Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lerwick and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $925 a month against $2,368 in Lerwick, rent and utilities included – about $17,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

114

Cost of Living Index in Lerwick
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Lerwick Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Lerwick

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,368

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,368 per month in Lerwick vs $925 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lerwick $2,368
Chiang Mai $925

A couple spends around $3,415 per month in Lerwick vs $1,414 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lerwick $3,415
Chiang Mai $1,414

A family of three spends $4,462 per month in Lerwick vs $1,903 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lerwick $4,462
Chiang Mai $1,903

Lerwick costs about 156% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Lerwick sits 75% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 32% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.15 £15.11

$2.29 ฿76.5

779.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.5 £73.9

$19.64 ฿656

401.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 £7.76

$5.61 ฿188

84.49%

Cappuccino

$5.40 £4.05

$1.66 ฿55.6

225.30%

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

$2.25 £1.69

$0.70 ฿23.40

221.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 £1.23

$0.31 ฿10.24

429.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.45 £4.84

$2.41 ฿80.4

167.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.86 £4.40

$3.71 ฿124

57.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 £1.16

$1.95 ฿65.3

-20.51%

White Bread (500g)

$1.69 £1.27

$1.41 ฿47.03

19.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.21 £1.66

$1.31 ฿43.62

68.70%

Eggs

$4.02 £3.02

$2.18 ฿72.9

84.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.37 £7.03

$16.65 ฿556

-43.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.57 £6.43

$2.76 ฿92.2

210.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 £10.84

$9.11 ฿304

58.51%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.27

$2.39 ฿80.0

26.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.03 ฿34.26

46.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 £2.07

$1.63 ฿54.4

69.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.28 £2.46

$1.50 ฿50.0

118.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.29 ฿43.13

41.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.11 ฿37.03

54.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 £0.95

$0.72 ฿24.08

75.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 £1.16

$0.53 ฿17.59

192.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.02 £18.02

$4.31 ฿144

457.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.48 £7.86

$17.95 ฿600

-41.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.00 £2.25

$1.58 ฿52.9

89.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 £2.46

$2.84 ฿95.0

15.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.07 £2.30

$0.86 ฿28.86

256.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$83.1 £62.3

$53.3 ฿1,780

55.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.23 £3.18

$1.21 ฿40.29

249.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.35 £1.76

$0.57 ฿18.99

312.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.03 £18.03

$2.35 ฿78.6

922.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 £1.75

$1.44 ฿47.96

62.50%

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

$38.9K £29.2K

$20.7K ฿692.8K

87.54%

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

$34.5K £25.9K

$26.8K ฿895.7K

28.61%

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

$309 £232

$62.3 ฿2,083

396.50%

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

$19.33 £14.50

$12.11 ฿405

59.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.26 £33.95

$19.94 ฿666

126.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.8 £39.61

$37.07 ฿1,239

42.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.78 ฿126

Cinema Ticket

$13.32 £9.99

$6.50 ฿217

104.92%

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

$1,392 £1,045

$793 ฿26.5K

75.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.5K £18.4K

$14.8K ฿494.9K

65.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 £66.5

$53.7 ฿1,796

65.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.6 £37.93

$24.62 ฿823

105.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.1 £66.8

$90.9 ฿3,036

-1.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 £82.8

$71.1 ฿2,378

55.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,112 £834

$455 ฿15.2K

144.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 £777

$298 ฿9,954

247.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,395 £1,797

$908 ฿30.4K

163.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,523 £1,143

$554 ฿18.5K

175.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,646 £3,486

$1,931 ฿64.5K

140.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,438 £2,579

$1,445 ฿48.3K

138.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$591 ฿19.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.09

5.57

-8.62%

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

Last update for Lerwick: October 18, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lerwick

$1K 43.7%

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2% 71.2% $738

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lerwick

$374 15.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2% 74.8% $280

Eating Out

Lerwick

$317 13.4%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5% 75.2% $238

Groceries & Markets

Lerwick

$298 12.6%

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5% 21.1% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Lerwick

$152 6.4%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7% 29% $44

Getting Around

Lerwick

$111 4.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 45.4% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Lerwick

$79 3.4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 37% $29

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,112 in Lerwick versus $455 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 $99.0 in Lerwick versus $20.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $298 vs $235 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Lerwick

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

17:22 5:22 PM

23:22 11:22 PM

6 h ahead of Lerwick

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,000

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

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Between locations

Lerwick Chiang Mai 8,750 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lerwick
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

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

Lerwick costs about 156% 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 $3,552 per month in Lerwick and $1,388 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $1,392 per month in Lerwick and $793 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 27% more in Lerwick, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Chiang Mai, where all-in costs run around $925, than in Lerwick at $2,368. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lerwick it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $925 versus $2,368 in Lerwick. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Lerwick makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.