-14.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.10

$1.97 MX$36.99

-35.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.17

$1.88 MX$35.18

-41.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.81

$1.46 MX$27.29

-51.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.36

$1.07 MX$20.09

-54.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$4.19 MX$78.5

-1.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$10.10 MX$189

73.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.74 MX$32.61

-7.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$3.17 MX$59.4

-12.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.29

$0.74 MX$13.96

17.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

$26.19 MX$491

106.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.03

$2.48 MX$46.42

-53.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.79

$1.99 MX$37.23

-73.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.7

$12.34 MX$231

-80.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.87

$1.24 MX$23.17

16.94%

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

$21.1K ฿710.3K

$22.4K MX$420.3K

-6.10%

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

$26.9K ฿908.7K

$25.9K MX$484.9K

4.11%

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

$62.2 ฿2,097

$56.3 MX$1,055

10.43%

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

$12.17 ฿410

$22.51 MX$422

-45.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$28.54 MX$535

-29.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$34.45 MX$646

8.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$20.43 MX$383

-81.55%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$4.75 MX$89.1

36.63%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$193 MX$3,609

282.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.0K

$4,019 MX$75.3K

267.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,800

$47.93 MX$898

11.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$45.84 MX$859

-46.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,086

$90.5 MX$1,696

1.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,426

$101 MX$1,892

-28.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$988 MX$18.5K

-51.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$640 MX$12.0K

-51.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$1,866 MX$35.0K

-46.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$987 MX$18.5K

-35.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

$2,144 MX$40.2K

10.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$1,181 MX$22.1K

34.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.31

-50.75%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Todos Santos: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Todos Santos

$640 45.2% 107% $331

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Todos Santos

$271 19.2% 15.8% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Todos Santos

$128 9.1% 18.2% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Todos Santos

$107 7.6% 13.6% $13

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Todos Santos

$185 13% 138% $107

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Todos Santos

$42 2.9% 32.2% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Todos Santos

$44 3.1% 12.6% $6.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $988 in Todos Santos. 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 $42 in Todos Santos. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $234 vs $271 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇲🇽 Todos Santos

🕒 Local time

07:42 7:42 AM

17:42 5:42 PM

14 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

5,148

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 21 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chiang Mai Todos Santos 14,350 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Todos Santos

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 Todos Santos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Todos Santos costs about 52% 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 $2,126 in Todos Santos. 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 $988 in Todos Santos.

Kindergarten costs $736 per month in Chiang Mai and $193 in Todos Santos. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 16% more in Todos Santos, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,418 in Todos Santos. 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 $1,418 in Todos Santos. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.