Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between El Calafate and Chiang Mai

For one person, living costs are similar in El Calafate and in Chiang Mai: $961 and $938 a month, rent and utilities included.

47

Cost of Living Index in El Calafate
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El Calafate Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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El Calafate

🇦🇷 Argentina

$961

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $961 per month in El Calafate vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

El Calafate $961
Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $1,574 per month in El Calafate vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

El Calafate $1,574
Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $2,187 per month in El Calafate vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

El Calafate $2,187
Chiang Mai $1,914

El Calafate costs about 2% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both El Calafate and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – El Calafate 29% lower, Chiang Mai 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.66 ARS 16.2K

$2.26 ฿75.4

371.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.87 ARS 51.4K

$19.18 ฿641

76.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.85 ARS 13.4K

$5.59 ฿187

58.32%

Cappuccino

$2.77 ARS 4,198

$1.72 ฿57.6

61.05%

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

$1.64 ARS 2,484

$0.64 ฿21.54

156.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 ARS 2,268

$0.33 ฿11.18

351.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.08 ARS 3,157

$2.36 ฿78.7

-11.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 ARS 4,452

$3.90 ฿130

-24.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 ARS 1,887

$2.05 ฿68.6

-39.51%

White Bread (500g)

$1.61 ARS 2,446

$1.40 ฿46.70

15.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 ARS 2,930

$1.28 ฿42.89

50.78%

Eggs

$2.20 ARS 3,346

$2.25 ฿75.3

-2.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.29 ARS 15.6K

$16.94 ฿566

-39.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.07 ARS 9,209

$2.74 ฿91.6

121.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.50 ARS 14.4K

$9.36 ฿313

1.50%

Apples (1kg)

$1.95 ARS 2,963

$2.40 ฿80.3

-18.75%

Banana (1kg)

$2.11 ARS 3,205

$1.01 ฿33.92

108.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.33 ARS 2,015

$1.61 ฿53.9

-17.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.62 ARS 3,973

$1.52 ฿50.7

72.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.19 ARS 1,808

$1.28 ฿42.90

-7.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.20 ARS 1,821

$1.11 ฿37.22

8.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 ARS 1,973

$0.72 ฿24.09

80.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 ARS 2,245

$0.52 ฿17.54

184.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.16 ARS 4,800

$4.33 ฿145

-27.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.97 ARS 7,536

$17.73 ฿593

-71.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.06 ARS 3,133

$1.63 ฿54.4

26.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 ARS 4,799

$2.85 ฿95.3

10.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 ARS 1,159

$0.85 ฿28.31

-10.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.9 ฿1,801

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ARS 2,293

$1.17 ฿39.18

29.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.87 ARS 1,322

$0.57 ฿19.00

52.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.89 ARS 8,934

$2.37 ฿79.2

148.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 ARS 1,600

$1.45 ฿48.32

-27.59%

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

$27.4K ARS 41.6M

$20.5K ฿684.3K

33.99%

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

$30.2K ARS 45.9M

$26.5K ฿886.1K

14.00%

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

$66.5 ARS 100.9K

$62.3 ฿2,083

6.67%

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

$16.85 ARS 25.6K

$12.27 ฿410

37.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.42 ARS 34.0K

$19.97 ฿668

12.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.64 ARS 40.4K

$37.91 ฿1,267

-29.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.53 ARS 20.5K

$3.76 ฿126

259.84%

Cinema Ticket

$6.34 ARS 9,617

$6.71 ฿224

-5.51%

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

$224 ARS 340.0K

$797 ฿26.6K

-71.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,679 ARS 4.1M

$14.8K ฿495.7K

-81.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.7 ARS 110.3K

$53.3 ฿1,780

36.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.7 ARS 107.3K

$25.05 ฿837

182.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.7K

$91.6 ฿3,062

24.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 ARS 172.2K

$73.5 ฿2,455

54.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$342 ARS 518.6K

$464 ฿15.5K

-26.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$235 ARS 357.2K

$305 ฿10.2K

-22.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ARS 1.1M

$915 ฿30.6K

-24.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$533 ARS 809.3K

$552 ฿18.5K

-3.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

$1,912 ฿63.9K

-2.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,600 ARS 2.4M

$1,438 ฿48.1K

11.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

58.5

5.57

950.27%

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

Last update for El Calafate: October 12, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

El Calafate

$235 24.5%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 29.4% $69

Groceries & Markets

El Calafate

$231 24%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 3% $6.8

Eating Out

El Calafate

$174 18.1%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 54.5% $95

Clothing & Footwear

El Calafate

$167 17.4%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 34.5% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

El Calafate

$106 11%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 10.6% $11

Sport & Entertainment

El Calafate

$39 4.1%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 30.6% $12

Getting Around

El Calafate

$8.9 * 0.9%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 587% $52

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $342 in El Calafate versus $464 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 $34.00 in El Calafate versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $231 in El Calafate vs $238 in Chiang Mai – so El Calafate wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇦🇷 El Calafate

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

10:22 10:22 AM

20:22 8:22 PM

10 h ahead of El Calafate

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

22,844

127,240

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

El Calafate Chiang Mai 16,420 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

El Calafate
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

El Calafate vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

El Calafate costs about 2% 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 $1,442 per month in El Calafate and $1,408 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $34.00 in El Calafate and $19.00 in Chiang Mai. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 3% cheaper in El Calafate – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Chiang Mai, where all-in costs run around $938, than in El Calafate at $961. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in El Calafate it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $938 versus $961 in El Calafate. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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