Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kilkenny and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,340 in Kilkenny, rent and utilities included – about $16,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index in Kilkenny
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Kilkenny Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Kilkenny

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,340

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,340 per month in Kilkenny vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kilkenny $2,340
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,280 per month in Kilkenny vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kilkenny $3,280
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $4,221 per month in Kilkenny vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kilkenny $4,221
Chiang Mai $1,979

Kilkenny costs about 150% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Kilkenny sits 72% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.55 €14.83

$2.24 ฿75.6

638.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 €60.4

$19.00 ฿641

254.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.02 €8.98

$5.55 ฿187

80.54%

Cappuccino

$4.28 €3.84

$1.67 ฿56.5

156.29%

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

$2.98 €2.67

$0.64 ฿21.55

365.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 €1.95

$0.31 ฿10.31

603.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.57 €5.89

$2.36 ฿79.6

178.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.50 €5.83

$3.66 ฿124

77.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 €1.20

$1.95 ฿65.8

-31.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.35 €2.11

$1.44 ฿48.48

63.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.33 ฿45.04

15.04%

Eggs

$4.38 €3.93

$2.28 ฿77.1

92.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.50 €9.41

$16.45 ฿555

-36.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.72 €5.13

$2.78 ฿93.9

105.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.82 €6.12

$9.31 ฿314

-26.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.04

$2.35 ฿79.4

-3.40%

Banana (1kg)

$2.23 €2.00

$0.97 ฿32.80

129.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 €2.72

$1.60 ฿53.9

89.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.85 €2.55

$1.50 ฿50.6

90.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 €1.11

$1.28 ฿43.12

-3.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 €1.02

$1.10 ฿37.19

3.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.85 €0.76

$0.71 ฿23.82

19.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 €1.64

$0.49 ฿16.37

273.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.42 €18.30

$4.14 ฿140

393.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.18 €12.71

$17.52 ฿591

-19.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.82 €3.42

$1.61 ฿54.5

137.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 €3.92

$2.78 ฿94.0

57.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.71 €2.43

$0.87 ฿29.31

211.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,826

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 €4.78

$1.16 ฿39.06

360.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.53 ฿17.80

166.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.4 €50.6

$2.42 ฿81.8

2231.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 €1.83

$1.45 ฿48.90

40.69%

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

$38.2K €34.3K

$21.1K ฿710.7K

81.55%

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

$38.4K €34.4K

$26.9K ฿909.3K

42.46%

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

$181 €162

$62.2 ฿2,098

190.37%

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

$20.72 €18.57

$12.17 ฿411

70.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.8 €46.43

$20.12 ฿679

157.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.4 €62.2

$37.31 ฿1,259

86.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.38 €20.05

$3.77 ฿127

493.63%

Cinema Ticket

$13.53 €12.13

$6.49 ฿219

108.47%

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

$877 €786

$736 ฿24.8K

19.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.3K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.1

$53.4 ฿1,801

90.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.88 €33.05

$24.64 ฿831

49.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 €99.8

$91.5 ฿3,087

21.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.0 €84.3

$71.9 ฿2,428

30.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,534 €1,374

$482 ฿16.3K

217.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,252 €1,122

$309 ฿10.4K

305.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,620 €2,348

$1,006 ฿33.9K

160.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,818 €1,629

$633 ฿21.4K

187.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,172 €7,323

$2,363 ฿79.8K

245.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,279 €2,042

$1,589 ฿53.6K

43.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,765 €2,478

$590 ฿19.9K

368.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.68

5.57

-33.93%

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

Last update for Kilkenny: October 27, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kilkenny

$1.3K 53.5%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 75.3% $943

Eating Out

Kilkenny

$280 12%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 72.3% $203

Groceries & Markets

Kilkenny

$280 12%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 16.2% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kilkenny

$253 10.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 62.7% $159

Clothing & Footwear

Kilkenny

$155 6.6%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 29.8% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Kilkenny

$96 4.1%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 47.9% $46

Getting Around

Kilkenny

$23 * 1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 164% $38

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,534 in Kilkenny 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 Kilkenny are about 4.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $67 in Kilkenny versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $280 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Kilkenny

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

05:36 5:36 AM

12:36 12:36 PM

7 h ahead of Kilkenny

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

26,500

127,240

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Kilkenny Chiang Mai 9,400 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Kilkenny
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

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

Kilkenny costs about 150% 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 $3,509 per month in Kilkenny 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 $1,534 in Kilkenny.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $67 in Kilkenny 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 19% more in Kilkenny, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,340 in Kilkenny and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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

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, Kilkenny makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.