Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Ystad

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,646 in Ystad, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 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
79

Cost of Living Index in Ystad
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Ystad Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Ystad

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,646

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,646 in Ystad, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Ystad $1,646

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,592 in Ystad, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Ystad $2,592

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $3,538 in Ystad, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Ystad $3,538

Chiang Mai is about 43% cheaper than Ystad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Chiang Mai sits 31% below the global median, while Ystad is 21% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.6

$12.15 SEK 119

-81.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿641

$86.1 SEK 846

-77.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿187

$10.23 SEK 100

-45.75%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.5

$3.06 SEK 30.07

-45.42%

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

$0.64 ฿21.55

$2.98 SEK 29.27

-78.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.31

$2.27 SEK 22.27

-86.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$6.99 SEK 68.7

-66.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$7.39 SEK 72.5

-50.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$1.71 SEK 16.75

14.04%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.48

$2.80 SEK 27.49

-48.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.04

$3.15 SEK 30.89

-57.78%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$3.10 SEK 30.41

-26.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿555

$11.51 SEK 113

42.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿93.9

$8.84 SEK 86.9

-68.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$16.46 SEK 162

-43.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.4

$2.99 SEK 29.37

-21.40%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.80

$2.44 SEK 23.99

-60.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$2.93 SEK 28.81

-45.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$4.52 SEK 44.34

-66.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.12

$1.54 SEK 15.15

-16.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.19

$1.70 SEK 16.65

-35.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.82

$1.96 SEK 19.20

-63.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.37

$1.66 SEK 16.28

-70.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$8.19 SEK 80.4

-49.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

$12.05 SEK 118

45.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$2.05 SEK 20.12

-21.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$2.28 SEK 22.43

21.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.31

$3.36 SEK 32.97

-74.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,826

$79.1 SEK 776

-31.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.06

$6.05 SEK 59.4

-80.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.80

$1.74 SEK 17.08

-69.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$59.2 SEK 581

-95.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.90

$1.77 SEK 17.38

-18.08%

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

$21.1K ฿710.7K

$29.9K SEK 293.7K

-29.60%

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

$26.9K ฿909.3K

$33.3K SEK 327.0K

-19.10%

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

$62.2 ฿2,098

$105 SEK 1,030

-40.73%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$19.69 SEK 193

-38.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿679

$30.14 SEK 296

-33.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

$37.44 SEK 368

-0.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$26.36 SEK 259

-85.70%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$12.15 SEK 119

-46.58%

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

$736 ฿24.8K

$180 SEK 1,766

309.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.3K

$4,351 SEK 42.7K

239.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,801

$51.3 SEK 504

4.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿831

$33.38 SEK 328

-26.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,087

$87.4 SEK 858

4.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,428

$133 SEK 1,311

-46.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$792 SEK 7,778

-39.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$612 SEK 6,014

-49.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

$1,354 SEK 13.3K

-25.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$1,023 SEK 10.0K

-38.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$4,023 SEK 39.5K

-41.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

$2,767 SEK 27.2K

-42.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

$1,881 SEK 18.5K

-68.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.06

82.03%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Ystad: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Ystad

$612 37.2% 98.3% $304

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Ystad

$337 20.5% 43.7% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Ystad

$137 8.4% 26.6% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Ystad

$155 9.4% 63.8% $60

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Ystad

$235 14.3% 203% $158

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Ystad

$107 6.5% 74.8% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Ystad

$62 3.8% 22.8% $11

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $792 in Ystad. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Ystad are about 3.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $86 in Ystad. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $234 vs $337 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇸🇪 Ystad

🕒 Local time

18:41 6:41 PM

12:41 12:41 PM

6 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

18,350

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 SEK = 10.18 USD

100 SEK = 9.13 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 = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 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 = 9.13 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Ystad 8,000 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Ystad

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 Ystad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ystad costs about 76% 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 $2,469 in Ystad. 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 $792 in Ystad.

Kindergarten costs $736 per month in Chiang Mai and $180 in Ystad. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 44% more in Ystad, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,646 in Ystad. 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 $1,646 in Ystad. 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, Ystad makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.