Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between El Gouna and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in El Gouna: $462 a month against $935 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in El Gouna
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El Gouna Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

El Gouna

🇪🇬 Egypt

$462

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $462 per month in El Gouna vs $935 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

El Gouna $462
Chiang Mai $935

A couple spends around $727 per month in El Gouna vs $1,467 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

El Gouna $727
Chiang Mai $1,467

A family of three spends $991 per month in El Gouna vs $1,999 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

El Gouna $991
Chiang Mai $1,999

El Gouna is about 51% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both El Gouna and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – El Gouna 66% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.63 E£199

$2.13 ฿71.8

70.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.64 E£855

$18.62 ฿626

-16.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.48 E£245

$5.60 ฿188

-20.00%

Cappuccino

$1.48 E£81.0

$1.66 ฿55.9

-10.84%

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

$0.31 E£17.18

$0.65 ฿21.75

-52.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 E£6.43

$0.30 ฿10.25

-60.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.25 E£68.5

$2.32 ฿78.1

-46.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 E£166

$3.67 ฿123

-17.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.87 E£47.52

$2.02 ฿67.8

-56.93%

White Bread (500g)

$0.57 E£31.18

$1.41 ฿47.34

-59.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 E£37.83

$1.39 ฿46.79

-50.36%

Eggs

$1.45 E£79.1

$2.37 ฿79.6

-38.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.32 E£182

$16.52 ฿555

-79.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.29 E£235

$2.67 ฿89.8

60.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.71 E£476

$9.02 ฿303

-3.44%

Apples (1kg)

$1.48 E£80.6

$2.40 ฿80.6

-38.33%

Banana (1kg)

$0.59 E£32.07

$1.04 ฿35.01

-43.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.43 E£23.42

$1.66 ฿55.8

-74.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.36 E£19.76

$1.56 ฿52.4

-76.92%

Potato (1kg)

$0.37 E£20.42

$1.24 ฿41.61

-70.16%

Onion (1kg)

$0.40 E£21.83

$1.09 ฿36.53

-63.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.24 E£13.16

$0.76 ฿25.61

-68.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.20 E£11.03

$0.51 ฿17.29

-60.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.95 E£107

$4.12 ฿139

-52.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.28 E£343

$17.93 ฿603

-64.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 E£68.3

$1.62 ฿54.6

-22.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 E£99.5

$2.82 ฿94.9

-35.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.19 E£10.53

$0.93 ฿31.42

-79.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,778

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.38 E£20.86

$1.18 ฿39.56

-67.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 E£17.06

$0.17 ฿5.76

82.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.94 E£106

$1.81 ฿60.9

7.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.31 E£16.83

$1.47 ฿49.51

-78.91%

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

$35.7K E£2.0M

$21.0K ฿706.4K

69.83%

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

$33.4K E£1.8M

$26.5K ฿891.4K

26.15%

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

$11.91 E£651

$62.6 ฿2,103

-80.96%

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

$6.85 E£374

$11.60 ฿390

-40.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.17 E£611

$20.30 ฿683

-44.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.06 E£1,151

$37.88 ฿1,274

-44.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿124

Cinema Ticket

$2.99 E£164

$6.51 ฿219

-54.07%

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

$89.0 E£4,868

$727 ฿24.4K

-87.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,856 E£101.5K

$16.6K ฿557.2K

-88.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.96 E£1,529

$53.5 ฿1,800

-47.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.86 E£2,452

$24.80 ฿834

80.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 E£5,825

$90.4 ฿3,039

17.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$50.9 E£2,784

$72.0 ฿2,420

-29.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$191 E£10.4K

$481 ฿16.2K

-60.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$102 E£5,551

$310 ฿10.4K

-67.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$278 E£15.2K

$1,058 ฿35.6K

-73.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$155 E£8,459

$659 ฿22.1K

-76.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$796 E£43.5K

$2,418 ฿81.3K

-67.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$332 E£18.2K

$1,609 ฿54.1K

-79.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.67

5.57

199.28%

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

Last update for El Gouna: November 1, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

El Gouna

$123 26.6%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 92.9% $114

Clothing & Footwear

El Gouna

$104 22.4%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 4.5% $4.7

Accommodation & Living

El Gouna

$102 22%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 205% $208

Eating Out

El Gouna

$74 16.1%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 3% $2.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

El Gouna

$30 6.5%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 216% $65

Sport & Entertainment

El Gouna

$27 5.9%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 88.2% $24

Getting Around

El Gouna

$2.7 * 0.6%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 2065% $56

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $191 in El Gouna versus $481 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 $16 in El Gouna versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $123 vs $237 – making El Gouna the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 El Gouna

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

22:27 10:27 PM

03:27 3:27 AM

5 h ahead of El Gouna

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.83 USD

100 EGP = 1.62 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.64 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 November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 54.67 EGP (100 EGP = 1.83 USD). 1 EUR = 61.54 EGP (100 EGP = 1.62 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.85 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

El Gouna Chiang Mai 6,680 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Chiang Mai costs about 103% more than El Gouna, 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 $693 per month in El Gouna 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 El Gouna, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $191 there versus $481 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $16 in El Gouna and $19 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 93% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. El Gouna costs $462 versus $935 in Chiang Mai. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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