Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hadiya and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $1,286 in Hadiya, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Hadiya
🇰🇼 Kuwait
$1,286
/mo nomad
Chiang Mai
🇹🇭 Thailand
$938
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,286 per month in Hadiya vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

  • Hadiya $1,286
  • Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $2,118 per month in Hadiya vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

  • Hadiya $2,118
  • Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $2,950 per month in Hadiya vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

  • Hadiya $2,950
  • Chiang Mai $1,914

Hadiya costs about 37% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Hadiya and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Hadiya 5% lower, Chiang Mai 30% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Hadiya
Chiang Mai
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$9.11 KWD 2.81
$2.26 ฿75.4
303.10%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$63.1 KWD 19.45
$19.18 ฿641
229.20%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.81 KWD 2.40
$5.59 ฿187
39.71%
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.24 KWD 1.00
-
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.54 KWD 1.09
-
-
Cappuccino
$5.22 KWD 1.61
$1.72 ฿57.6
203.49%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.61 KWD 0.19
$0.64 ฿21.54
-4.69%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.27 KWD 0.08
$0.33 ฿11.18
-18.18%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$2.36 ฿78.7
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$3.90 ฿130
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Hadiya
Chiang Mai
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.46 KWD 0.45
$2.05 ฿68.6
-28.78%
White Bread (500g)
$0.84 KWD 0.26
$1.40 ฿46.70
-40.00%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.07 KWD 0.64
$1.28 ฿42.89
61.72%
Eggs
$2.33 KWD 0.72
$2.25 ฿75.3
3.56%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$4.56 KWD 1.41
$16.94 ฿566
-73.08%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.50 KWD 1.69
$2.74 ฿91.6
100.73%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.79 KWD 3.32
$9.36 ฿313
15.28%
Apples (1kg)
$2.52 KWD 0.78
$2.40 ฿80.3
5.00%
Banana (1kg)
$1.79 KWD 0.55
$1.01 ฿33.92
77.23%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.34 KWD 0.41
$1.61 ฿53.9
-16.77%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.64 KWD 0.51
$1.52 ฿50.7
7.89%
Potato (1kg)
$1.47 KWD 0.45
$1.28 ฿42.90
14.84%
Onion (1kg)
$0.96 KWD 0.29
$1.11 ฿37.22
-13.51%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.75 KWD 0.54
$0.72 ฿24.09
143.06%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.47 KWD 0.15
$0.52 ฿17.54
-9.62%
Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)
$3.07 KWD 0.95
-
-
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.15 KWD 0.35
-
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.25 KWD 0.39
-
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.63 KWD 0.81
$4.33 ฿145
-39.26%
Wine (Bottle)
-
$17.73 ฿593
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
-
$1.63 ฿54.4
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$2.85 ฿95.3
-
🚌 Getting Around
Hadiya
Chiang Mai
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.71 KWD 0.22
$0.85 ฿28.31
-16.47%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$53.9 ฿1,801
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.96 KWD 0.91
$1.17 ฿39.18
152.99%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.89 KWD 0.89
$0.57 ฿19.00
407.02%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$16.44 KWD 5.06
$2.37 ฿79.2
593.67%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$0.32 KWD 0.10
$1.45 ฿48.32
-77.93%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$22.7K KWD 6,994
$20.5K ฿684.3K
10.87%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$21.0K KWD 6,476
$26.5K ฿886.1K
-20.73%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Hadiya
Chiang Mai
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$65.2 KWD 20.08
$62.3 ฿2,083
4.57%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$21.68 KWD 6.68
$12.27 ฿410
76.69%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$31.50 KWD 9.70
$19.97 ฿668
57.74%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Hadiya
Chiang Mai
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$95.6 KWD 29.45
$37.91 ฿1,267
152.15%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$3.76 ฿126
-
Cinema Ticket
$12.09 KWD 3.72
$6.71 ฿224
80.18%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Hadiya
Chiang Mai
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$282 KWD 86.9
$797 ฿26.6K
-64.63%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$6,802 KWD 2,096
$14.8K ฿495.7K
-54.14%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Hadiya
Chiang Mai
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$40.79 KWD 12.57
$53.3 ฿1,780
-23.40%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$40.13 KWD 12.36
$25.05 ฿837
60.20%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$99.9 KWD 30.78
$91.6 ฿3,062
9.04%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$91.4 KWD 28.17
$73.5 ฿2,455
24.46%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Hadiya
Chiang Mai
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$803 KWD 248
$464 ฿15.5K
73.14%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$572 KWD 176
$305 ฿10.2K
87.84%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,620 KWD 499
$915 ฿30.6K
76.96%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,191 KWD 367
$552 ฿18.5K
115.62%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$1,912 ฿63.9K
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$1,438 ฿48.1K
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Hadiya
Chiang Mai
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$4,518 KWD 1,392
$595 ฿19.9K
659.00%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
6.53
5.57
17.24%

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

Last update for Hadiya: October 12, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Hadiya
$572
Chiang Mai
$305 46.8% $268
Groceries & Markets
Hadiya
$170
Chiang Mai
$238 39.9% $68
Eating Out
Hadiya
$162
Chiang Mai
$79 51.3% $83
Clothing & Footwear
Hadiya
$123
Chiang Mai
$110 10.6% $13
Sport & Entertainment
Hadiya
$120
Chiang Mai
$51 57.1% $68
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Hadiya
$118
Chiang Mai
$95 20.1% $24
Getting Around
Hadiya
$20 *
Chiang Mai
$61 203% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $803 in Hadiya versus $464 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 run about 659% higher in Hadiya, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $63.0 in Hadiya versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $170 in Hadiya vs $238 in Chiang Mai – so Hadiya wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know
🇰🇼 Hadiya
🇹🇭 Chiang Mai
🕒 Local time
12:29 12:29 PM
16:29 4:29 PM
4 h ahead of Hadiya
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
52,068
127,240
💱 Currency
Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك
Thai Baht THB ฿
Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to KWD – Kuwaiti Dinar Converter

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.25 USD). 1 EUR = 0.346 KWD (1 KWD = 2.89 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Hadiya Chiang Mai 5,260 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Hadiya
  • 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
Hadiya vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Hadiya or Chiang Mai?
Hadiya costs about 37% 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.
How much do you need to earn to live comfortably in Hadiya and in Chiang Mai?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,928 per month in Hadiya and $1,408 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Where is rent cheaper, Hadiya or Chiang Mai?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Chiang Mai, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.
How do dining costs compare in Hadiya and in Chiang Mai?
A mid-range dinner for two costs $63.0 in Hadiya and $19.00 in Chiang Mai. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.
Are groceries more expensive in Hadiya or in Chiang Mai?
Interestingly, groceries are about 40% cheaper in Hadiya – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.
Can you live on $1,000/month in Hadiya or in Chiang Mai?
A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Chiang Mai, where all-in costs run around $938, than in Hadiya at $1,286. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Hadiya it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Which city is better for digital nomads, Hadiya or Chiang Mai?
For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $938 versus $1,286 in Hadiya. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.
How safe is Hadiya compared to Chiang Mai?
Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.
Should I move to Hadiya or to Chiang Mai?
If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Hadiya makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

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