Cost of Living Comparison Between Karbala and Chiang Mai Cost of Living Comparison Between Karbala and Chiang Mai

🙂 Solo nomad: Karbala is 16% cheaper than Chiang Mai without rent, and 23.3% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Karbala is 15% cheaper than Chiang Mai without rent, and 28.3% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.06 IQD 6,634

$1.97 ฿62.0

156.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.45 IQD 20.3K

$18.68 ฿587

-17.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.44 IQD 7,131

$7.92 ฿249

-31.31%

Cappuccino

$1.59 IQD 2,081

$2.02 ฿63.7

-21.29%

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

$0.39 IQD 515

$0.84 ฿26.45

-53.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 IQD 364

$0.35 ฿11.07

-20.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.96 IQD 2,568

$2.22 ฿69.9

-11.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 IQD 3,688

$3.59 ฿113

-21.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 IQD 1,541

$1.67 ฿52.4

-29.94%

White Bread (500g)

$0.74 IQD 973

$1.62 ฿51.1

-54.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 IQD 1,972

$1.20 ฿37.83

25.00%

Eggs

$1.74 IQD 2,285

$1.93 ฿60.8

-9.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.22 IQD 6,847

$16.00 ฿503

-67.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.66 IQD 6,110

$3.16 ฿99.2

47.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.88 IQD 13.0K

$10.93 ฿344

-9.61%

Apples (1kg)

$0.92 IQD 1,205

$2.67 ฿83.8

-65.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 IQD 1,364

$1.18 ฿36.99

-11.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.95 IQD 1,250

$1.64 ฿51.5

-42.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.72 IQD 941

$1.59 ฿49.83

-54.72%

Potato (1kg)

$0.69 IQD 905

$1.32 ฿41.64

-47.73%

Onion (1kg)

$0.55 IQD 716

$1.19 ฿37.49

-53.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.60 IQD 784

$0.71 ฿22.20

-15.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 IQD 776

$0.56 ฿17.75

5.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.94 IQD 2,549

$4.64 ฿146

-58.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.61 IQD 15.2K

$18.96 ฿596

-38.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 IQD 1,404

$1.77 ฿55.7

-39.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 IQD 2,741

$3.20 ฿101

-34.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.37 IQD 480

$0.90 ฿28.32

-58.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.68 IQD 41.5K

$19.24 ฿605

64.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.27 IQD 2,979

$1.36 ฿42.78

66.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 IQD 2,035

$1.35 ฿42.37

14.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.82 IQD 10.2K

$8.15 ฿256

-4.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.48 IQD 635

$1.22 ฿38.43

-60.66%

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

$11.5K IQD 15.1M

$21.4K ฿671.8K

-46.17%

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

$14.5K IQD 19.0M

$21.7K ฿683.8K

-33.22%

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

$71.5 IQD 93.7K

$70.3 ฿2,210

1.69%

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

$24.91 IQD 32.7K

$13.91 ฿437

79.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.60 IQD 65.0K

$18.00 ฿566

175.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.92 IQD 30.1K

$41.78 ฿1,314

-45.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.88 IQD 22.1K

$6.80 ฿214

148.24%

Cinema Ticket

$8.92 IQD 11.7K

$5.72 ฿180

55.94%

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

$124 IQD 163.2K

$308 ฿9,693

-59.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$798 IQD 1.0M

$14.8K ฿465.7K

-94.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.01 IQD 22.3K

$55.9 ฿1,756

-69.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$13.92 IQD 18.2K

$26.71 ฿840

-47.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$30.65 IQD 40.2K

$84.5 ฿2,658

-63.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$32.35 IQD 42.4K

$70.8 ฿2,227

-54.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$255 IQD 334.5K

$431 ฿13.5K

-40.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$148 IQD 193.6K

$237 ฿7,439

-37.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$350 IQD 458.7K

$811 ฿25.5K

-56.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$248 IQD 324.8K

$501 ฿15.7K

-50.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$990 IQD 1.3M

$2,202 ฿69.2K

-55.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$328 IQD 430.7K

$1,600 ฿50.3K

-79.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$483 IQD 633.8K

$684 ฿21.5K

-29.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.67

13.40%

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

Last update for Karbala: January 11, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: January 13, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Similar cities

Da Nang

🇻🇳 Vietnam

Tehran

🇮🇷 Iran

Algiers

🇩🇿 Algeria

Kharkiv

🇺🇦 Ukraine

Chengdu

🇨🇳 China

Surabaya

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Xi'an

🇨🇳 China

Agadir

🇲🇦 Morocco