Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Guadalupe, Costa Rica and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,594 in Guadalupe, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Guadalupe
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Guadalupe Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Guadalupe

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,594

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,594 per month in Guadalupe vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Guadalupe $1,594
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $2,488 per month in Guadalupe vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Guadalupe $2,488
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $3,382 per month in Guadalupe vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Guadalupe $3,382
Chiang Mai $1,979

Guadalupe costs about 70% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Guadalupe sits 17% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.88 ₡4,891

$2.24 ฿75.5

385.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.59 ₡15.1K

$19.00 ฿640

76.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.69 ₡3,906

$5.55 ฿187

56.58%

Cappuccino

$3.34 ₡1,504

$1.67 ฿56.4

100.00%

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

$2.21 ₡996

$0.64 ฿21.51

245.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 ₡844

$0.31 ฿10.29

506.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.30 ₡1,486

$2.36 ฿79.5

39.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.31 ₡1,940

$3.66 ฿123

17.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.14 ₡960

$1.95 ฿65.7

9.74%

White Bread (500g)

$3.16 ₡1,423

$1.44 ฿48.41

119.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.50 ₡1,123

$1.33 ฿44.97

87.97%

Eggs

$3.46 ₡1,554

$2.28 ฿77.0

51.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.63 ₡4,332

$16.45 ฿554

-41.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.02 ₡4,506

$2.78 ฿93.8

260.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.08 ₡6,330

$9.31 ฿314

51.24%

Apples (1kg)

$4.98 ₡2,242

$2.35 ฿79.3

111.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 ₡729

$0.97 ฿32.75

67.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.89 ₡2,198

$1.60 ฿53.8

205.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.78 ₡1,700

$1.50 ฿50.6

152.00%

Potato (1kg)

$3.93 ₡1,767

$1.28 ฿43.06

207.03%

Onion (1kg)

$3.57 ₡1,607

$1.10 ฿37.14

224.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ₡482

$0.71 ฿23.79

50.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.12 ₡1,402

$0.49 ฿16.34

536.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.44 ₡1,994

$4.14 ฿140

7.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.79 ₡8,901

$17.52 ฿590

12.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.75 ₡1,238

$1.61 ฿54.4

70.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.54 ₡1,594

$2.78 ฿93.8

27.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 ₡612

$0.87 ฿29.27

56.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,823

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.13 ₡958

$1.16 ฿39.00

83.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.64 ₡736

$0.53 ฿17.78

209.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.53 ₡3,838

$2.42 ฿81.6

252.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 ₡624

$1.45 ฿48.82

-4.14%

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

$26.5K ₡11.9M

$21.1K ฿709.7K

25.90%

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

$41.9K ₡18.9M

$26.9K ฿907.9K

55.63%

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

$36.65 ₡16.5K

$62.2 ฿2,095

-41.05%

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

$26.38 ₡11.9K

$12.17 ฿410

116.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.1 ₡24.8K

$20.12 ฿678

173.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.6 ₡30.9K

$37.31 ฿1,257

83.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$7.49 ₡3,369

$6.49 ฿219

15.41%

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

$983 ₡441.9K

$736 ฿24.8K

33.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K ₡7.6M

$14.8K ฿497.6K

14.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.9 ₡31.9K

$53.4 ฿1,799

32.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.32 ₡19.9K

$24.64 ฿830

79.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$129 ₡57.9K

$91.5 ฿3,083

40.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$100 ₡45.1K

$71.9 ฿2,424

39.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$801 ₡360.1K

$482 ฿16.3K

66.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$635 ₡285.4K

$309 ฿10.4K

105.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,923 ₡864.9K

$1,006 ฿33.9K

91.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,250 ₡562.0K

$633 ฿21.3K

97.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,214 ₡545.9K

$590 ฿19.9K

105.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

5.57

54.76%

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

Last update for Guadalupe: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Guadalupe

$635 39.8%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 51.3% $326

Groceries & Markets

Guadalupe

$392 24.6%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 40.2% $158

Eating Out

Guadalupe

$195 12.2%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 60.2% $117

Clothing & Footwear

Guadalupe

$155 9.7%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 29.9% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Guadalupe

$118 7.4%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 20% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Guadalupe

$84 5.2%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 39.8% $33

Getting Around

Guadalupe

$16 * 1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 289% $46

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $801 in Guadalupe 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 Guadalupe are about 2.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $34 in Guadalupe versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $392 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Guadalupe

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

21:41 9:41 PM

10:41 10:41 AM

13 h ahead of Guadalupe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

23,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.77 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Guadalupe Chiang Mai 16,800 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Guadalupe
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

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

Guadalupe costs about 70% more than Chiang Mai, 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 $2,391 per month in Guadalupe 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 $801 in Guadalupe.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $34 in Guadalupe 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 67% more in Guadalupe, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,594 in Guadalupe 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, Guadalupe makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.