Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Durres and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,128 in Durres, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Durres
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Durres Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Durres

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,128

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,128 per month in Durres vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Durres $1,128
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,732 per month in Durres vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Durres $1,732
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $2,336 per month in Durres vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Durres $2,336
Chiang Mai $1,979

Durres costs about 21% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Durres and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Durres 17% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.48 ALL 849

$2.24 ฿75.5

367.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.19 ALL 3,013

$19.00 ฿640

95.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.37 ALL 840

$5.55 ฿187

86.85%

Cappuccino

$2.07 ALL 168

$1.67 ฿56.4

23.95%

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

$2.12 ALL 172

$0.64 ฿21.51

231.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.07 ALL 86.9

$0.31 ฿10.29

245.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 ALL 248

$2.36 ฿79.5

29.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 ALL 359

$3.66 ฿123

21.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.08 ALL 168

$1.95 ฿65.7

6.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.03 ALL 83.4

$1.44 ฿48.41

-28.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.29 ALL 185

$1.33 ฿44.97

72.18%

Eggs

$3.86 ALL 312

$2.28 ฿77.0

69.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.69 ALL 1,028

$16.45 ฿554

-22.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.78 ALL 631

$2.78 ฿93.8

179.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 ALL 1,217

$9.31 ฿314

61.33%

Apples (1kg)

$1.20 ALL 97.4

$2.35 ฿79.3

-48.94%

Banana (1kg)

$2.43 ALL 197

$0.97 ฿32.75

150.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 ALL 126

$1.60 ฿53.8

-2.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 ALL 107

$1.50 ฿50.6

-12.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.90 ALL 73.1

$1.28 ฿43.06

-29.69%

Onion (1kg)

$0.95 ALL 77.2

$1.10 ฿37.14

-13.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 ALL 99.1

$0.71 ฿23.79

71.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 ALL 57.4

$0.49 ฿16.34

44.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ALL 359

$4.14 ฿140

7.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.99 ALL 890

$17.52 ฿590

-37.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 ALL 121

$1.61 ฿54.4

-7.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 ALL 169

$2.78 ฿93.8

-25.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.48 ALL 38.50

$0.87 ฿29.27

-44.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.58 ALL 1,586

$54.1 ฿1,823

-63.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.65 ALL 296

$1.16 ฿39.00

214.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.50 ALL 202

$0.53 ฿17.78

371.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.6

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 ALL 178

$1.45 ฿48.82

51.72%

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

$16.0K ALL 1.3M

$21.1K ฿709.7K

-23.83%

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

$25.6K ALL 2.1M

$26.9K ฿907.9K

-5.01%

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

$90.2 ALL 7,310

$62.2 ฿2,095

45.15%

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

$18.02 ALL 1,460

$12.17 ฿410

48.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.33 ALL 1,323

$20.12 ฿678

-18.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.02 ALL 3,323

$37.31 ฿1,257

9.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$61.3 ALL 4,963

$3.77 ฿127

1524.93%

Cinema Ticket

$7.52 ALL 610

$6.49 ฿219

15.87%

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

$189 ALL 15.3K

$736 ฿24.8K

-74.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,673 ALL 378.6K

$14.8K ฿497.6K

-68.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$38.78 ALL 3,142

$53.4 ฿1,799

-27.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.46 ALL 3,358

$24.64 ฿830

68.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.1 ALL 7,216

$91.5 ฿3,083

-2.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$162 ALL 13.1K

$71.9 ฿2,424

125.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$451 ALL 36.5K

$482 ฿16.3K

-6.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$321 ALL 26.0K

$309 ฿10.4K

3.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$703 ALL 57.0K

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-30.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$463 ALL 37.5K

$633 ฿21.3K

-26.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,993 ALL 161.5K

$2,363 ฿79.6K

-15.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,302 ALL 105.5K

$1,589 ฿53.6K

-18.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$977 ALL 79.1K

$590 ฿19.9K

65.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

5.57

-5.75%

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

Last update for Durres: 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

Durres

$321 28.5%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 3.8% $12

Groceries & Markets

Durres

$263 23.3%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 10.8% $28

Eating Out

Durres

$177 15.7%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 56.1% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Durres

$149 13.2%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 27.1% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Durres

$125 11.1%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 24.2% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Durres

$56 5%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 10.3% $5.8

Getting Around

Durres

$38 3.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 63.1% $24

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $451 in Durres 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.

Salaries run about 66% higher in Durres. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $37 in Durres versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $263 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇱 Durres

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

06:14 6:14 AM

12:14 12:14 PM

6 h ahead of Durres

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

175,110

127,240

💱 Currency

Albanian Lek ALL L

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ALL = 1.23 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ALL – Albanian Lek Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇱 Albanian Lek (L)

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 81.01 ALL (100 ALL = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 90.8 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.77 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to ALL in detail →

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Between locations

Durres Chiang Mai 7,790 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Durres
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

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

Durres costs about 21% 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 $1,692 per month in Durres and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $451 in Durres and $482 in Chiang Mai. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Kindergarten costs $189 per month in Durres and $736 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 12% more in Durres, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,128 in Durres and $936 in Chiang Mai. 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 $1,128 in Durres. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Durres makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.