Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lake Balaton and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,103 in Lake Balaton, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Lake Balaton
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Lake Balaton Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Lake Balaton

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,103

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,103 per month in Lake Balaton vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lake Balaton $1,103
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,672 per month in Lake Balaton vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lake Balaton $1,672
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $2,241 per month in Lake Balaton vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lake Balaton $2,241
Chiang Mai $1,979

Lake Balaton costs about 18% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Lake Balaton and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Lake Balaton 19% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.70 Ft 2,869

$2.24 ฿75.7

288.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.14 Ft 15.2K

$19.00 ฿642

142.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.40 Ft 2,771

$5.55 ฿188

51.35%

Cappuccino

$2.02 Ft 666

$1.67 ฿56.6

20.96%

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

$1.35 Ft 445

$0.64 ฿21.56

110.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 Ft 309

$0.31 ฿10.32

203.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.90 Ft 626

$2.36 ฿79.6

-19.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 Ft 727

$3.66 ฿124

-39.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.06 Ft 348

$1.95 ฿65.8

-45.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 Ft 506

$1.44 ฿48.51

6.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.82 Ft 599

$1.33 ฿45.07

36.84%

Eggs

$2.61 Ft 859

$2.28 ฿77.1

14.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.54 Ft 3,144

$16.45 ฿556

-42.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.96 Ft 1,966

$2.78 ฿94.0

114.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.80 Ft 3,889

$9.31 ฿314

26.75%

Apples (1kg)

$1.80 Ft 592

$2.35 ฿79.5

-23.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 Ft 647

$0.97 ฿32.82

102.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.00 Ft 658

$1.60 ฿53.9

25.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.82 Ft 928

$1.50 ฿50.7

88.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 Ft 361

$1.28 ฿43.15

-14.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.21 Ft 399

$1.10 ฿37.22

10.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 Ft 477

$0.71 ฿23.84

104.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 Ft 172

$0.49 ฿16.38

6.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.74 Ft 2,221

$4.14 ฿140

62.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.94 Ft 1,957

$17.52 ฿592

-66.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 Ft 339

$1.61 ฿54.5

-36.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.46 Ft 480

$2.78 ฿94.0

-47.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 Ft 386

$0.87 ฿29.33

34.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.01 Ft 8,245

$54.1 ฿1,827

-53.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.82 Ft 929

$1.16 ฿39.08

143.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 Ft 371

$0.53 ฿17.82

113.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.19 Ft 5,669

$2.42 ฿81.8

610.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.76 Ft 581

$1.45 ฿48.93

21.38%

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

$26.1K Ft 8.6M

$21.1K ฿711.2K

24.03%

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

$30.5K Ft 10.0M

$26.9K ฿909.8K

13.05%

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

$144 Ft 47.6K

$62.2 ฿2,100

132.09%

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

$26.23 Ft 8,647

$12.17 ฿411

115.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.86 Ft 6,549

$20.12 ฿680

-1.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.36 Ft 15.3K

$37.31 ฿1,260

24.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.56 Ft 5,460

$3.77 ฿127

339.26%

Cinema Ticket

$7.26 Ft 2,395

$6.49 ฿219

11.86%

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

$295 Ft 97.1K

$736 ฿24.9K

-59.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,542 Ft 2.2M

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-55.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.1 Ft 23.1K

$53.4 ฿1,802

31.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.04 Ft 8,915

$24.64 ฿832

9.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.5 Ft 23.6K

$91.5 ฿3,089

-21.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$81.2 Ft 26.8K

$71.9 ฿2,429

12.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$438 Ft 144.5K

$482 ฿16.3K

-9.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$341 Ft 112.6K

$309 ฿10.4K

10.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$639 Ft 210.8K

$1,006 ฿34.0K

-36.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 Ft 174.3K

$633 ฿21.4K

-16.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,968 Ft 978.5K

$2,363 ฿79.8K

25.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,314 Ft 763.0K

$1,589 ฿53.7K

45.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.4

5.57

32.85%

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

Last update for Lake Balaton: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lake Balaton

$341 30.9%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 9.5% $33

Groceries & Markets

Lake Balaton

$218 19.8%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 7.5% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lake Balaton

$190 17.3%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 50.4% $96

Eating Out

Lake Balaton

$142 12.9%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 45.4% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Lake Balaton

$112 10.2%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 3.4% $3.8

Sport & Entertainment

Lake Balaton

$61 5.5%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 17.4% $11

Getting Around

Lake Balaton

$38 3.5%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 60.9% $23

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $438 in Lake Balaton 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $46 in Lake Balaton versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $218 in Lake Balaton vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so Lake Balaton wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Lake Balaton

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

15:12 3:12 PM

21:12 9:12 PM

6 h ahead of Lake Balaton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

275,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.03 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 330 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.03 USD). 1 EUR = 367 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lake Balaton Chiang Mai 7,830 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Lake Balaton
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

Lake Balaton vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lake Balaton costs about 18% 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 $1,655 per month in Lake Balaton and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $438 in Lake Balaton and $482 in Chiang Mai. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Kindergarten costs $295 per month in Lake Balaton and $736 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 7% cheaper in Lake Balaton – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,103 in Lake Balaton 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 $1,103 in Lake Balaton. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.