Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hong Kong and Cha-am

For one person, living is cheaper in Cha-am: $880 a month against $2,984 in Hong Kong, rent and utilities included – about $25,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

144

Cost of Living Index in Hong Kong
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Hong Kong Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Cha-am
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Cha-am Living Index

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Hong Kong

🇭🇰 Hong Kong (China)

$2,984

/mo nomad

Cha-am

🇹🇭 Thailand

$880

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Hong Kong and in Cha-am

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Hong Kong and in Cha-am actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,984 in Hong Kong versus $880 in Cha-am.

Hong Kong $2,984
Cha-am $880

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,584 in Hong Kong versus $1,412 in Cha-am.

Hong Kong $4,584
Cha-am $1,412

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,183 in Hong Kong versus $1,944 in Cha-am.

Hong Kong $6,183
Cha-am $1,944

Living in Hong Kong is roughly 239% more expensive than in Cha-am, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Hong Kong is 121% above, Cha-am is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.75 HK$60.8

$3.29 ฿110

135.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.7 HK$508

$22.60 ฿755

186.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.18 HK$48.51

$7.27 ฿243

-14.99%

Cappuccino

$5.08 HK$39.85

$2.04 ฿68.1

149.02%

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

$1.31 HK$10.31

$0.68 ฿22.66

92.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.09 HK$8.56

$0.34 ฿11.50

220.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.47 HK$58.6

$2.36 ฿78.7

216.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.50 HK$51.0

$3.00 ฿100

116.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.89 HK$22.71

$1.78 ฿59.5

62.36%

White Bread (500g)

$2.31 HK$18.14

$1.49 ฿49.76

55.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 HK$16.71

$1.33 ฿44.43

60.15%

Eggs

$3.52 HK$27.65

$1.95 ฿65.0

80.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.72 HK$194

$12.47 ฿417

98.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.52 HK$66.9

$2.54 ฿85.0

235.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.00 HK$141

$10.20 ฿341

76.47%

Apples (1kg)

$4.18 HK$32.79

$3.53 ฿118

18.41%

Banana (1kg)

$2.68 HK$21.07

$1.22 ฿40.86

119.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.49 HK$35.22

$1.87 ฿62.5

140.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.03 HK$31.66

$1.75 ฿58.3

130.29%

Potato (1kg)

$3.12 HK$24.51

$1.76 ฿59.0

77.27%

Onion (1kg)

$3.15 HK$24.72

$1.09 ฿36.28

188.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.62 HK$12.75

$1.16 ฿38.80

39.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 HK$13.66

$0.45 ฿15.07

286.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.50 HK$106

$4.31 ฿144

213.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.54 HK$130

$17.71 ฿592

-6.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 HK$15.19

$1.73 ฿57.8

12.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 HK$17.11

$2.96 ฿99.0

-26.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.41 HK$11.04

$0.92 ฿30.63

53.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$88.6 HK$696

$22.26 ฿744

298.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 HK$28.94

$1.37 ฿45.80

169.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.32 HK$10.36

$1.07 ฿35.67

23.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.77 HK$124

$3.62 ฿121

335.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$4.03 HK$31.65

$1.40 ฿46.86

187.86%

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

$44.7K HK$350.5K

$16.4K ฿546.9K

172.89%

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

$37.8K HK$296.6K

$27.1K ฿905.9K

39.40%

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

$250 HK$1,959

$82.1 ฿2,744

204.04%

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

$15.60 HK$122

$11.41 ฿381

36.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.77 HK$171

$23.66 ฿791

-7.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$94.2 HK$739

$23.81 ฿796

295.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.29 HK$72.9

$5.81 ฿194

59.90%

Cinema Ticket

$13.91 HK$109

$6.65 ฿222

109.17%

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

$1,162 HK$9,122

$609 ฿20.4K

90.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.9K HK$171.6K

$11.0K ฿368.4K

98.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 HK$534

$50.1 ฿1,675

35.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.91 HK$329

$29.35 ฿981

42.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 HK$626

$70.5 ฿2,357

13.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 HK$956

$52.6 ฿1,758

131.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,241 HK$17.6K

$373 ฿12.5K

500.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,718 HK$13.5K

$273 ฿9,109

530.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,041 HK$39.6K

$750 ฿25.1K

572.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,435 HK$27.0K

$643 ฿21.5K

434.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$29.2K HK$229.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$17.6K HK$137.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,271 HK$25.7K

$351 ฿11.7K

831.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.91

5.96

-34.40%

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

Last update for Hong Kong: October 10, 2026

Last update for Cha-am: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hong Kong

$1.7K 57.6%

Cha-am

$273 31% 84.1% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Hong Kong

$411 13.8%

Cha-am

$235 26.7% 42.7% $176

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hong Kong

$287 9.6%

Cha-am

$117 13.3% 59.2% $170

Eating Out

Hong Kong

$201 6.8%

Cha-am

$94 10.7% 53.1% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Hong Kong

$140 4.7%

Cha-am

$91 10.4% 34.9% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Hong Kong

$122 4.1%

Cha-am

$37 4.2% 69.6% $85

Getting Around

Hong Kong

$105 3.5%

Cha-am

$33 3.7% 68.8% $72

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,241 in Hong Kong and $373 in Cha-am. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hong Kong pays 831% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $65.0 in Hong Kong vs $23.00 in Cha-am for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $411 vs $235 per month, with Cha-am cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇭🇰 Hong Kong

🇹🇭 Cha-am

🕒 Local time

05:07 5:07 AM

04:07 4:07 AM

1 h behind Hong Kong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,367,900 Capital

31,354

💱 Currency

Hong Kong Dollar HKD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 HKD = 0.127 USD

1 HKD = 0.113 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to HKD – Hong Kong Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇰 Hong Kong Dollar ($)

Hong Kong Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 7.85 HKD (1 HKD = 0.127 USD). 1 EUR = 8.82 HKD (1 HKD = 0.113 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to HKD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Hong Kong Cha-am 1,840 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Hong Kong
Cha-am

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

Hong Kong vs Cha-am: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hong Kong and Cha-am differ by about 239% in total monthly costs ($2,984 vs $880 including rent). Cha-am is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 831% higher in Hong Kong, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,241 in Hong Kong versus $373 in Cha-am. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,984 per month in Hong Kong versus $880 in Cha-am – a 239% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cha-am runs roughly 298% less than in Hong Kong. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $880 in Cha-am versus $2,984 in Hong Kong, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Cha-am but tight or insufficient in Hong Kong. The gap between the two cities makes Cha-am the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Hong Kong and Cha-am are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Cha-am gentler on the wallet – expenses run 239% less than in Hong Kong. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.