Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Fort Portal and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Fort Portal: $364 a month against $935 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

17

Cost of Living Index in Fort Portal
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Fort Portal Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Fort Portal

🇺🇬 Uganda

$364

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $364 per month in Fort Portal vs $935 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Fort Portal $364
Chiang Mai $935

A couple spends around $574 per month in Fort Portal vs $1,467 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Fort Portal $574
Chiang Mai $1,467

A family of three spends $783 per month in Fort Portal vs $1,999 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Fort Portal $783
Chiang Mai $1,999

Fort Portal is about 61% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Fort Portal and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Fort Portal 73% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.37 UGX 10.1K

$2.13 ฿71.8

11.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.66 UGX 101.1K

$18.62 ฿626

27.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.93 UGX 29.6K

$5.60 ฿188

23.75%

Cappuccino

$2.46 UGX 10.5K

$1.66 ฿55.9

48.19%

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

$0.37 UGX 1,565

$0.65 ฿21.75

-43.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.24 UGX 1,017

$0.30 ฿10.25

-20.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.20 UGX 5,116

$2.32 ฿78.1

-48.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 UGX 7,331

$3.67 ฿123

-53.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.27 UGX 1,141

$2.02 ฿67.8

-86.63%

White Bread (500g)

$0.68 UGX 2,888

$1.41 ฿47.34

-51.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.90 UGX 3,845

$1.39 ฿46.79

-35.25%

Eggs

$1.15 UGX 4,899

$2.37 ฿79.6

-51.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.12 UGX 17.6K

$16.52 ฿555

-75.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.14 UGX 17.7K

$2.67 ฿89.8

55.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.12 UGX 13.3K

$9.02 ฿303

-65.41%

Apples (1kg)

$1.96 UGX 8,355

$2.40 ฿80.6

-18.33%

Banana (1kg)

$0.71 UGX 3,036

$1.04 ฿35.01

-31.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.20 UGX 5,119

$1.66 ฿55.8

-27.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.13 UGX 4,850

$1.56 ฿52.4

-27.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 UGX 5,142

$1.24 ฿41.61

-3.23%

Onion (1kg)

$0.57 UGX 2,417

$1.09 ฿36.53

-47.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 UGX 3,122

$0.76 ฿25.61

-3.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 UGX 2,073

$0.51 ฿17.29

-3.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.30 UGX 9,828

$4.12 ฿139

-44.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.57 UGX 19.5K

$17.93 ฿603

-74.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 UGX 2,886

$1.62 ฿54.6

-58.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.93 UGX 3,966

$2.82 ฿94.9

-67.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.42

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,778

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.49 UGX 2,093

$1.18 ฿39.56

-58.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.28 UGX 1,180

$0.17 ฿5.76

64.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.89 UGX 12.3K

$1.81 ฿60.9

59.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.16 UGX 4,970

$1.47 ฿49.51

-21.09%

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

$6,927 UGX 29.6M

$21.0K ฿706.4K

-67.03%

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

$6,921 UGX 29.6M

$26.5K ฿891.4K

-73.90%

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

$66.9 UGX 285.9K

$62.6 ฿2,103

6.95%

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

$11.00 UGX 47.0K

$11.60 ฿390

-5.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.84 UGX 140.4K

$20.30 ฿683

61.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,274

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿124

Cinema Ticket

$7.16 UGX 30.6K

$6.51 ฿219

9.98%

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

$267 UGX 1.1M

$727 ฿24.4K

-63.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.1K UGX 68.8M

$16.6K ฿557.2K

-2.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.23 UGX 56.5K

$53.5 ฿1,800

-75.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$12.29 UGX 52.5K

$24.80 ฿834

-50.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$30.84 UGX 131.8K

$90.4 ฿3,039

-65.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.94 UGX 174.9K

$72.0 ฿2,420

-43.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 ฿16.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$310 ฿10.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ฿22.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿54.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.75

5.57

272.53%

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

Last update for Fort Portal: November 3, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Fort Portal

$112 30.9%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 111% $124

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Fort Portal

$111 30.4%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 14.7% $16

Eating Out

Fort Portal

$81 22.3%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 5.5% $4.5

Clothing & Footwear

Fort Portal

$44 12%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 147% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Fort Portal

$14 * 3.9%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 255% $37

Getting Around

Fort Portal

$1.9 * 0.5%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 3037% $57

Accommodation & Living

Fort Portal

- * 0%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $24 in Fort Portal versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $112 in Fort Portal vs $237 in Chiang Mai – so Fort Portal wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇺🇬 Fort Portal

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

02:15 2:15 AM

06:15 6:15 AM

4 h ahead of Fort Portal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

54,275

127,240

💱 Currency

Ugandan Shilling UGX Sh

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 UGX = 2.34 USD

10,000 UGX = 2.08 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to UGX – Ugandan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇺🇬 Ugandan Shilling (Sh)

Ugandan Shilling exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 4,273 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.34 USD). 1 EUR = 4,811 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.08 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 UGX in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Fort Portal Chiang Mai 7,750 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Fort Portal
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

Fort Portal vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 157% more than Fort Portal, 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 $546 per month in Fort Portal and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $24 in Fort Portal 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 110% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Fort Portal, where all-in costs run around $364, than in Chiang Mai at $935. In Fort Portal it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chiang Mai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $364 in Fort Portal to $935 in Chiang Mai. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.