Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dambulla and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Dambulla: $505 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Dambulla
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Dambulla Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Dambulla

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$505

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dambulla 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 Dambulla and in Chiang Mai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $505 per month in Dambulla vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Dambulla $505
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $818 per month in Dambulla vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Dambulla $818
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $1,131 per month in Dambulla vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Dambulla $1,131
Chiang Mai $1,979

Dambulla is about 46% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Dambulla and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Dambulla 63% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.85 LKR 1,281

$2.24 ฿75.7

71.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.00 LKR 8,311

$19.00 ฿642

31.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.66 LKR 2,546

$5.55 ฿188

38.02%

Cappuccino

$2.47 LKR 821

$1.67 ฿56.6

47.90%

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

$0.67 LKR 224

$0.64 ฿21.56

4.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 89.9

$0.31 ฿10.32

-12.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.27 LKR 753

$2.36 ฿79.6

-3.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 LKR 975

$3.66 ฿124

-19.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 LKR 543

$1.95 ฿65.8

-16.41%

White Bread (500g)

$0.56 LKR 188

$1.44 ฿48.51

-61.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 LKR 254

$1.33 ฿45.07

-42.11%

Eggs

$1.63 LKR 542

$2.28 ฿77.1

-28.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.55 LKR 4,504

$16.45 ฿556

-17.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.92 LKR 1,635

$2.78 ฿94.0

76.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.30 LKR 2,428

$9.31 ฿314

-21.59%

Apples (1kg)

$6.47 LKR 2,152

$2.35 ฿79.5

175.32%

Banana (1kg)

$0.87 LKR 289

$0.97 ฿32.82

-10.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.33 LKR 1,441

$1.60 ฿53.9

170.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 LKR 440

$1.50 ฿50.7

-12.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.01 LKR 336

$1.28 ฿43.15

-21.09%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 LKR 262

$1.10 ฿37.22

-28.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 LKR 289

$0.71 ฿23.84

22.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 LKR 142

$0.49 ฿16.38

-12.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.35 LKR 3,440

$4.14 ฿140

150.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.67 LKR 4,214

$17.52 ฿592

-27.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 LKR 627

$1.61 ฿54.5

17.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 LKR 974

$2.78 ฿94.0

5.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.07 LKR 23.76

$0.87 ฿29.33

-91.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.38 LKR 126

$1.16 ฿39.08

-67.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 LKR 125

$0.53 ฿17.82

-28.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.87 LKR 289

$2.42 ฿81.8

-64.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 LKR 456

$1.45 ฿48.93

-5.52%

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

$43.7K LKR 14.5M

$21.1K ฿711.2K

107.71%

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

$41.0K LKR 13.6M

$26.9K ฿909.8K

52.06%

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

$59.8 LKR 19.9K

$62.2 ฿2,100

-3.88%

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

$4.30 LKR 1,431

$12.17 ฿411

-64.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.98 LKR 6,976

$20.12 ฿680

4.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,260

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$4.57 LKR 1,520

$6.49 ฿219

-29.58%

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

$37.27 LKR 12.4K

$736 ฿24.9K

-94.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,199 LKR 398.5K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-91.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.35 LKR 6,102

$53.4 ฿1,802

-65.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.43 LKR 5,462

$24.64 ฿832

-33.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.1 LKR 26.0K

$91.5 ฿3,089

-14.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.03 LKR 13.6K

$71.9 ฿2,429

-42.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿34.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

5.57

127.83%

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

Last update for Dambulla: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dambulla

$234 46.4%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 0.1% $0.3

Eating Out

Dambulla

$104 20.7%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 25.7% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dambulla

$85 16.9%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 11.1% $9.4

Clothing & Footwear

Dambulla

$69 13.7%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 56.9% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Dambulla

$9.2 * 1.8%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 450% $41

Getting Around

Dambulla

$2.5 * 0.5%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 2316% $59

Accommodation & Living

Dambulla

- * 0%

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

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 $25 in Dambulla versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $234 in Dambulla vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so Dambulla wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Dambulla

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

04:28 4:28 AM

05:58 5:58 AM

1 h 30 min ahead of Dambulla

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

68,800

127,240

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dambulla Chiang Mai 2,320 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Dambulla
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

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

Chiang Mai costs about 85% more than Dambulla, 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 $757 per month in Dambulla and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $505 in Dambulla and $936 in Chiang Mai. That makes Dambulla about 46% cheaper.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $25 in Dambulla and $19 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $505 in Dambulla and $936 in Chiang Mai, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $505 in Dambulla to $936 in Chiang Mai. 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.