Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Exeter and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,571 in Exeter, rent and utilities included – about $19,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

123

Cost of Living Index in Exeter
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Exeter Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Exeter

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,571

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,571 per month in Exeter vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Exeter $2,571
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,846 per month in Exeter vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Exeter $3,846
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $5,121 per month in Exeter vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Exeter $5,121
Chiang Mai $1,979

Exeter costs about 175% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Exeter sits 89% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.92 £14.88

$2.24 ฿75.6

789.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.8 £73.1

$19.00 ฿641

414.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.57 £7.15

$5.55 ฿187

72.43%

Cappuccino

$4.96 £3.70

$1.67 ฿56.5

197.01%

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

$3.17 £2.36

$0.64 ฿21.54

395.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 £1.87

$0.31 ฿10.31

709.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.45 £5.57

$2.36 ฿79.5

215.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.16 £4.60

$3.66 ฿124

68.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.95 ฿65.7

-22.05%

White Bread (500g)

$1.68 £1.25

$1.44 ฿48.46

16.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 £1.33

$1.33 ฿45.03

33.83%

Eggs

$4.30 £3.21

$2.28 ฿77.1

88.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.70 £6.50

$16.45 ฿555

-47.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.71 £6.51

$2.78 ฿93.9

213.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$23.73 £17.72

$9.31 ฿314

154.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.12 £2.33

$2.35 ฿79.4

32.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 £1.06

$0.97 ฿32.79

47.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.32 £1.73

$1.60 ฿53.9

45.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.19 £2.38

$1.50 ฿50.6

112.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.27 £1.70

$1.28 ฿43.11

77.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 £1.47

$1.10 ฿37.18

79.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.61 £1.20

$0.71 ฿23.82

126.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 £1.45

$0.49 ฿16.36

297.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.49 £17.54

$4.14 ฿140

467.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.54 £7.12

$17.52 ฿591

-45.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.74 £2.79

$1.61 ฿54.5

132.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.30

$2.78 ฿93.9

58.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.92 £2.93

$0.87 ฿29.30

350.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$112 £83.6

$54.1 ฿1,825

106.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.75 £4.29

$1.16 ฿39.04

395.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.53 £1.89

$0.53 ฿17.80

377.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.92 £17.86

$2.42 ฿81.7

888.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.53

$1.45 ฿48.88

40.69%

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

$38.7K £28.9K

$21.1K ฿710.5K

83.75%

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

$40.1K £30.0K

$26.9K ฿909.0K

49.02%

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

$469 £350

$62.2 ฿2,098

653.77%

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

$15.97 £11.93

$12.17 ฿411

31.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.00 £35.09

$20.12 ฿679

133.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.72 £29.66

$37.31 ฿1,259

6.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.18 £9.84

$3.77 ฿127

249.60%

Cinema Ticket

$12.62 £9.42

$6.49 ฿219

94.45%

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

$2,180 £1,628

$736 ฿24.8K

196.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K £13.2K

$14.8K ฿498.2K

19.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 £50.8

$53.4 ฿1,801

27.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.16 £23.26

$24.64 ฿831

26.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 £78.7

$91.5 ฿3,087

15.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$74.2 £55.4

$71.9 ฿2,427

3.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,381 £1,031

$482 ฿16.3K

186.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,050 £784

$309 ฿10.4K

239.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,160 £1,613

$1,006 ฿33.9K

114.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,946 £1,453

$633 ฿21.4K

207.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,743 £4,288

$2,363 ฿79.7K

143.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,565 £3,409

$1,589 ฿53.6K

187.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,062 £2,286

$590 ฿19.9K

419.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

5.57

-8.26%

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

Last update for Exeter: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Exeter

$1K 40.8%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 70.6% $741

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Exeter

$532 20.7%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 82.2% $437

Groceries & Markets

Exeter

$334 13%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 29.8% $99

Eating Out

Exeter

$320 12.4%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 75.7% $242

Getting Around

Exeter

$146 5.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 58% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Exeter

$125 4.9%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 13.4% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Exeter

$65 2.5%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 22.6% $15

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,381 in Exeter 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.

Salaries in Exeter are about 5.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $98 in Exeter versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $334 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Exeter

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

15:48 3:48 PM

22:48 10:48 PM

7 h ahead of Exeter

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

130,800

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Exeter Chiang Mai 9,240 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Exeter
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

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

Exeter costs about 175% 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 $3,857 per month in Exeter 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 $1,381 in Exeter.

Kindergarten costs $2,180 per month in Exeter 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 42% more in Exeter, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,571 in Exeter 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.

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