Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Delhi and Chiang Rai

For one person, living is cheaper in Delhi: $522 a month against $710 in Chiang Rai, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Delhi
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Delhi Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Rai
Learn more

Chiang Rai Living Index

Jump to prices

Delhi

🇮🇳 India

$522

/mo nomad

Chiang Rai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$710

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Delhi and in Chiang Rai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $522 in Delhi versus $710 in Chiang Rai.

Delhi $522
Chiang Rai $710

Estimated couple costs with rent: $872 in Delhi versus $1,133 in Chiang Rai.

Delhi $872
Chiang Rai $1,133

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,222 in Delhi versus $1,556 in Chiang Rai.

Delhi $1,222
Chiang Rai $1,556

Living in Delhi costs roughly 27% less than in Chiang Rai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Delhi 61% lower, Chiang Rai 47% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.70 ₹351

$2.19 ฿73.1

68.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.05 ₹1,999

$15.08 ฿504

39.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.73 ₹354

$5.47 ฿183

-31.81%

Cappuccino

$2.35 ₹223

$1.32 ฿44.11

78.03%

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

$0.37 ₹35.21

$0.64 ฿21.44

-42.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.15 ₹13.93

$0.27 ฿8.97

-44.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 ₹203

$1.60 ฿53.5

33.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 ₹291

$3.65 ฿122

-16.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.69 ₹65.1

$1.99 ฿66.4

-65.33%

White Bread (500g)

$0.53 ₹50.0

$1.45 ฿48.49

-63.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 ₹73.1

$1.16 ฿38.71

-33.62%

Eggs

$1.11 ₹105

$1.91 ฿63.7

-41.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.63 ₹440

$16.63 ฿556

-72.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.52 ₹334

$2.79 ฿93.3

26.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.06 ฿303

Apples (1kg)

$2.00 ₹190

$2.40 ฿80.1

-16.67%

Banana (1kg)

$0.74 ₹70.5

$0.86 ฿28.60

-13.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.97 ₹92.6

$1.57 ฿52.4

-38.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.53 ₹49.92

$0.93 ฿31.22

-43.01%

Potato (1kg)

$0.30 ₹28.61

$1.22 ฿40.89

-75.41%

Onion (1kg)

$0.40 ₹37.82

$1.06 ฿35.52

-62.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.42 ₹39.62

$0.77 ฿25.83

-45.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.31 ₹29.81

$0.52 ฿17.44

-40.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.94 ₹469

$3.77 ฿126

31.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.21 ₹779

$18.03 ฿603

-54.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 ₹150

$1.58 ฿52.7

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 ₹255

$2.75 ฿92.0

-2.18%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$6.19 ₹588

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.46 ₹43.46

$0.84 ฿28.01

-45.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.78 ₹1,498

$22.09 ฿738

-28.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.07 ₹102

$1.22 ฿40.68

-12.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.27 ₹25.66

$0.53 ฿17.76

-49.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.58 ₹150

$2.42 ฿80.8

-34.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.07 ₹101

$1.34 ฿44.94

-20.15%

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

$10.7K ₹1.0M

$21.0K ฿702.0K

-49.26%

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

$18.9K ₹1.8M

$26.8K ฿895.7K

-29.34%

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

$42.37 ₹4,024

$61.2 ฿2,046

-30.80%

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

$4.03 ₹383

$12.51 ฿418

-67.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$6.95 ₹660

$13.60 ฿455

-48.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.18 ₹1,821

$35.64 ฿1,191

-46.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.92 ₹752

$5.85 ฿196

35.38%

Cinema Ticket

$5.27 ₹500

$2.95 ฿98.5

78.64%

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

$100 ₹9,525

$783 ฿26.2K

-87.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,247 ₹213.4K

$14.7K ฿492.1K

-84.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$24.11 ₹2,290

$55.3 ฿1,849

-56.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.85 ₹2,645

$24.42 ฿816

14.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$52.4 ₹4,977

$75.7 ฿2,530

-30.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.90 ₹4,074

$71.6 ฿2,393

-40.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$267 ₹25.4K

$228 ฿7,613

17.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$156 ₹14.8K

$151 ฿5,047

3.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$734 ₹69.7K

$509 ฿17.0K

44.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$394 ₹37.5K

$359 ฿12.0K

9.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,507 ₹238.0K

$1,911 ฿63.9K

31.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,020 ₹96.8K

$967 ฿32.3K

5.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$608 ₹57.7K

$583 ฿19.5K

4.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.33

5.57

49.55%

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

Last update for Delhi: October 12, 2026

Last update for Chiang Rai: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Delhi

$156 29.9%

Chiang Rai

$151 21.3% 3.1% $4.9

Groceries & Markets

Delhi

$109 20.9%

Chiang Rai

$230 32.4% 111% $121

Eating Out

Delhi

$88 16.8%

Chiang Rai

$69 9.7% 21.8% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Delhi

$66 12.7%

Chiang Rai

$102 14.4% 54.2% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Delhi

$53 10.2%

Chiang Rai

$87 12.3% 63.7% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Delhi

$30 5.7%

Chiang Rai

$42 5.9% 39.8% $12

Getting Around

Delhi

$20 3.8%

Chiang Rai

$29 4.1% 46.4% $9.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $267 in Delhi and $228 in Chiang Rai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Delhi pays 4% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $21.00 in Delhi vs $15.00 in Chiang Rai. Groceries flip the comparison at $109 vs $230, with Delhi cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇳 Delhi

🇹🇭 Chiang Rai

🕒 Local time

06:39 6:39 AM

08:09 8:09 AM

1 h 30 min ahead of Delhi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

16,787,941 Capital

77,672

💱 Currency

Indian Rupee INR ₹

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to INR – Indian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇳 Indian Rupee (₹)

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to INR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Delhi Chiang Rai 2,480 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Delhi
Chiang Rai

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

Delhi vs Chiang Rai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Delhi and Chiang Rai differ by about 36% in total monthly costs ($522 vs $710 including rent). Delhi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 4% higher in Delhi, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $267 in Delhi versus $228 in Chiang Rai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $100 in Delhi versus $783 in Chiang Rai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 111% higher in Chiang Rai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Delhi gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Delhi and Chiang Rai are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Delhi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Chiang Rai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.