Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hurghada and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Hurghada: $445 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

21

Cost of Living Index in Hurghada
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Hurghada Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Hurghada

🇪🇬 Egypt

$445

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $445 per month in Hurghada vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Hurghada $445
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $932 per month in Hurghada vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Hurghada $932
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $1,419 per month in Hurghada vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Hurghada $1,419
Chiang Mai $1,979

Hurghada is about 52% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Hurghada and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Hurghada 67% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.56 E£199

$2.24 ฿75.7

58.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.24 E£2,140

$19.00 ฿642

101.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.30 E£297

$5.55 ฿188

-4.50%

Cappuccino

$1.93 E£108

$1.67 ฿56.6

15.57%

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

$0.45 E£25.24

$0.64 ฿21.56

-29.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.18 E£10.01

$0.31 ฿10.32

-41.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.75 E£98.1

$2.36 ฿79.6

-25.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 E£167

$3.66 ฿124

-18.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.89 E£49.55

$1.95 ฿65.8

-54.36%

White Bread (500g)

$0.79 E£44.22

$1.44 ฿48.51

-45.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.60 E£33.80

$1.33 ฿45.07

-54.89%

Eggs

$1.79 E£100

$2.28 ฿77.1

-21.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.09 E£173

$16.45 ฿556

-81.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.49 E£307

$2.78 ฿94.0

97.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.34 E£523

$9.31 ฿314

0.32%

Apples (1kg)

$1.38 E£77.2

$2.35 ฿79.5

-41.28%

Banana (1kg)

$0.50 E£27.98

$0.97 ฿32.82

-48.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.41 E£23.19

$1.60 ฿53.9

-74.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.37 E£20.49

$1.50 ฿50.7

-75.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.32 E£17.94

$1.28 ฿43.15

-75.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.35 E£19.55

$1.10 ฿37.22

-68.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.26 E£14.41

$0.71 ฿23.84

-63.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.17 E£9.26

$0.49 ฿16.38

-65.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.00 E£112

$4.14 ฿140

-51.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.36 E£412

$17.52 ฿592

-57.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 E£67.9

$1.61 ฿54.5

-24.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 E£92.1

$2.78 ฿94.0

-41.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.08 E£4.35

$0.87 ฿29.33

-90.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.22 E£292

$54.1 ฿1,827

-90.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.90 E£50.6

$1.16 ฿39.08

-22.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 E£11.06

$0.53 ฿17.82

-62.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.77 E£98.9

$2.42 ฿81.8

-26.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.39 E£21.88

$1.45 ฿48.93

-73.10%

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

$29.9K E£1.7M

$21.1K ฿711.2K

42.00%

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

$22.4K E£1.3M

$26.9K ฿909.8K

-16.99%

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

$24.18 E£1,353

$62.2 ฿2,100

-61.11%

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

$7.63 E£427

$12.17 ฿411

-37.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.75 E£490

$20.12 ฿680

-56.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.47 E£1,482

$37.31 ฿1,260

-29.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.84 E£327

$3.77 ฿127

54.91%

Cinema Ticket

$3.28 E£184

$6.49 ฿219

-49.46%

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

$99.3 E£5,557

$736 ฿24.9K

-86.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$595 E£33.3K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-95.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.80 E£1,052

$53.4 ฿1,802

-64.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.81 E£1,724

$24.64 ฿832

25.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,089

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$26.42 E£1,478

$71.9 ฿2,429

-63.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$205 E£11.5K

$482 ฿16.3K

-57.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$111 E£6,232

$309 ฿10.4K

-63.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$216 E£12.1K

$1,006 ฿34.0K

-78.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$542 E£30.3K

$633 ฿21.4K

-14.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$513 E£28.7K

$2,363 ฿79.8K

-78.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$572 E£32.0K

$1,589 ฿53.7K

-63.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$141 E£7,864

$590 ฿19.9K

-76.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

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

Last update for Hurghada: October 27, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Hurghada

$133 30%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 75.9% $101

Accommodation & Living

Hurghada

$111 25%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 178% $198

Eating Out

Hurghada

$85 19.1%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 8.6% $7.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hurghada

$41 9.1%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 133% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Hurghada

$34 * 7.7%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 218% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Hurghada

$33 7.4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 52.2% $17

Getting Around

Hurghada

$7.4 1.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 727% $54

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $205 in Hurghada 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 Chiang Mai are about 4.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38 in Hurghada versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $133 in Hurghada vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so Hurghada wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Hurghada

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

13:22 1:22 PM

17:22 5:22 PM

4 h ahead of Hurghada

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

160,901

127,240

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.61 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 55.97 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.29 EGP (100 EGP = 1.61 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Hurghada Chiang Mai 6,660 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Hurghada
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

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

Chiang Mai costs about 110% more than Hurghada, 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 $667 per month in Hurghada 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 Hurghada, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $205 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

Kindergarten costs $99 per month in Hurghada and $736 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 76% more in Chiang Mai, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

Families tend to lean toward Hurghada – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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