Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chilanga and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chilanga: $592 a month against $938 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Chilanga
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Chilanga Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Chilanga

🇿🇲 Zambia

$592

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Chilanga and in Chiang Mai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $592 per month in Chilanga vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Chilanga $592
Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $941 per month in Chilanga vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Chilanga $941
Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $1,290 per month in Chilanga vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Chilanga $1,290
Chiang Mai $1,914

Chilanga is about 37% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Chilanga and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Chilanga 56% lower, Chiang Mai 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.68 ZMW 113

$2.26 ฿75.4

151.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.64 ZMW 610

$19.18 ฿641

59.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.00 ZMW 99.5

$5.59 ฿187

-10.55%

Cappuccino

$2.86 ZMW 56.9

$1.72 ฿57.6

66.28%

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

$0.80 ZMW 15.85

$0.64 ฿21.54

25.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 ZMW 9.21

$0.33 ฿11.18

39.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.24 ZMW 24.63

$2.36 ฿78.7

-47.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 ZMW 44.19

$3.90 ฿130

-43.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 ZMW 34.30

$2.05 ฿68.6

-16.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.23 ZMW 24.46

$1.40 ฿46.70

-12.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.14 ZMW 42.58

$1.28 ฿42.89

67.19%

Eggs

$2.01 ZMW 39.92

$2.25 ฿75.3

-10.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.58 ZMW 211

$16.94 ฿566

-37.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.27 ZMW 125

$2.74 ฿91.6

128.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.61 ZMW 132

$9.36 ฿313

-29.38%

Apples (1kg)

$3.43 ZMW 68.3

$2.40 ฿80.3

42.92%

Banana (1kg)

$2.38 ZMW 47.42

$1.01 ฿33.92

135.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.72 ZMW 74.0

$1.61 ฿53.9

131.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ZMW 30.59

$1.52 ฿50.7

1.32%

Potato (1kg)

$2.64 ZMW 52.5

$1.28 ฿42.90

106.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 ZMW 35.83

$1.11 ฿37.22

62.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 ZMW 22.01

$0.72 ฿24.09

54.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 ZMW 15.11

$0.52 ฿17.54

46.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.09 ZMW 61.4

$4.33 ฿145

-28.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.33 ZMW 205

$17.73 ฿593

-41.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 ZMW 28.40

$1.63 ฿54.4

-12.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 ZMW 47.15

$2.85 ฿95.3

-16.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 ฿28.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.9 ฿1,801

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.60 ZMW 51.8

$1.17 ฿39.18

122.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 ZMW 30.51

$0.57 ฿19.00

168.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.22 ZMW 104

$2.37 ฿79.2

120.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 ZMW 29.91

$1.45 ฿48.32

3.45%

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

$7,599 ZMW 151.1K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

-62.89%

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

$27.6K ZMW 549.7K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

4.25%

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

$82.5 ZMW 1,640

$62.3 ฿2,083

32.30%

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

$10.31 ZMW 205

$12.27 ฿410

-15.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.4 ZMW 1,082

$19.97 ฿668

172.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.91 ฿1,267

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.76 ฿126

Cinema Ticket

$6.23 ZMW 124

$6.71 ฿224

-7.15%

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

$140 ZMW 2,786

$797 ฿26.6K

-82.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ZMW 330.0K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

11.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.42 ZMW 466

$53.3 ฿1,780

-56.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.73 ZMW 313

$25.05 ฿837

-37.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$44.76 ZMW 890

$91.6 ฿3,062

-51.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.9 ZMW 1,450

$73.5 ฿2,455

-0.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$464 ฿15.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$305 ฿10.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$915 ฿30.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$552 ฿18.5K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,912 ฿63.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,438 ฿48.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

420.65%

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

Last update for Chilanga: October 11, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Chilanga

$241 40.7%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 1.1% $2.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chilanga

$147 24.9%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 35.7% $53

Eating Out

Chilanga

$110 18.7%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 28.5% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Chilanga

$71 11.9%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 55.2% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Chilanga

$12 * 2.1%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 312% $39

Getting Around

Chilanga

$10 * 1.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 497% $51

Accommodation & Living

Chilanga

- * 0%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $31.00 in Chilanga versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $241 vs $238 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇲 Chilanga

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

07:32 7:32 AM

12:32 12:32 PM

5 h ahead of Chilanga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

107,051

127,240

💱 Currency

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZMW = 5.03 USD

100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ZMW – Zambian Kwacha Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇲 Zambian Kwacha (ZK)

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 19.89 ZMW (100 ZMW = 5.03 USD). 1 EUR = 22.36 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to ZMW in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chilanga Chiang Mai 8,630 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Chilanga
Chiang Mai

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

Chilanga vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 59% more than Chilanga, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $887 per month in Chilanga and $1,408 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $31.00 in Chilanga and $19.00 in Chiang Mai. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 1% cheaper in Chiang Mai – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Chilanga, where all-in costs run around $592, than in Chiang Mai at $938. In Chilanga it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chiang Mai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chilanga costs $592 versus $938 in Chiang Mai. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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