Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kaka and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,188 in Kaka, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

105

Cost of Living Index in Kaka
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Kaka Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Kaka

🇹🇲 Turkmenistan

$2,188

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,188 per month in Kaka vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kaka $2,188
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,298 per month in Kaka vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kaka $3,298
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $4,409 per month in Kaka vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kaka $4,409
Chiang Mai $1,979

Kaka costs about 134% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Kaka sits 61% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$31.16 TMT 104

$2.24 ฿75.6

1291.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 TMT 284

$19.00 ฿641

346.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.93 TMT 43.31

$5.55 ฿187

132.97%

Cappuccino

$6.93 TMT 23.23

$1.67 ฿56.5

314.97%

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

$1.54 TMT 5.16

$0.64 ฿21.54

140.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.89 TMT 3.00

$0.31 ฿10.31

187.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.85 TMT 19.60

$2.36 ฿79.5

147.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.73 TMT 46.01

$3.66 ฿124

275.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.38 TMT 14.68

$1.95 ฿65.7

124.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.08 TMT 6.97

$1.44 ฿48.46

44.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.71 TMT 19.11

$1.33 ฿45.03

329.32%

Eggs

$6.07 TMT 20.35

$2.28 ฿77.1

166.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$37.74 TMT 126

$16.45 ฿555

129.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.89 TMT 66.6

$2.78 ฿93.9

615.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.74 TMT 76.2

$9.31 ฿314

144.25%

Apples (1kg)

$5.04 TMT 16.89

$2.35 ฿79.4

114.47%

Banana (1kg)

$8.51 TMT 28.50

$0.97 ฿32.79

777.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.53 TMT 25.23

$1.60 ฿53.9

370.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.72 TMT 12.45

$1.50 ฿50.6

148.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.35 TMT 7.86

$1.28 ฿43.11

83.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.40 TMT 4.67

$1.10 ฿37.18

27.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.65 TMT 8.86

$0.71 ฿23.82

273.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 TMT 3.77

$0.49 ฿16.36

128.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$26.17 TMT 87.7

$4.14 ฿140

532.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$41.83 TMT 140

$17.52 ฿591

138.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.17 TMT 17.30

$1.61 ฿54.5

221.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 TMT 9.80

$2.78 ฿93.9

5.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.30

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.83 TMT 9.49

$1.16 ฿39.04

143.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.82 TMT 2.74

$0.53 ฿17.80

54.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.41 TMT 28.17

$2.42 ฿81.7

247.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.42 TMT 1.40

$1.45 ฿48.88

-71.03%

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

$44.7K TMT 149.8K

$21.1K ฿710.5K

112.35%

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

$57.2K TMT 191.5K

$26.9K ฿909.0K

112.19%

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

$570 TMT 1,910

$62.2 ฿2,098

817.16%

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

$57.7 TMT 193

$12.17 ฿411

374.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$105 TMT 351

$20.12 ฿679

420.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,259

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$8.44 TMT 28.29

$6.49 ฿219

30.05%

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

$22.91 TMT 76.8

$736 ฿24.8K

-96.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.1K TMT 84.0K

$14.8K ฿498.2K

69.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.5 TMT 189

$53.4 ฿1,801

5.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$114 TMT 381

$24.64 ฿831

361.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$362 TMT 1,211

$91.5 ฿3,087

295.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$195 TMT 653

$71.9 ฿2,427

170.91%

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 %)

9.5

5.57

70.56%

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

Last update for Kaka: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kaka

$733 33.5%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 87.1% $638

Groceries & Markets

Kaka

$667 30.5%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 64.9% $432

Eating Out

Kaka

$438 20%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 82.3% $360

Clothing & Footwear

Kaka

$327 14.9%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 66.8% $218

Sport & Entertainment

Kaka

$17 * 0.8%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 198% $33

Getting Around

Kaka

$6.9 * 0.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 787% $54

Accommodation & Living

Kaka

- * 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 $85 in Kaka versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $667 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇲 Kaka

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

06:48 6:48 AM

08:48 8:48 AM

2 h ahead of Kaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

33,315

127,240

💱 Currency

Turkmenistani Manat TMT m

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 TMT = 0.299 USD

1 TMT = 0.267 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to TMT – Turkmenistani Manat Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇲 Turkmenistani Manat (m)

Turkmenistani Manat exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3.35 TMT (1 TMT = 0.299 USD). 1 EUR = 3.74 TMT (1 TMT = 0.267 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to TMT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kaka Chiang Mai 4,340 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Kaka
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

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

Kaka costs about 134% more than Chiang Mai, 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 $3,282 per month in Kaka 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 $85 in Kaka 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 185% more in Kaka, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,188 in Kaka and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $936 in Chiang Mai to $2,188 in Kaka. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.