Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between El Faiyum and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in El Faiyum: $434 a month against $925 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

21

Cost of Living Index in El Faiyum
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El Faiyum Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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El Faiyum

🇪🇬 Egypt

$434

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $434 per month in El Faiyum vs $925 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

El Faiyum $434
Chiang Mai $925

A couple spends around $693 per month in El Faiyum vs $1,414 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

El Faiyum $693
Chiang Mai $1,414

A family of three spends $952 per month in El Faiyum vs $1,903 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

El Faiyum $952
Chiang Mai $1,903

El Faiyum is about 53% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both El Faiyum and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – El Faiyum 68% lower, Chiang Mai 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.29 E£122

$2.29 ฿76.5

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.74 E£680

$19.64 ฿656

-35.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.30 E£176

$5.61 ฿188

-41.18%

Cappuccino

$1.19 E£63.3

$1.66 ฿55.6

-28.31%

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

$0.29 E£15.59

$0.70 ฿23.40

-58.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.10 E£5.10

$0.31 ฿10.24

-67.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.89 E£47.70

$2.41 ฿80.4

-63.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 E£120

$3.71 ฿124

-39.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.74 E£39.61

$1.95 ฿65.3

-62.05%

White Bread (500g)

$0.67 E£35.72

$1.41 ฿47.03

-52.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.62 E£32.99

$1.31 ฿43.62

-52.67%

Eggs

$1.16 E£62.1

$2.18 ฿72.9

-46.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.03 E£162

$16.65 ฿556

-81.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.23 E£226

$2.76 ฿92.2

53.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.74 E£360

$9.11 ฿304

-26.02%

Apples (1kg)

$1.46 E£78.1

$2.39 ฿80.0

-38.91%

Banana (1kg)

$0.61 E£32.60

$1.03 ฿34.26

-40.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.54 E£28.93

$1.63 ฿54.4

-66.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.32 E£16.87

$1.50 ฿50.0

-78.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.26 E£14.00

$1.29 ฿43.13

-79.84%

Onion (1kg)

$0.29 E£15.74

$1.11 ฿37.03

-73.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.25 E£13.22

$0.72 ฿24.08

-65.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.23 E£12.18

$0.53 ฿17.59

-56.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.73 E£92.4

$4.31 ฿144

-59.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.54 E£296

$17.95 ฿600

-69.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 E£64.6

$1.58 ฿52.9

-23.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 E£105

$2.84 ฿95.0

-30.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.05 E£2.84

$0.86 ฿28.86

-94.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.41 E£289

$53.3 ฿1,780

-89.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 E£20.71

$1.21 ฿40.29

-67.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 E£15.69

$0.57 ฿18.99

-49.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 E£63.3

$2.35 ฿78.6

-49.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.41 E£21.65

$1.44 ฿47.96

-71.53%

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

$33.3K E£1.8M

$20.7K ฿692.8K

60.43%

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

$25.2K E£1.3M

$26.8K ฿895.7K

-5.95%

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

$13.75 E£734

$62.3 ฿2,083

-77.94%

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

$6.55 E£350

$12.11 ฿405

-45.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.01 E£695

$19.94 ฿666

-34.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.39 E£1,462

$37.07 ฿1,239

-26.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.78 ฿126

Cinema Ticket

$2.17 E£116

$6.50 ฿217

-66.62%

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

$23.56 E£1,258

$793 ฿26.5K

-97.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$821 E£43.8K

$14.8K ฿494.9K

-94.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.17 E£1,718

$53.7 ฿1,796

-40.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.92 E£2,345

$24.62 ฿823

78.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$126 E£6,719

$90.9 ฿3,036

38.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$54.1 E£2,888

$71.1 ฿2,378

-23.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$163 E£8,682

$455 ฿15.2K

-64.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$80.5 E£4,299

$298 ฿9,954

-72.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$258 E£13.8K

$908 ฿30.4K

-71.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$152 E£8,097

$554 ฿18.5K

-72.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$427 E£22.8K

$1,931 ฿64.5K

-77.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$221 E£11.8K

$1,445 ฿48.3K

-84.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$70.5 E£3,762

$591 ฿19.7K

-88.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

7.72%

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

Last update for El Faiyum: October 20, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Clothing & Footwear

El Faiyum

$115 26.6%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7% 6.1% $7

Groceries & Markets

El Faiyum

$113 26%

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5% 109% $123

Accommodation & Living

El Faiyum

$81 18.6%

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2% 270% $217

Eating Out

El Faiyum

$53 12.2%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5% 48.4% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

El Faiyum

$33 7.7%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2% 183% $61

Sport & Entertainment

El Faiyum

$32 7.3%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 57.8% $18

Getting Around

El Faiyum

$7.5 1.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 713% $53

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $163 in El Faiyum versus $455 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 739% higher in Chiang Mai, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $13.00 in El Faiyum versus $20.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $113 vs $235 – making El Faiyum the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 El Faiyum

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

13:53 1:53 PM

17:53 5:53 PM

4 h ahead of El Faiyum

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

306,393

127,240

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

El Faiyum Chiang Mai 6,930 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Chiang Mai costs about 113% more than El Faiyum, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $651 per month in El Faiyum and $1,388 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in El Faiyum, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $23.56 per month in El Faiyum and $793 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 109% more in Chiang Mai, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in El Faiyum, where all-in costs run around $434, than in Chiang Mai at $925. In El Faiyum it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chiang Mai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. El Faiyum costs $434 versus $925 in Chiang Mai. 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 El Faiyum. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Chiang Mai makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.