Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kaifeng and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Kaifeng: $500 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Kaifeng
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Kaifeng Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Kaifeng

🇨🇳 China

$500

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $500 per month in Kaifeng vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kaifeng $500
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $792 per month in Kaifeng vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kaifeng $792
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $1,083 per month in Kaifeng vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kaifeng $1,083
Chiang Mai $1,979

Kaifeng is about 47% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Kaifeng and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Kaifeng 63% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.85 ¥12.30

$2.24 ฿75.6

-17.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.44 ¥89.3

$19.00 ฿641

-29.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.12 ¥27.40

$5.55 ฿187

-25.77%

Cappuccino

$2.19 ¥14.54

$1.67 ฿56.5

31.14%

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

$0.39 ¥2.56

$0.64 ฿21.55

-39.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.17 ¥1.14

$0.31 ฿10.31

-45.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.89 ¥5.91

$2.36 ฿79.6

-62.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 ¥10.16

$3.66 ฿124

-58.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ¥10.40

$1.95 ฿65.8

-19.49%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 ¥10.21

$1.44 ฿48.48

6.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 ¥5.39

$1.33 ฿45.04

-39.10%

Eggs

$0.96 ¥6.39

$2.28 ฿77.1

-57.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.67 ¥44.30

$16.45 ฿555

-59.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.30 ¥15.25

$2.78 ฿93.9

-17.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.21 ¥67.8

$9.31 ฿314

9.67%

Apples (1kg)

$0.87 ¥5.78

$2.35 ฿79.4

-62.98%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ¥6.42

$0.97 ฿32.80

Oranges (1kg)

$0.59 ¥3.94

$1.60 ฿53.9

-63.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.64 ¥4.25

$1.50 ฿50.6

-57.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.58 ¥3.84

$1.28 ฿43.12

-54.69%

Onion (1kg)

$0.67 ¥4.47

$1.10 ฿37.19

-39.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.21 ¥1.39

$0.71 ฿23.82

-70.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ¥3.67

$0.49 ฿16.37

12.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.94 ¥19.56

$4.14 ฿140

-28.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.88 ¥98.9

$17.52 ฿591

-15.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 ¥6.70

$1.61 ฿54.5

-37.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 ¥13.36

$2.78 ฿94.0

-27.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.13 ¥0.87

$0.87 ฿29.31

-85.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,826

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 ¥7.75

$1.16 ฿39.06

0.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.15 ¥0.99

$0.53 ฿17.80

-71.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ¥24.50

$2.42 ฿81.8

52.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 ¥8.44

$1.45 ฿48.90

-12.41%

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

$19.2K ¥127.3K

$21.1K ฿710.7K

-9.00%

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

$14.9K ¥99.0K

$26.9K ฿909.3K

-44.72%

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

$45.22 ¥300

$62.2 ฿2,098

-27.26%

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

$4.76 ¥31.62

$12.17 ฿411

-60.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$5.28 ¥35.07

$20.12 ฿679

-73.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.67 ¥197

$37.31 ฿1,259

-20.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.55 ¥70.1

$3.77 ฿127

179.84%

Cinema Ticket

$3.82 ¥25.36

$6.49 ฿219

-41.14%

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

$388 ¥2,581

$736 ฿24.8K

-47.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$31.2K ¥207.3K

$14.8K ฿498.3K

111.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.81 ¥291

$53.4 ฿1,801

-17.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.96 ¥226

$24.64 ฿831

37.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.9 ¥478

$91.5 ฿3,087

-21.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$45.32 ¥301

$71.9 ฿2,428

-37.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$121 ¥801

$482 ฿16.3K

-75.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$88.7 ¥589

$309 ฿10.4K

-71.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$225 ¥1,494

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-77.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$180 ¥1,197

$633 ฿21.4K

-71.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$580 ¥3,852

$590 ฿19.9K

-1.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.1

5.57

-44.34%

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

Last update for Kaifeng: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kaifeng

$165 33.1%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 41.8% $69

Accommodation & Living

Kaifeng

$89 17.7%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 248% $220

Clothing & Footwear

Kaifeng

$88 17.6%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 23.8% $21

Eating Out

Kaifeng

$63 12.6%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 22.8% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kaifeng

$55 11.1%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 70.9% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Kaifeng

$37 7.5%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 34.8% $13

Getting Around

Kaifeng

$2.4 * 0.5%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 2415% $59

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $121 in Kaifeng 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 $13 in Kaifeng versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $165 vs $234 – making Kaifeng the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Kaifeng

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

17:51 5:51 PM

16:51 4:51 PM

1 h behind Kaifeng

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,676,159

127,240

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.64 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kaifeng Chiang Mai 2,340 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Kaifeng
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

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

Chiang Mai costs about 87% more than Kaifeng, 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 $750 per month in Kaifeng 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 Kaifeng, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $121 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $13 in Kaifeng 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 42% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Kaifeng, where all-in costs run around $500, than in Chiang Mai at $936. In Kaifeng it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chiang Mai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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