Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Itanagar and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Itanagar: $350 a month against $935 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

17

Cost of Living Index in Itanagar
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Itanagar Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Itanagar

🇮🇳 India

$350

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $350 per month in Itanagar vs $935 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Itanagar $350
Chiang Mai $935

A couple spends around $558 per month in Itanagar vs $1,467 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Itanagar $558
Chiang Mai $1,467

A family of three spends $765 per month in Itanagar vs $1,999 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Itanagar $765
Chiang Mai $1,999

Itanagar is about 63% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Itanagar and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Itanagar 74% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.84 ₹269

$2.13 ฿72.0

33.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$11.71 ₹1,109

$18.62 ฿628

-37.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.40 ₹512

$5.60 ฿189

-3.57%

Cappuccino

$2.46 ₹233

$1.66 ฿56.1

48.19%

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

$0.43 ₹41.16

$0.65 ฿21.82

-33.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ₹15.55

$0.30 ฿10.29

-46.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.30 ₹123

$2.32 ฿78.3

-43.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.50 ₹331

$3.67 ฿124

-4.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.67 ₹63.1

$2.02 ฿68.0

-66.83%

White Bread (500g)

$0.38 ₹36.36

$1.41 ฿47.49

-73.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.61 ₹57.7

$1.39 ฿46.94

-56.12%

Eggs

$0.95 ₹90.3

$2.37 ฿79.9

-59.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.07 ₹196

$16.52 ฿557

-87.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ₹313

$2.67 ฿90.1

23.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.02 ฿304

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 ₹209

$2.40 ฿80.9

-8.33%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 ₹68.8

$1.04 ฿35.12

-29.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.95 ₹89.8

$1.66 ฿56.0

-42.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.62 ₹59.1

$1.56 ฿52.6

-60.26%

Potato (1kg)

$0.35 ₹33.32

$1.24 ฿41.75

-71.77%

Onion (1kg)

$0.35 ₹32.93

$1.09 ฿36.65

-67.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.31 ₹28.97

$0.76 ฿25.70

-59.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.25 ₹23.60

$0.51 ฿17.34

-50.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.66 ₹346

$4.12 ฿139

-11.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.61 ₹437

$17.93 ฿605

-74.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 ₹144

$1.62 ฿54.8

-6.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.24 ₹117

$2.82 ฿95.2

-56.03%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$4.84 ₹458

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.52

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,784

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.68 ₹64.5

$1.18 ฿39.69

-42.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.28 ₹26.21

$0.17 ฿5.78

64.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.31 ₹124

$1.81 ฿61.1

-27.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.96 ₹91.3

$1.47 ฿49.67

-34.69%

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

$11.3K ₹1.1M

$21.0K ฿708.7K

-46.28%

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

$16.8K ₹1.6M

$26.5K ฿894.4K

-36.80%

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

$34.74 ₹3,291

$62.6 ฿2,110

-44.47%

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

$3.36 ₹319

$11.60 ฿391

-71.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$6.41 ₹608

$20.30 ฿685

-68.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.33 ₹2,020

$37.88 ฿1,278

-43.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿125

Cinema Ticket

$3.26 ₹309

$6.51 ฿220

-49.92%

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

$28.09 ₹2,661

$727 ฿24.5K

-96.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$470 ₹44.6K

$16.6K ฿559.0K

-97.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$16.04 ₹1,519

$53.5 ฿1,806

-70.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.53 ₹3,271

$24.80 ฿836

39.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$36.18 ₹3,427

$90.4 ฿3,049

-59.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$26.92 ₹2,550

$72.0 ฿2,428

-62.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$72.7 ₹6,890

$481 ฿16.2K

-84.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$53.0 ₹5,017

$310 ฿10.5K

-82.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$161 ₹15.2K

$1,058 ฿35.7K

-84.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$127 ₹12.1K

$659 ฿22.2K

-80.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿54.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$321 ₹30.4K

$595 ฿20.1K

-46.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.26

5.57

30.34%

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

Last update for Itanagar: November 2, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Itanagar

$87 24.9%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 172% $150

Eating Out

Itanagar

$84 24.1%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 9.3% $7.8

Accommodation & Living

Itanagar

$53 15.1%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 485% $257

Clothing & Footwear

Itanagar

$51 14.6%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 112% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Itanagar

$45 12.7%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 112% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Itanagar

$28 8%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 82.8% $23

Getting Around

Itanagar

$2.1 * 0.6%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 2748% $57

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $73 in Itanagar versus $481 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 85% higher in Chiang Mai, 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 $12 in Itanagar versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $87 vs $237 – making Itanagar the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇳 Itanagar

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

11:39 11:39 AM

13:09 1:09 PM

1 h 30 min ahead of Itanagar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

60,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Indian Rupee INR ₹

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 INR = 10.56 USD

1,000 INR = 9.44 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to INR – Indian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇳 Indian Rupee (₹)

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 94.73 INR (100 INR = 1.06 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.44 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.72 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to INR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Itanagar Chiang Mai 1,070 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Itanagar
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

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

Chiang Mai costs about 167% more than Itanagar, 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 $525 per month in Itanagar 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 Itanagar, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $73 there versus $481 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $12 in Itanagar 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 172% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

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

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