Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kortrijk and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,833 in Kortrijk, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Kortrijk
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Kortrijk Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Kortrijk

🇧🇪 Belgium

$1,833

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,833 per month in Kortrijk vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kortrijk $1,833
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $2,655 per month in Kortrijk vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kortrijk $2,655
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $3,478 per month in Kortrijk vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Kortrijk $3,478
Chiang Mai $1,979

Kortrijk costs about 96% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Kortrijk sits 35% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.46 €20.18

$2.24 ฿75.7

902.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.2 €64.0

$19.00 ฿642

274.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.06 €9.94

$5.55 ฿188

99.28%

Cappuccino

$3.00 €2.69

$1.67 ฿56.6

79.64%

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

$2.96 €2.66

$0.64 ฿21.56

362.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.64 €2.37

$0.31 ฿10.32

751.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.56 €4.10

$2.36 ฿79.6

93.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 €2.98

$3.66 ฿124

-9.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 €1.07

$1.95 ฿65.8

-38.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.74 €1.57

$1.44 ฿48.51

20.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 €1.28

$1.33 ฿45.07

7.52%

Eggs

$3.00 €2.70

$2.28 ฿77.1

31.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.72 €10.53

$16.45 ฿556

-28.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.29 €7.44

$2.78 ฿94.0

198.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.35 €12.89

$9.31 ฿314

54.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.18 €1.96

$2.35 ฿79.5

-7.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 €1.71

$0.97 ฿32.82

96.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 €1.79

$1.60 ฿53.9

24.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.01 €1.81

$1.50 ฿50.7

34.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.28 ฿43.15

53.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.66 €1.49

$1.10 ฿37.22

50.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 €1.33

$0.71 ฿23.84

108.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 €0.73

$0.49 ฿16.38

65.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.71 €11.42

$4.14 ฿140

207.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.35 €6.60

$17.52 ฿592

-58.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.61 ฿54.5

28.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 €1.61

$2.78 ฿94.0

-35.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.73 €2.45

$0.87 ฿29.33

213.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.2 €48.66

$54.1 ฿1,827

0.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.27 €2.04

$1.16 ฿39.08

95.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.21 €1.99

$0.53 ฿17.82

316.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.72 €22.21

$2.42 ฿81.8

921.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.84 €1.65

$1.45 ฿48.93

26.90%

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

$33.9K €30.5K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

60.97%

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

$33.6K €30.2K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

24.62%

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

$202 €181

$62.2 ฿2,100

224.82%

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

$17.48 €15.70

$12.17 ฿411

43.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.0 €47.58

$20.12 ฿680

163.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.1 €46.76

$37.31 ฿1,260

39.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.44 €12.07

$3.77 ฿127

256.50%

Cinema Ticket

$14.61 €13.13

$6.49 ฿219

125.12%

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

$657 €590

$736 ฿24.9K

-10.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.2K €14.6K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

9.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.8 €50.1

$53.4 ฿1,802

4.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.79 €23.16

$24.64 ฿832

4.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.5 €78.6

$91.5 ฿3,089

-4.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 €91.7

$71.9 ฿2,429

41.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$834 €750

$482 ฿16.3K

73.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 €644

$309 ฿10.4K

132.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,224 €1,099

$1,006 ฿34.0K

21.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$999 €898

$633 ฿21.4K

57.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,237 €3,806

$2,363 ฿79.8K

79.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,263 €2,033

$1,589 ฿53.7K

42.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,814 €2,528

$590 ฿19.9K

377.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.9

5.57

-29.98%

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

Last update for Kortrijk: 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

Kortrijk

$717 39.1%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 56.9% $408

Eating Out

Kortrijk

$301 16.4%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 74.2% $223

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kortrijk

$272 14.9%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 65.3% $178

Groceries & Markets

Kortrijk

$261 14.2%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 10.1% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Kortrijk

$122 6.7%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 11% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Kortrijk

$81 4.4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 38.1% $31

Getting Around

Kortrijk

$78 4.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 21.8% $17

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $834 in Kortrijk 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 Kortrijk are about 4.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $71 in Kortrijk versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $261 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Kortrijk

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

22:51 10:51 PM

04:51 4:51 AM

6 h ahead of Kortrijk

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

76,700

127,240

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Kortrijk Chiang Mai 8,790 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Kortrijk
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

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

Kortrijk costs about 96% 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 $2,749 per month in Kortrijk 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 $834 in Kortrijk.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $71 in Kortrijk 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 11% more in Kortrijk, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,833 in Kortrijk 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 $1,833 in Kortrijk. 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, Kortrijk makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.