Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Tubli

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $1,596 in Tubli, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 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
77

Cost of Living Index in Tubli
Learn more

Tubli Living Index

Jump to prices

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Tubli

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$1,596

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $935 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,596 in Tubli, rent included.

Chiang Mai $935
Tubli $1,596

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,539 in Tubli, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Tubli $2,539

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $3,481 in Tubli, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Tubli $3,481

Chiang Mai is about 41% cheaper than Tubli, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Chiang Mai sits 31% below the global median, while Tubli is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 ฿71.9

$5.40 BHD 2.04

-60.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.62 ฿628

$52.8 BHD 19.92

-64.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 ฿189

$7.33 BHD 2.76

-23.60%

Cappuccino

$1.66 ฿56.0

$2.64 BHD 0.99

-37.12%

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

$0.65 ฿21.80

$0.82 BHD 0.31

-20.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 ฿10.28

$0.28 BHD 0.11

7.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.32 ฿78.3

$6.61 BHD 2.49

-64.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 ฿124

$9.83 BHD 3.71

-62.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 ฿67.9

$1.44 BHD 0.54

40.28%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.45

$1.08 BHD 0.41

30.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 ฿46.90

$2.26 BHD 0.85

-38.50%

Eggs

$2.37 ฿79.8

$2.30 BHD 0.87

3.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.52 ฿557

$8.42 BHD 3.17

96.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.67 ฿90.0

$6.37 BHD 2.40

-58.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.02 ฿304

$8.60 BHD 3.24

4.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 ฿80.8

$2.30 BHD 0.87

4.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 ฿35.09

$2.24 BHD 0.84

-53.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.93 BHD 0.73

-13.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.5

$1.44 BHD 0.54

8.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ฿41.71

$1.00 BHD 0.38

24.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 ฿36.62

$1.42 BHD 0.54

-23.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 ฿25.67

$1.55 BHD 0.58

-50.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.33

$0.82 BHD 0.31

-37.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.12 ฿139

$5.38 BHD 2.03

-23.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.93 ฿604

$18.56 BHD 7.00

-3.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ฿54.7

$3.50 BHD 1.32

-53.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 ฿95.1

$2.58 BHD 0.97

9.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.49

$1.56 BHD 0.59

-40.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,782

$52.4 BHD 19.75

1.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ฿39.65

$5.33 BHD 2.01

-77.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.17 ฿5.78

$3.55 BHD 1.34

-95.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 ฿61.1

$15.76 BHD 5.94

-88.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.63

$0.66 BHD 0.25

122.73%

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

$21.0K ฿708.1K

$26.1K BHD 9,853

-19.59%

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

$26.5K ฿893.6K

$20.0K BHD 7,559

32.28%

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

$62.6 ฿2,108

$91.2 BHD 34.39

-31.40%

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

$11.60 ฿391

$24.02 BHD 9.06

-51.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.30 ฿684

$35.41 BHD 13.35

-42.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,277

$156 BHD 59.0

-75.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿125

$199 BHD 75.1

-98.14%

Cinema Ticket

$6.51 ฿219

$10.67 BHD 4.02

-38.99%

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

$727 ฿24.5K

$624 BHD 235

16.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ฿558.5K

$3,987 BHD 1,503

315.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ฿1,804

$51.7 BHD 19.49

3.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.80 ฿836

$58.7 BHD 22.12

-57.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.4 ฿3,046

$87.6 BHD 33.02

3.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.0 ฿2,425

$79.6 BHD 30.01

-9.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 ฿16.2K

$993 BHD 375

-51.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$310 ฿10.4K

$660 BHD 249

-53.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.7K

$1,588 BHD 599

-33.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ฿22.2K

$1,202 BHD 453

-45.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿54.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

6.21

-10.31%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Last update for Tubli: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1%

Tubli

$660 41.3% 113% $350

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3%

Tubli

$248 15.5% 4.7% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6%

Tubli

$125 7.8% 15.3% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Tubli

$151 9.4% 59.4% $56

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2%

Tubli

$154 9.7% 101% $77

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3%

Tubli

$82 5.1% 39.3% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4%

Tubli

$178 11.1% 249% $127

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $975 in Tubli. 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 $53 in Tubli. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $234 vs $249 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇧🇭 Tubli

🕒 Local time

18:05 6:05 PM

14:05 2:05 PM

4 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

27,510

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 BHD = 2.65 USD

1 BHD = 2.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BHD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.73 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.377 BHD (1 BHD = 2.65 USD). 1 EUR = 0.422 BHD (1 BHD = 2.37 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Tubli 5,020 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Tubli

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 Tubli: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tubli costs about 71% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from leisure. 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 $2,394 in Tubli. 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 $975 in Tubli.

Kindergarten costs $736 per month in Chiang Mai and $622 in Tubli. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 6% more in Tubli, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $935 in Chiang Mai and $1,596 in Tubli. 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 $935 in Chiang Mai to $1,596 in Tubli. 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.