Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hitchin and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $925 a month against $2,553 in Hitchin, rent and utilities included – about $19,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

123

Cost of Living Index in Hitchin
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Hitchin Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Hitchin

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,553

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,553 per month in Hitchin vs $925 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Hitchin $2,553
Chiang Mai $925

A couple spends around $3,685 per month in Hitchin vs $1,414 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Hitchin $3,685
Chiang Mai $1,414

A family of three spends $4,817 per month in Hitchin vs $1,903 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Hitchin $4,817
Chiang Mai $1,903

Hitchin costs about 176% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Hitchin sits 88% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 32% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.35 £19.77

$2.29 ฿76.5

1050.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.1 £60.8

$19.64 ฿656

312.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.09 £6.07

$5.61 ฿188

44.21%

Cappuccino

$4.63 £3.47

$1.66 ฿55.6

178.92%

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

$1.35 £1.01

$0.70 ฿23.40

92.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.29 £0.97

$0.31 ฿10.24

316.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.72 £4.29

$2.41 ฿80.4

137.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.43 £4.08

$3.71 ฿124

46.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.95 ฿65.3

-22.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 £1.43

$1.41 ฿47.03

35.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 £1.86

$1.31 ฿43.62

90.08%

Eggs

$3.15 £2.36

$2.18 ฿72.9

44.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.10 £6.83

$16.65 ฿556

-45.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.43 £6.33

$2.76 ฿92.2

205.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.57 £12.43

$9.11 ฿304

81.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.42 £2.56

$2.39 ฿80.0

43.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.22 £0.92

$1.03 ฿34.26

18.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 £1.75

$1.63 ฿54.4

43.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.39 £2.55

$1.50 ฿50.0

126.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 £0.92

$1.29 ฿43.13

-5.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 £1.03

$1.11 ฿37.03

23.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 £0.97

$0.72 ฿24.08

79.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 £0.93

$0.53 ฿17.59

133.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.93 £14.95

$4.31 ฿144

362.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.94 £7.46

$17.95 ฿600

-44.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.52 £1.89

$1.58 ฿52.9

59.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 £2.25

$2.84 ฿95.0

5.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.21 £2.41

$0.86 ฿28.86

273.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$101 £75.7

$53.3 ฿1,780

89.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.12 £3.09

$1.21 ฿40.29

240.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.80 £2.85

$0.57 ฿18.99

566.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.77 £23.83

$2.35 ฿78.6

1251.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.95 £1.46

$1.44 ฿47.96

35.42%

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

$38.3K £28.7K

$20.7K ฿692.8K

84.60%

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

$41.0K £30.7K

$26.8K ฿895.7K

52.85%

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

$366 £275

$62.3 ฿2,083

487.71%

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

$17.71 £13.29

$12.11 ฿405

46.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.01 £33.76

$19.94 ฿666

125.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.37 £34.03

$37.07 ฿1,239

22.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.68 £11.01

$3.78 ฿126

288.36%

Cinema Ticket

$13.54 £10.16

$6.50 ฿217

108.31%

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

$1,598 £1,199

$793 ฿26.5K

101.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.2K £18.9K

$14.8K ฿494.9K

70.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.5 £65.6

$53.7 ฿1,796

62.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.83 £29.88

$24.62 ฿823

61.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.1 £54.8

$90.9 ฿3,036

-19.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$61.0 £45.77

$71.1 ฿2,378

-14.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,245 £934

$455 ฿15.2K

173.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,165 £874

$298 ฿9,954

291.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,069 £1,552

$908 ฿30.4K

127.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,883 £1,413

$554 ฿18.5K

240.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,092 £3,820

$1,931 ฿64.5K

163.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,910 £2,933

$1,445 ฿48.3K

170.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$591 ฿19.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.21

5.57

-6.46%

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

Last update for Hitchin: October 18, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hitchin

$1.2K 45.6%

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2% 74.4% $867

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hitchin

$429 16.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2% 78% $335

Eating Out

Hitchin

$341 13.3%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5% 76.9% $262

Groceries & Markets

Hitchin

$292 11.4%

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5% 19.2% $56

Getting Around

Hitchin

$137 5.4%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 55.6% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Hitchin

$118 4.6%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7% 8.1% $9.5

Sport & Entertainment

Hitchin

$72 2.8%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 30.9% $22

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,245 in Hitchin versus $455 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 $81.0 in Hitchin versus $20.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $292 vs $235 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Hitchin

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

04:09 4:09 AM

10:09 10:09 AM

6 h ahead of Hitchin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

34,266

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Hitchin Chiang Mai 8,990 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Hitchin
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

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

Hitchin costs about 176% 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 $3,830 per month in Hitchin and $1,388 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $1,598 per month in Hitchin and $793 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 24% more in Hitchin, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Chiang Mai, where all-in costs run around $925, than in Hitchin at $2,553. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Hitchin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $925 versus $2,553 in Hitchin. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Hitchin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.