Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kandana and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Kandana: $509 a month against $935 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Kandana
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Kandana Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Kandana

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$509

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $509 per month in Kandana vs $935 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kandana $509
Chiang Mai $935

A couple spends around $827 per month in Kandana vs $1,467 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kandana $827
Chiang Mai $1,467

A family of three spends $1,145 per month in Kandana vs $1,999 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kandana $1,145
Chiang Mai $1,999

Kandana is about 46% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Kandana and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Kandana 62% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.76 LKR 1,252

$2.13 ฿71.7

76.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.18 LKR 8,377

$18.62 ฿625

35.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.45 LKR 2,477

$5.60 ฿188

33.04%

Cappuccino

$2.43 LKR 808

$1.66 ฿55.9

46.39%

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

$0.72 LKR 238

$0.65 ฿21.73

10.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 90.6

$0.30 ฿10.24

-10.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.18 LKR 726

$2.32 ฿78.0

-6.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 LKR 1,025

$3.67 ฿123

-16.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 LKR 526

$2.02 ฿67.7

-21.78%

White Bread (500g)

$0.54 LKR 178

$1.41 ฿47.29

-61.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.75 LKR 248

$1.39 ฿46.75

-46.04%

Eggs

$1.65 LKR 549

$2.37 ฿79.5

-30.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.19 LKR 5,051

$16.52 ฿555

-8.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.88 LKR 1,622

$2.67 ฿89.7

82.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.76 LKR 2,581

$9.02 ฿303

-13.97%

Apples (1kg)

$6.73 LKR 2,238

$2.40 ฿80.6

180.42%

Banana (1kg)

$0.82 LKR 273

$1.04 ฿34.98

-21.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.11 LKR 1,368

$1.66 ฿55.7

147.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.28 LKR 426

$1.56 ฿52.4

-17.95%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 LKR 343

$1.24 ฿41.57

-16.94%

Onion (1kg)

$0.82 LKR 271

$1.09 ฿36.50

-24.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 LKR 413

$0.76 ฿25.59

63.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.46 LKR 152

$0.51 ฿17.27

-9.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.16 LKR 3,378

$4.12 ฿138

146.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.42 LKR 4,464

$17.93 ฿602

-25.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.87 LKR 623

$1.62 ฿54.5

15.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 LKR 988

$2.82 ฿94.8

5.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.39

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,777

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.38 LKR 126

$1.18 ฿39.52

-67.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.33 LKR 111

$0.17 ฿5.76

94.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.86 LKR 288

$1.81 ฿60.9

-52.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 LKR 457

$1.47 ฿49.47

-6.80%

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

$44.2K LKR 14.7M

$21.0K ฿705.8K

110.26%

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

$45.5K LKR 15.1M

$26.5K ฿890.7K

71.67%

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

$57.5 LKR 19.1K

$62.6 ฿2,101

-8.17%

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

$4.30 LKR 1,430

$11.60 ฿390

-62.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.55 LKR 6,835

$20.30 ฿682

1.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,272

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿124

Cinema Ticket

$4.45 LKR 1,480

$6.51 ฿219

-31.64%

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

$40.32 LKR 13.4K

$727 ฿24.4K

-94.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.2K LKR 5.7M

$16.6K ฿556.7K

3.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.24 LKR 6,065

$53.5 ฿1,798

-65.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.49 LKR 5,817

$24.80 ฿833

-29.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 LKR 26.6K

$90.4 ฿3,036

-11.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.94 LKR 13.6K

$72.0 ฿2,418

-43.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 ฿16.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$310 ฿10.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ฿22.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿54.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.5

5.57

124.42%

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

Last update for Kandana: November 3, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kandana

$243 47.7%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 2.5% $6.1

Eating Out

Kandana

$103 20.2%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 25.4% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kandana

$82 16.2%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 14.8% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Kandana

$70 13.8%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 53.8% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Kandana

$8.9 * 1.8%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 472% $42

Getting Around

Kandana

$2.1 * 0.4%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 2762% $57

Accommodation & Living

Kandana

- * 0%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1%

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 $25 in Kandana versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $243 vs $237 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Kandana

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

15:06 3:06 PM

16:36 4:36 PM

1 h 30 min ahead of Kandana

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 374 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.59 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.75 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kandana Chiang Mai 2,440 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Kandana
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

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

Chiang Mai costs about 84% more than Kandana, 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 $764 per month in Kandana 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 $25 in Kandana and $19 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 3% cheaper in Chiang Mai – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Kandana costs $509 versus $935 in Chiang Mai. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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