Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kolonnawa and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Kolonnawa: $488 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Kolonnawa
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Kolonnawa Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Kolonnawa

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$488

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $488 per month in Kolonnawa vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kolonnawa $488
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $794 per month in Kolonnawa vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kolonnawa $794
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $1,100 per month in Kolonnawa vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kolonnawa $1,100
Chiang Mai $1,979

Kolonnawa is about 48% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Kolonnawa and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Kolonnawa 64% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.87 LKR 1,285

$2.24 ฿75.7

72.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.33 LKR 8,422

$19.00 ฿642

33.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.38 LKR 2,453

$5.55 ฿188

32.97%

Cappuccino

$2.45 LKR 816

$1.67 ฿56.6

46.71%

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

$0.71 LKR 236

$0.64 ฿21.56

10.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 LKR 82.6

$0.31 ฿10.32

-19.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 LKR 718

$2.36 ฿79.6

-8.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 LKR 1,018

$3.66 ฿124

-16.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 LKR 519

$1.95 ฿65.8

-20.00%

White Bread (500g)

$0.53 LKR 178

$1.44 ฿48.51

-63.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.58 LKR 192

$1.33 ฿45.07

-56.39%

Eggs

$1.66 LKR 551

$2.28 ฿77.1

-27.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.53 LKR 3,502

$16.45 ฿556

-35.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.63 LKR 1,539

$2.78 ฿94.0

66.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.32 LKR 2,433

$9.31 ฿314

-21.37%

Apples (1kg)

$6.75 LKR 2,243

$2.35 ฿79.5

187.23%

Banana (1kg)

$0.85 LKR 281

$0.97 ฿32.82

-12.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.43 LKR 1,472

$1.60 ฿53.9

176.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 LKR 439

$1.50 ฿50.7

-12.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 LKR 347

$1.28 ฿43.15

-18.75%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 LKR 255

$1.10 ฿37.22

-30.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 LKR 308

$0.71 ฿23.84

30.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 LKR 142

$0.49 ฿16.38

-12.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.34 LKR 3,436

$4.14 ฿140

149.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.50 LKR 3,489

$17.52 ฿592

-40.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 LKR 588

$1.61 ฿54.5

9.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 LKR 738

$2.78 ฿94.0

-20.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.16 LKR 53.2

$0.87 ฿29.33

-81.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 LKR 134

$1.16 ฿39.08

-65.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 LKR 116

$0.53 ฿17.82

-33.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 LKR 308

$2.42 ฿81.8

-61.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 LKR 442

$1.45 ฿48.93

-8.28%

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

$43.9K LKR 14.6M

$21.1K ฿711.2K

108.26%

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

$41.1K LKR 13.7M

$26.9K ฿909.8K

52.60%

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

$59.6 LKR 19.8K

$62.2 ฿2,100

-4.17%

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

$4.20 LKR 1,397

$12.17 ฿411

-65.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.66 LKR 6,870

$20.12 ฿680

2.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,260

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$4.65 LKR 1,546

$6.49 ฿219

-28.35%

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

$37.35 LKR 12.4K

$736 ฿24.9K

-94.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,188 LKR 394.9K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-91.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.07 LKR 6,007

$53.4 ฿1,802

-66.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.73 LKR 5,562

$24.64 ฿832

-32.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.1 LKR 26.6K

$91.5 ฿3,089

-12.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.69 LKR 13.9K

$71.9 ฿2,429

-42.05%

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 ฿34.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

5.57

127.83%

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

Last update for Kolonnawa: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kolonnawa

$217 44.6%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 7.8% $17

Eating Out

Kolonnawa

$103 21.2%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 24.9% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kolonnawa

$84 17.3%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 11.9% $10

Clothing & Footwear

Kolonnawa

$70 14.5%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 54.2% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Kolonnawa

$9.3 * 1.9%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 441% $41

Getting Around

Kolonnawa

$2.8 * 0.6%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 2099% $59

Accommodation & Living

Kolonnawa

- * 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 $25 in Kolonnawa versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $217 in Kolonnawa vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so Kolonnawa wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Kolonnawa

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

02:08 2:08 AM

03:38 3:38 AM

1 h 30 min ahead of Kolonnawa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

64,800

127,240

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kolonnawa Chiang Mai 2,450 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Kolonnawa
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

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

Chiang Mai costs about 92% more than Kolonnawa, 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 $732 per month in Kolonnawa 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 Kolonnawa 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 8% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Kolonnawa, where all-in costs run around $488, than in Chiang Mai at $936. In Kolonnawa it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chiang Mai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Kolonnawa costs $488 versus $936 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.