Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Eastleigh and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,432 in Eastleigh, rent and utilities included – about $18,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

118

Cost of Living Index in Eastleigh
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Eastleigh Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Eastleigh

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,432

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,432 per month in Eastleigh vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Eastleigh $2,432
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,529 per month in Eastleigh vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Eastleigh $3,529
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $4,625 per month in Eastleigh vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Eastleigh $4,625
Chiang Mai $1,979

Eastleigh costs about 160% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Eastleigh sits 79% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.67 £17.65

$2.24 ฿75.5

956.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.6 £60.1

$19.00 ฿640

324.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.51 £7.09

$5.55 ฿187

71.35%

Cappuccino

$4.75 £3.54

$1.67 ฿56.4

184.43%

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

$2.65 £1.98

$0.64 ฿21.51

314.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.77 £0.57

$0.31 ฿10.29

148.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.38 £4.01

$2.36 ฿79.5

127.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.46 £4.07

$3.66 ฿123

49.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 £1.24

$1.95 ฿65.7

-14.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 £1.37

$1.44 ฿48.41

27.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.09 £1.56

$1.33 ฿44.97

57.14%

Eggs

$3.10 £2.31

$2.28 ฿77.0

35.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.62 £3.44

$16.45 ฿554

-71.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.22 £7.62

$2.78 ฿93.8

267.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.24 £15.09

$9.31 ฿314

117.40%

Apples (1kg)

$4.19 £3.13

$2.35 ฿79.3

78.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 £1.07

$0.97 ฿32.75

47.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 £1.44

$1.60 ฿53.8

21.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.35 £2.49

$1.50 ฿50.6

123.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 £1.14

$1.28 ฿43.06

19.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 £1.42

$1.10 ฿37.14

72.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.60 £1.19

$0.71 ฿23.79

125.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 £1.08

$0.49 ฿16.34

195.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.49 £17.52

$4.14 ฿140

467.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.10 £8.28

$17.52 ฿590

-36.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.32

$1.61 ฿54.4

93.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 £2.29

$2.78 ฿93.8

10.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.56 £2.65

$0.87 ฿29.27

309.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.8 £73.0

$54.1 ฿1,823

80.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.94 £3.69

$1.16 ฿39.00

325.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 £1.61

$0.53 ฿17.78

305.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.60 £19.09

$2.42 ฿81.6

957.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 £1.49

$1.45 ฿48.82

37.93%

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

$39.0K £29.1K

$21.1K ฿709.7K

85.31%

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

$40.2K £30.0K

$26.9K ฿907.9K

49.24%

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

$377 £281

$62.2 ฿2,095

507.05%

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

$24.24 £18.08

$12.17 ฿410

99.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.4 £37.58

$20.12 ฿678

150.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.50 £33.93

$37.31 ฿1,257

21.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.92 £8.89

$3.77 ฿127

216.18%

Cinema Ticket

$17.75 £13.23

$6.49 ฿219

173.50%

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

$1,322 £986

$736 ฿24.8K

79.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.6K £16.8K

$14.8K ฿497.6K

52.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.8 £49.81

$53.4 ฿1,799

25.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.72 £34.84

$24.64 ฿830

89.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.7 £53.5

$91.5 ฿3,083

-21.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.9 £60.3

$71.9 ฿2,424

12.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,252 £934

$482 ฿16.3K

159.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,014 £756

$309 ฿10.4K

228.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,133 £1,590

$1,006 ฿33.9K

112.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,651 £1,231

$633 ฿21.3K

160.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,965 £3,703

$2,363 ฿79.6K

110.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,854 £2,874

$1,589 ฿53.6K

142.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.54

5.57

-0.54%

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

Last update for Eastleigh: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Eastleigh

$1K 41.7%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 69.5% $705

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Eastleigh

$452 18.6%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 79.1% $358

Eating Out

Eastleigh

$326 13.4%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 76.2% $249

Groceries & Markets

Eastleigh

$312 12.8%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 24.8% $77

Getting Around

Eastleigh

$128 5.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 52% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Eastleigh

$120 4.9%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 9.3% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Eastleigh

$81 3.3%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 37.9% $31

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,252 in Eastleigh 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 $81 in Eastleigh versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $312 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Eastleigh

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

08:41 8:41 AM

15:41 3:41 PM

7 h ahead of Eastleigh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

123,160

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.746 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.835 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.73 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Eastleigh Chiang Mai 9,090 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Eastleigh
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

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

Eastleigh costs about 160% 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 $3,649 per month in Eastleigh 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 $1,252 in Eastleigh.

Kindergarten costs $1,322 per month in Eastleigh 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 33% more in Eastleigh, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,432 in Eastleigh 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.

For expats, Chiang Mai is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 62% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.