Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between El Mahalla El Kubra and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in El Mahalla El Kubra: $408 a month against $925 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in El Mahalla El Kubra
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El Mahalla El Kubra Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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El Mahalla El Kubra

🇪🇬 Egypt

$408

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $408 per month in El Mahalla El Kubra vs $925 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

El Mahalla El Kubra $408
Chiang Mai $925

A couple spends around $661 per month in El Mahalla El Kubra vs $1,414 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

El Mahalla El Kubra $661
Chiang Mai $1,414

A family of three spends $914 per month in El Mahalla El Kubra vs $1,903 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

El Mahalla El Kubra $914
Chiang Mai $1,903

El Mahalla El Kubra is about 56% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both El Mahalla El Kubra and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – El Mahalla El Kubra 70% lower, Chiang Mai 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.15 E£229

$2.29 ฿77.2

81.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.14 E£781

$19.64 ฿663

-28.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.99 E£165

$5.61 ฿189

-46.70%

Cappuccino

$1.27 E£70.0

$1.66 ฿56.1

-23.49%

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

$0.32 E£17.74

$0.70 ฿23.62

-54.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.11 E£5.83

$0.31 ฿10.33

-64.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.31 E£72.3

$2.41 ฿81.2

-45.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 E£160

$3.71 ฿125

-22.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 E£47.06

$1.95 ฿65.9

-56.41%

White Bread (500g)

$0.30 E£16.71

$1.41 ฿47.48

-78.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.52 E£28.47

$1.31 ฿44.04

-60.31%

Eggs

$1.13 E£62.5

$2.18 ฿73.6

-48.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.89 E£160

$16.65 ฿562

-82.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.01 E£221

$2.76 ฿93.1

45.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.40 E£409

$9.11 ฿307

-18.77%

Apples (1kg)

$1.54 E£85.3

$2.39 ฿80.7

-35.56%

Banana (1kg)

$0.65 E£35.87

$1.03 ฿34.59

-36.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.45 E£24.82

$1.63 ฿54.9

-72.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.33 E£18.03

$1.50 ฿50.5

-78.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 E£13.17

$1.29 ฿43.54

-81.40%

Onion (1kg)

$0.30 E£16.37

$1.11 ฿37.38

-72.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.27 E£15.07

$0.72 ฿24.31

-62.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.22 E£12.32

$0.53 ฿17.76

-58.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.86 E£103

$4.31 ฿145

-56.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.79 E£320

$17.95 ฿605

-67.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 E£65.6

$1.58 ฿53.4

-24.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 E£125

$2.84 ฿95.9

-20.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.20 E£11.01

$0.86 ฿29.14

-76.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.3 ฿1,798

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.32 E£17.53

$1.21 ฿40.67

-73.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.46 E£25.14

$0.57 ฿19.17

-19.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.91 E£50.4

$2.35 ฿79.4

-61.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£24.00

$1.44 ฿48.42

-70.14%

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

$31.8K E£1.8M

$20.7K ฿699.4K

53.18%

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

$22.8K E£1.3M

$26.8K ฿904.2K

-15.05%

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

$14.47 E£799

$62.3 ฿2,103

-76.78%

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

$3.93 E£217

$12.11 ฿409

-67.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.50 E£470

$19.94 ฿673

-57.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.92 E£880

$37.07 ฿1,251

-57.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.78 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$2.79 E£154

$6.50 ฿219

-57.08%

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

$32.18 E£1,778

$793 ฿26.7K

-95.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,084 E£115.1K

$14.8K ฿499.6K

-85.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$16.89 E£933

$53.7 ฿1,813

-68.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.76 E£2,418

$24.62 ฿831

77.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 E£5,578

$90.9 ฿3,065

11.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$56.4 E£3,117

$71.1 ฿2,400

-20.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$131 E£7,253

$455 ฿15.4K

-71.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$75.4 E£4,165

$298 ฿10.0K

-74.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$254 E£14.0K

$908 ฿30.6K

-72.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$144 E£7,936

$554 ฿18.7K

-74.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$745 E£41.2K

$1,931 ฿65.1K

-61.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$355 E£19.6K

$1,445 ฿48.7K

-75.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$591 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

21.33

5.57

282.94%

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

Last update for El Mahalla El Kubra: October 17, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

El Mahalla El Kubra

$111 27.3%

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5% 112% $124

Clothing & Footwear

El Mahalla El Kubra

$98 24.1%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7% 10.2% $10

Accommodation & Living

El Mahalla El Kubra

$75 18.5%

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2% 295% $222

Eating Out

El Mahalla El Kubra

$71 17.5%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5% 10.1% $7.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

El Mahalla El Kubra

$27 6.6%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2% 251% $67

Sport & Entertainment

El Mahalla El Kubra

$22 5.3%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 133% $29

Getting Around

El Mahalla El Kubra

$3.4 * 0.8%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 1693% $57

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $131 in El Mahalla El Kubra 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $14 in El Mahalla El Kubra versus $20 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $111 vs $235 – making El Mahalla El Kubra the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 El Mahalla El Kubra

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

08:40 8:40 AM

12:40 12:40 PM

4 h ahead of El Mahalla El Kubra

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

431,052

127,240

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.81 USD

100 EGP = 1.61 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 55.25 EGP (100 EGP = 1.81 USD). 1 EUR = 61.99 EGP (100 EGP = 1.61 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 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 Mahalla El Kubra Chiang Mai 6,870 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Chiang Mai costs about 127% more than El Mahalla El Kubra, 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 $612 per month in El Mahalla El Kubra 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 Mahalla El Kubra, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $131 there versus $455 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $14 in El Mahalla El Kubra and $20 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 112% 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.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $408 in El Mahalla El Kubra and $925 in Chiang Mai, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward El Mahalla El Kubra – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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.