Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Feilding and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,036 in Feilding, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

96

Cost of Living Index in Feilding
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Feilding Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Feilding

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,036

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,036 per month in Feilding vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Feilding $2,036
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,117 per month in Feilding vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Feilding $3,117
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $4,197 per month in Feilding vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Feilding $4,197
Chiang Mai $1,979

Feilding costs about 118% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Feilding sits 50% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.96 NZ$28.33

$2.24 ฿75.6

612.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.1 NZ$133

$19.00 ฿641

295.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.45 NZ$18.56

$5.55 ฿187

88.29%

Cappuccino

$3.53 NZ$6.27

$1.67 ฿56.5

111.38%

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

$2.08 NZ$3.70

$0.64 ฿21.54

225.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 NZ$3.17

$0.31 ฿10.31

474.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.62 NZ$9.98

$2.36 ฿79.5

138.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.20 NZ$11.00

$3.66 ฿124

69.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.99 NZ$3.54

$1.95 ฿65.7

2.05%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 NZ$3.32

$1.44 ฿48.46

29.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.90 NZ$3.37

$1.33 ฿45.03

42.86%

Eggs

$5.96 NZ$10.58

$2.28 ฿77.1

161.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.79 NZ$13.83

$16.45 ฿555

-52.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.42 NZ$18.49

$2.78 ฿93.9

274.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.58 NZ$27.67

$9.31 ฿314

67.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.70 NZ$4.80

$2.35 ฿79.4

14.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 NZ$3.49

$0.97 ฿32.79

103.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.20 NZ$5.68

$1.60 ฿53.9

100.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.03 NZ$10.70

$1.50 ฿50.6

302.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 NZ$3.23

$1.28 ฿43.11

42.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 NZ$2.45

$1.10 ฿37.18

25.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.15 NZ$3.81

$0.71 ฿23.82

202.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 NZ$1.90

$0.49 ฿16.36

118.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.83 NZ$42.30

$4.14 ฿140

475.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.29 NZ$18.27

$17.52 ฿591

-41.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.87 NZ$5.09

$1.61 ฿54.5

78.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.46 NZ$6.13

$2.78 ฿93.9

24.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.97 NZ$3.50

$0.87 ฿29.30

126.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.4 NZ$171

$54.1 ฿1,825

78.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.01 NZ$3.57

$1.16 ฿39.04

73.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 NZ$3.58

$0.53 ฿17.80

281.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.24 NZ$48.36

$2.42 ฿81.7

1025.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.66 NZ$2.94

$1.45 ฿48.88

14.48%

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

$24.2K NZ$43.0K

$21.1K ฿710.5K

15.03%

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

$21.7K NZ$38.5K

$26.9K ฿909.0K

-19.49%

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

$126 NZ$223

$62.2 ฿2,098

102.09%

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

$32.99 NZ$58.6

$12.17 ฿411

171.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.84 NZ$77.8

$20.12 ฿679

117.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.68 NZ$59.8

$37.31 ฿1,259

-9.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$9.66 NZ$17.15

$6.49 ฿219

48.84%

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

$698 NZ$1,240

$736 ฿24.8K

-5.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.2K NZ$32.4K

$14.8K ฿498.2K

23.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.4 NZ$125

$53.4 ฿1,801

31.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.29 NZ$62.7

$24.64 ฿831

43.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 NZ$147

$91.5 ฿3,087

-9.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 NZ$219

$71.9 ฿2,427

71.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$937 NZ$1,664

$482 ฿16.3K

94.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$934 NZ$1,659

$309 ฿10.4K

202.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,780 NZ$3,161

$1,006 ฿33.9K

76.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 NZ$2,914

$633 ฿21.4K

159.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,666 NZ$8,284

$2,363 ฿79.7K

97.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,628 NZ$6,441

$1,589 ฿53.6K

128.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.83

5.57

4.67%

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

Last update for Feilding: October 27, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Feilding

$934 45.9%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 66.9% $626

Groceries & Markets

Feilding

$332 16.3%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 29.4% $98

Eating Out

Feilding

$257 12.6%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 69.9% $180

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Feilding

$202 10%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 53.3% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Feilding

$140 6.9%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 22.6% $32

Getting Around

Feilding

$116 5.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 47.2% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Feilding

$53 2.6%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 5.1% $2.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $937 in Feilding 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $75 in Feilding versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $332 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Feilding

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

18:46 6:46 PM

12:46 12:46 PM

6 h behind Feilding

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,350

127,240

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 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 NZD in detail →

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Feilding Chiang Mai 10,260 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Feilding
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

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

Feilding costs about 118% 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 $3,054 per month in Feilding 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 $937 in Feilding.

Kindergarten costs $698 per month in Feilding 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 Feilding, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,036 in Feilding and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $936 in Chiang Mai to $2,036 in Feilding. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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

For expats, Chiang Mai is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 54% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.