Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Forbes and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $2,530 in Forbes, rent and utilities included – about $19,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

121

Cost of Living Index in Forbes
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Forbes Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Forbes

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,530

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,530 per month in Forbes vs $935 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Forbes $2,530
Chiang Mai $935

A couple spends around $3,647 per month in Forbes vs $1,467 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Forbes $3,647
Chiang Mai $1,467

A family of three spends $4,764 per month in Forbes vs $1,999 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Forbes $4,764
Chiang Mai $1,999

Forbes costs about 170% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Forbes sits 87% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.25 A$24.89

$2.13 ฿71.4

709.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.4 A$122

$18.62 ฿623

353.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 A$15.20

$5.60 ฿187

88.21%

Cappuccino

$4.05 A$5.84

$1.66 ฿55.6

143.98%

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

$2.90 A$4.18

$0.65 ฿21.63

346.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 A$3.20

$0.30 ฿10.20

640.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.75 A$11.18

$2.32 ฿77.7

234.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.45 A$10.75

$3.67 ฿123

103.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 A$2.19

$2.02 ฿67.4

-24.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.71 A$3.91

$1.41 ฿47.08

92.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.24 A$3.23

$1.39 ฿46.54

61.15%

Eggs

$5.06 A$7.30

$2.37 ฿79.2

113.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.58 A$13.82

$16.52 ฿552

-42.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.16 A$13.22

$2.67 ฿89.3

243.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.47 A$20.87

$9.02 ฿302

60.42%

Apples (1kg)

$3.69 A$5.33

$2.40 ฿80.2

53.75%

Banana (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.38

$1.04 ฿34.82

192.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.73

$1.66 ฿55.5

97.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.71 A$6.79

$1.56 ฿52.1

201.92%

Potato (1kg)

$2.77 A$3.99

$1.24 ฿41.39

123.39%

Onion (1kg)

$2.39 A$3.45

$1.09 ฿36.34

119.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.33 A$3.36

$0.76 ฿25.47

206.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 A$2.21

$0.51 ฿17.19

200.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$42.64 A$61.5

$4.12 ฿138

934.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.23 A$20.52

$17.93 ฿600

-20.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.78 A$6.89

$1.62 ฿54.3

195.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.21 A$7.52

$2.82 ฿94.4

84.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.77 A$3.99

$0.93 ฿31.25

197.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$85.2 A$123

$52.9 ฿1,769

61.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.56 A$5.14

$1.18 ฿39.35

201.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.17 ฿5.73

858.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.80 A$58.9

$1.81 ฿60.6

2154.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 A$1.90

$1.47 ฿49.25

-10.20%

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

$29.2K A$42.2K

$21.0K ฿702.6K

39.17%

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

$26.1K A$37.7K

$26.5K ฿886.7K

-1.46%

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

$212 A$306

$62.6 ฿2,092

238.76%

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

$27.83 A$40.15

$11.60 ฿388

139.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$82.2

$20.30 ฿679

180.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.1 A$80.9

$37.88 ฿1,267

48.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.97 A$25.92

$3.70 ฿124

385.68%

Cinema Ticket

$14.18 A$20.45

$6.51 ฿218

117.82%

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

$2,134 A$3,078

$727 ฿24.3K

193.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K A$28.9K

$16.6K ฿554.2K

20.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$76.2 A$110

$53.5 ฿1,790

42.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.2 A$78.2

$24.80 ฿829

118.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 A$153

$90.4 ฿3,023

17.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 A$177

$72.0 ฿2,407

70.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,386 A$2,000

$481 ฿16.1K

188.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,220 A$1,760

$310 ฿10.4K

293.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,234 A$3,223

$1,058 ฿35.4K

111.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,836 A$2,648

$659 ฿22.0K

178.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,936 A$8,562

$2,418 ฿80.8K

145.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,932 A$7,114

$1,609 ฿53.8K

206.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

5.57

5.92%

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

Last update for Forbes: November 2, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Forbes

$1.2K 48.2%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 74.6% $910

Groceries & Markets

Forbes

$366 14.5%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 35.4% $130

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Forbes

$297 11.7%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 68.2% $202

Eating Out

Forbes

$292 11.6%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 73.8% $216

Clothing & Footwear

Forbes

$162 6.4%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 33% $53

Getting Around

Forbes

$108 4.3%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 45.7% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Forbes

$84 3.3%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 39.7% $34

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,386 in Forbes 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 $84 in Forbes versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $366 vs $237 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Forbes

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

15:36 3:36 PM

11:36 11:36 AM

4 h behind Forbes

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,481

127,240

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.693 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.693 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 33.44 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.54 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Forbes Chiang Mai 7,790 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Forbes
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

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

Forbes costs about 170% 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 $3,795 per month in Forbes 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 $481 there versus $1,386 in Forbes.

Kindergarten costs $2,134 per month in Forbes and $727 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 55% more in Forbes, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,530 in Forbes and $935 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.

For expats, Chiang Mai is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 63% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.