Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kabwe and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Kabwe: $567 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

27

Cost of Living Index in Kabwe
Learn more

Kabwe Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Kabwe

🇿🇲 Zambia

$567

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $567 per month in Kabwe vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kabwe $567
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $899 per month in Kabwe vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kabwe $899
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $1,232 per month in Kabwe vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kabwe $1,232
Chiang Mai $1,979

Kabwe is about 39% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Kabwe and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Kabwe 58% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.59 ZMW 113

$2.24 ฿75.6

149.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.24 ZMW 611

$19.00 ฿641

59.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.03 ZMW 102

$5.55 ฿187

-9.37%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ZMW 55.0

$1.67 ฿56.5

62.87%

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

$0.76 ZMW 15.45

$0.64 ฿21.53

18.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.45 ZMW 9.14

$0.31 ฿10.30

45.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.25 ZMW 25.28

$2.36 ฿79.5

-47.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 ZMW 45.82

$3.66 ฿124

-37.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ZMW 33.59

$1.95 ฿65.7

-14.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 ZMW 24.53

$1.44 ฿48.45

-15.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.09 ZMW 42.29

$1.33 ฿45.01

57.14%

Eggs

$1.18 ZMW 23.92

$2.28 ฿77.0

-48.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.35 ZMW 209

$16.45 ฿555

-37.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.43 ZMW 130

$2.78 ฿93.8

131.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.41 ZMW 130

$9.31 ฿314

-31.15%

Apples (1kg)

$3.24 ZMW 65.5

$2.35 ฿79.4

37.87%

Banana (1kg)

$0.95 ZMW 19.28

$0.97 ฿32.78

-2.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.63 ZMW 73.3

$1.60 ฿53.9

126.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ZMW 31.04

$1.50 ฿50.6

2.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.57 ZMW 51.9

$1.28 ฿43.10

100.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 ZMW 37.19

$1.10 ฿37.17

67.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ZMW 22.86

$0.71 ฿23.81

59.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 ZMW 15.07

$0.49 ฿16.36

53.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.03 ZMW 61.1

$4.14 ฿140

-26.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.71 ZMW 196

$17.52 ฿591

-44.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 ZMW 28.31

$1.61 ฿54.5

-13.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 ZMW 46.77

$2.78 ฿93.9

-16.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.29

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 ZMW 51.1

$1.16 ฿39.03

118.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 ZMW 29.80

$0.53 ฿17.79

179.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.85 ZMW 97.9

$2.42 ฿81.7

100.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 ZMW 27.59

$1.45 ฿48.87

-5.52%

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

$7,409 ZMW 149.7K

$21.1K ฿710.3K

-64.82%

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

$27.2K ZMW 549.2K

$26.9K ฿908.7K

0.91%

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

$78.5 ZMW 1,586

$62.2 ฿2,097

26.30%

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

$10.37 ZMW 210

$12.17 ฿410

-14.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.2 ZMW 1,095

$20.12 ฿679

169.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$5.85 ZMW 118

$6.49 ฿219

-9.86%

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

$137 ZMW 2,762

$736 ฿24.8K

-81.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.4K ZMW 331.1K

$14.8K ฿498.0K

11.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$22.90 ZMW 463

$53.4 ฿1,800

-57.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.36 ZMW 310

$24.64 ฿831

-37.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$44.90 ZMW 907

$91.5 ฿3,086

-50.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.3 ZMW 1,441

$71.9 ฿2,426

-0.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

420.65%

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

Last update for Kabwe: October 24, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kabwe

$224 39.6%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 4.4% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kabwe

$143 25.3%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 34% $49

Eating Out

Kabwe

$108 19.1%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 28.3% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Kabwe

$70 12.3%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 56.3% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Kabwe

$12 * 2.1%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 329% $39

Getting Around

Kabwe

$9.9 * 1.8%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 519% $51

Accommodation & Living

Kabwe

- * 0%

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $30 in Kabwe versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $224 in Kabwe vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so Kabwe wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇲 Kabwe

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

01:37 1:37 AM

06:37 6:37 AM

5 h ahead of Kabwe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

117,517

127,240

💱 Currency

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZMW = 4.95 USD

100 ZMW = 4.44 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ZMW – Zambian Kwacha Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇲 Zambian Kwacha (ZK)

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 20.2 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.95 USD). 1 EUR = 22.51 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.44 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to ZMW in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kabwe Chiang Mai 8,560 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Kabwe
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

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

Chiang Mai costs about 65% more than Kabwe, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $850 per month in Kabwe and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $30 in Kabwe 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 4% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Kabwe, where all-in costs run around $567, than in Chiang Mai at $936. In Kabwe it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chiang Mai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $567 in Kabwe to $936 in Chiang Mai. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.