Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kalmar and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,953 in Kalmar, rent and utilities included – about $12,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

94

Cost of Living Index in Kalmar
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Kalmar Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Kalmar

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,953

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,953 per month in Kalmar vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kalmar $1,953
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $2,895 per month in Kalmar vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kalmar $2,895
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $3,837 per month in Kalmar vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kalmar $3,837
Chiang Mai $1,979

Kalmar costs about 109% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Kalmar sits 44% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.36 SEK 152

$2.24 ฿75.6

585.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.1 SEK 703

$19.00 ฿641

274.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 SEK 104

$5.55 ฿187

88.65%

Cappuccino

$4.67 SEK 46.20

$1.67 ฿56.5

179.64%

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

$2.81 SEK 27.82

$0.64 ฿21.53

339.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 SEK 25.22

$0.31 ฿10.30

722.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.69 SEK 95.8

$2.36 ฿79.5

310.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.25 SEK 71.7

$3.66 ฿124

98.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 SEK 14.58

$1.95 ฿65.7

-24.10%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 SEK 29.80

$1.44 ฿48.45

109.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.07 SEK 30.37

$1.33 ฿45.01

130.83%

Eggs

$4.65 SEK 46.00

$2.28 ฿77.0

103.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.58 SEK 164

$16.45 ฿555

0.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.89 SEK 108

$2.78 ฿93.8

291.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.80 SEK 225

$9.31 ฿314

144.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.49 SEK 24.59

$2.35 ฿79.4

5.96%

Banana (1kg)

$2.77 SEK 27.34

$0.97 ฿32.78

185.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.57 SEK 35.29

$1.60 ฿53.9

123.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.46 SEK 44.11

$1.50 ฿50.6

197.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 SEK 16.54

$1.28 ฿43.10

30.47%

Onion (1kg)

$2.27 SEK 22.46

$1.10 ฿37.17

106.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.93 SEK 19.04

$0.71 ฿23.81

171.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.67 SEK 16.53

$0.49 ฿16.36

240.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.79 SEK 77.0

$4.14 ฿140

88.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.14 SEK 90.3

$17.52 ฿591

-47.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 SEK 19.10

$1.61 ฿54.5

19.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 SEK 25.15

$2.78 ฿93.9

-8.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.21 SEK 31.74

$0.87 ฿29.29

268.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.4 SEK 775

$54.1 ฿1,825

44.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$10.03 SEK 99.2

$1.16 ฿39.03

764.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.72 SEK 17.02

$0.53 ฿17.79

224.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$47.45 SEK 469

$2.42 ฿81.7

1860.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.71 SEK 16.86

$1.45 ฿48.87

17.93%

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

$30.2K SEK 298.3K

$21.1K ฿710.3K

43.29%

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

$29.3K SEK 289.9K

$26.9K ฿908.7K

8.86%

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

$144 SEK 1,428

$62.2 ฿2,097

132.30%

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

$27.58 SEK 273

$12.17 ฿410

126.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.34 SEK 320

$20.12 ฿679

60.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.33 SEK 300

$37.31 ฿1,259

-18.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.38 SEK 261

$3.77 ฿127

599.73%

Cinema Ticket

$14.58 SEK 144

$6.49 ฿219

124.65%

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

$142 SEK 1,399

$736 ฿24.8K

-80.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,986 SEK 49.3K

$14.8K ฿498.0K

-66.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.41 SEK 488

$53.4 ฿1,800

-7.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.31 SEK 438

$24.64 ฿831

79.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.2 SEK 783

$91.5 ฿3,086

-13.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$100 SEK 990

$71.9 ฿2,426

39.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$908 SEK 8,977

$482 ฿16.3K

88.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$778 SEK 7,687

$309 ฿10.4K

151.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,325 SEK 13.1K

$1,006 ฿33.9K

31.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,123 SEK 11.1K

$633 ฿21.4K

77.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,073 SEK 40.3K

$2,363 ฿79.7K

72.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,733 SEK 27.0K

$1,589 ฿53.6K

71.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,864 SEK 28.3K

$590 ฿19.9K

385.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.93

5.57

-29.44%

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

Last update for Kalmar: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kalmar

$778 39.8%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 60.3% $469

Groceries & Markets

Kalmar

$384 19.7%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 39% $150

Eating Out

Kalmar

$295 15.1%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 73.7% $217

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kalmar

$204 10.5%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 53.8% $110

Clothing & Footwear

Kalmar

$123 6.3%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 11.6% $14

Getting Around

Kalmar

$110 5.6%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 44.2% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Kalmar

$59 3.1%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 15.5% $9.2

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $908 in Kalmar 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.

Salaries in Kalmar are about 4.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $71 in Kalmar versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $384 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Kalmar

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

14:56 2:56 PM

20:56 8:56 PM

6 h ahead of Kalmar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

35,170

127,240

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.12 USD

100 SEK = 9.07 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 9.88 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.03 SEK (100 SEK = 9.07 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.64 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kalmar Chiang Mai 7,830 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Kalmar
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

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

Kalmar costs about 109% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,930 per month in Kalmar 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 Chiang Mai, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $482 there versus $908 in Kalmar.

Kindergarten costs $142 per month in Kalmar and $736 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 64% more in Kalmar, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,953 in Kalmar 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 $1,953 in Kalmar. 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.

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