Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ibarra and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibarra: $664 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Ibarra
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Ibarra Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Ibarra

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$664

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $664 per month in Ibarra vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Ibarra $664
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,142 per month in Ibarra vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Ibarra $1,142
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $1,620 per month in Ibarra vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Ibarra $1,620
Chiang Mai $1,979

Ibarra is about 29% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Ibarra and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Ibarra 51% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.58 $2.58

$2.24 ฿75.5

15.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.11 $25.11

$19.00 ฿640

32.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 $5.60

$5.55 ฿187

0.90%

Cappuccino

$2.21 $2.21

$1.67 ฿56.4

32.34%

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

$1.09 $1.09

$0.64 ฿21.51

70.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.59 $0.59

$0.31 ฿10.29

90.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.95 $1.95

$2.36 ฿79.5

-17.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 $2.27

$3.66 ฿123

-37.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.94 $0.94

$1.95 ฿65.7

-51.79%

White Bread (500g)

$0.98 $0.98

$1.44 ฿48.41

-31.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 $1.48

$1.33 ฿44.97

11.28%

Eggs

$2.06 $2.06

$2.28 ฿77.0

-9.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.82 $3.82

$16.45 ฿554

-76.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.29 $5.29

$2.78 ฿93.8

90.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.58 $7.58

$9.31 ฿314

-18.58%

Apples (1kg)

$1.97 $1.97

$2.35 ฿79.3

-16.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.23 $1.23

$0.97 ฿32.75

26.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.31 $1.31

$1.60 ฿53.8

-18.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.86 $0.86

$1.50 ฿50.6

-42.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.51 $0.51

$1.28 ฿43.06

-60.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 $1.01

$1.10 ฿37.14

-8.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.70 $0.70

$0.71 ฿23.79

-1.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 $0.98

$0.49 ฿16.34

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.04 $3.04

$4.14 ฿140

-26.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.33 $8.33

$17.52 ฿590

-52.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 $1.59

$1.61 ฿54.4

-1.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 $3.04

$2.78 ฿93.8

9.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.37 $0.37

$0.87 ฿29.27

-57.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,823

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.54 $1.54

$1.16 ฿39.00

32.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 $1.48

$0.53 ฿17.78

179.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.92 $9.92

$2.42 ฿81.6

309.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.69 $0.69

$1.45 ฿48.82

-52.41%

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

$23.4K $23.4K

$21.1K ฿709.7K

11.06%

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

$29.8K $29.8K

$26.9K ฿907.9K

10.70%

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

$28.50 $28.50

$62.2 ฿2,095

-54.16%

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

$15.16 $15.16

$12.17 ฿410

24.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.02 $18.02

$20.12 ฿678

-10.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.20 $30.20

$37.31 ฿1,257

-19.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 $16.73

$3.77 ฿127

343.77%

Cinema Ticket

$6.51 $6.51

$6.49 ฿219

0.31%

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

$109 $109

$736 ฿24.8K

-85.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,023 $9,023

$14.8K ฿497.6K

-38.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.1 $61.1

$53.4 ฿1,799

14.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.30 $44.30

$24.64 ฿830

79.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.1 $91.1

$91.5 ฿3,083

-0.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$50.1 $50.1

$71.9 ฿2,424

-30.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$228 $228

$482 ฿16.3K

-52.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$183 $183

$309 ฿10.4K

-40.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$810 $810

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-19.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$501 $501

$633 ฿21.3K

-20.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$761 $761

$2,363 ฿79.6K

-67.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$610 $610

$1,589 ฿53.6K

-61.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$604 $604

$590 ฿19.9K

2.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.12

5.57

81.69%

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

Last update for Ibarra: October 27, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ibarra

$183 27.6%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 68.7% $126

Groceries & Markets

Ibarra

$170 25.5%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 38.2% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Ibarra

$111 16.7%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 2.1% $2.3

Eating Out

Ibarra

$85 12.8%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 8.6% $7.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ibarra

$62 9.3%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 53.1% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Ibarra

$43 6.5%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 16.3% $7.1

Getting Around

Ibarra

$10 * 1.6%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 488% $51

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $228 in Ibarra 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $25 in Ibarra versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $170 in Ibarra vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so Ibarra wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇪🇨 Ibarra

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

21:40 9:40 PM

09:40 9:40 AM

12 h ahead of Ibarra

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

108,666

127,240

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 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).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ibarra Chiang Mai 17,860 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Ibarra
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

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

Chiang Mai costs about 41% more than Ibarra, 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 $996 per month in Ibarra 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 Ibarra, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $228 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $25 in Ibarra 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 38% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Ibarra, where all-in costs run around $664, than in Chiang Mai at $936. In Ibarra it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chiang Mai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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