Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dibba Al-Fujairah and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,957 in Dibba Al-Fujairah, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

94

Cost of Living Index in Dibba Al-Fujairah
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Dibba Al-Fujairah Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Dibba Al-Fujairah

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$1,957

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,957 per month in Dibba Al-Fujairah vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Dibba Al-Fujairah $1,957
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,564 per month in Dibba Al-Fujairah vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Dibba Al-Fujairah $3,564
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $5,170 per month in Dibba Al-Fujairah vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Dibba Al-Fujairah $5,170
Chiang Mai $1,979

Dibba Al-Fujairah costs about 109% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Dibba Al-Fujairah sits 44% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.63 AED 24.36

$2.24 ฿75.6

195.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.3 AED 302

$19.00 ฿641

333.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.22 AED 30.19

$5.55 ฿187

48.11%

Cappuccino

$6.02 AED 22.09

$1.67 ฿56.5

260.48%

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

$0.84 AED 3.08

$0.64 ฿21.53

31.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 AED 0.94

$0.31 ฿10.30

-16.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.48 AED 49.49

$2.36 ฿79.5

471.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.48 AED 49.49

$3.66 ฿124

268.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 AED 4.90

$1.95 ฿65.7

-31.28%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 AED 4.09

$1.44 ฿48.45

-22.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.38 AED 8.75

$1.33 ฿45.01

78.95%

Eggs

$2.13 AED 7.80

$2.28 ฿77.0

-6.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.19 AED 44.78

$16.45 ฿555

-25.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.91 AED 25.36

$2.78 ฿93.8

148.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.00 AED 25.70

$9.31 ฿314

-24.81%

Apples (1kg)

$1.60 AED 5.89

$2.35 ฿79.4

-31.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.33 AED 4.88

$0.97 ฿32.78

37.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.01

$1.60 ฿53.9

19.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 AED 4.86

$1.50 ฿50.6

-12.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.80 AED 2.92

$1.28 ฿43.10

-37.50%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 AED 3.11

$1.10 ฿37.17

-22.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 AED 4.93

$0.71 ฿23.81

88.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 AED 2.05

$0.49 ฿16.36

14.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.08 AED 22.34

$4.14 ฿140

46.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.29 AED 59.8

$17.52 ฿591

-7.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.59 AED 9.52

$1.61 ฿54.5

60.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 AED 9.95

$2.78 ฿93.9

-2.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.17 AED 7.96

$0.87 ฿29.29

149.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.61 AED 127

$54.1 ฿1,825

-36.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.11 AED 4.08

$1.16 ฿39.03

-4.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.73 AED 2.67

$0.53 ฿17.79

37.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.25

$2.42 ฿81.7

228.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.71 AED 2.59

$1.45 ฿48.87

-51.03%

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

$26.1K AED 96.0K

$21.1K ฿710.3K

24.14%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$26.9K ฿908.7K

-18.19%

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

$244 AED 894

$62.2 ฿2,097

291.75%

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

$53.8 AED 198

$12.17 ฿410

342.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$81.3 AED 299

$20.12 ฿679

303.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.5 AED 208

$37.31 ฿1,259

51.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.01 AED 103

$3.77 ฿127

642.97%

Cinema Ticket

$16.39 AED 60.2

$6.49 ฿219

152.54%

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

$868 AED 3,189

$736 ฿24.8K

17.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,795 AED 21.3K

$14.8K ฿498.0K

-60.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.7 AED 248

$53.4 ฿1,800

26.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 AED 213

$24.64 ฿831

135.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 AED 384

$91.5 ฿3,086

14.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$71.9 ฿2,426

40.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$824 AED 3,027

$482 ฿16.3K

70.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$812 AED 2,981

$309 ฿10.4K

162.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,842 AED 6,764

$1,006 ฿33.9K

83.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,705 AED 9,933

$633 ฿21.4K

326.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,852 AED 17.8K

$2,363 ฿79.7K

105.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,337 AED 8,581

$1,589 ฿53.6K

47.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

5.57

-18.49%

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

Last update for Dibba Al-Fujairah: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$812 41.5%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 61.9% $503

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$379 19.4%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 75.1% $284

Eating Out

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$249 12.7%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 68.8% $171

Groceries & Markets

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$232 11.9%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 1% $2.4

Clothing & Footwear

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$149 7.6%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 27.1% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$89 4.6%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 43.7% $39

Getting Around

Dibba Al-Fujairah

$48 2.5%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 27.8% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $824 in Dibba Al-Fujairah versus $482 in Chiang Mai. 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 $82 in Dibba Al-Fujairah versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $232 in Dibba Al-Fujairah vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so Dibba Al-Fujairah wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dibba Al-Fujairah

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

18:15 6:15 PM

21:15 9:15 PM

3 h ahead of Dibba Al-Fujairah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

30,000

127,240

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.244 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.1 AED (1 AED = 0.244 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dibba Al-Fujairah Chiang Mai 4,440 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Dibba Al-Fujairah
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

Dibba Al-Fujairah vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dibba Al-Fujairah costs about 109% 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 $2,936 per month in Dibba Al-Fujairah and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. 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 $824 in Dibba Al-Fujairah.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $82 in Dibba Al-Fujairah and $19 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Public transport costs about 36% less in Dibba Al-Fujairah. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,957 in Dibba Al-Fujairah and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Chiang Mai – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.