Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lezhe and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $1,011 in Lezhe, rent and utilities included – about $880 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Lezhe
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Lezhe Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Lezhe

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,011

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,011 per month in Lezhe vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lezhe $1,011
Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $1,537 per month in Lezhe vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lezhe $1,537
Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $2,063 per month in Lezhe vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lezhe $2,063
Chiang Mai $1,914

Lezhe costs about 8% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Lezhe and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Lezhe 25% lower, Chiang Mai 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.39 ALL 434

$2.26 ฿75.4

138.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.19 ALL 2,995

$19.18 ฿641

93.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.64 ALL 293

$5.59 ฿187

-34.88%

Cappuccino

$1.02 ALL 82.4

$1.72 ฿57.6

-40.70%

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

$1.50 ALL 121

$0.64 ฿21.54

134.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.64 ALL 51.3

$0.33 ฿11.18

93.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.49 ALL 120

$2.36 ฿78.7

-36.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 ALL 195

$3.90 ฿130

-37.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.90 ALL 153

$2.05 ฿68.6

-7.32%

White Bread (500g)

$0.99 ALL 79.6

$1.40 ฿46.70

-29.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.02 ALL 163

$1.28 ฿42.89

57.81%

Eggs

$2.66 ALL 214

$2.25 ฿75.3

18.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.15 ALL 817

$16.94 ฿566

-40.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.60 ALL 692

$2.74 ฿91.6

213.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.03 ALL 1,130

$9.36 ฿313

49.89%

Apples (1kg)

$1.91 ALL 154

$2.40 ฿80.3

-20.42%

Banana (1kg)

$2.23 ALL 179

$1.01 ฿33.92

120.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.62 ALL 130

$1.61 ฿53.9

0.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.59 ALL 128

$1.52 ฿50.7

4.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 ALL 87.0

$1.28 ฿42.90

-15.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 ALL 103

$1.11 ฿37.22

15.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 ALL 94.8

$0.72 ฿24.09

63.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 ALL 67.0

$0.52 ฿17.54

59.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.31 ALL 347

$4.33 ฿145

-0.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.79 ALL 627

$17.73 ฿593

-56.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ALL 138

$1.63 ฿54.4

5.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 ALL 149

$2.85 ฿95.3

-35.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.49 ALL 39.41

$0.85 ฿28.31

-42.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.93 ALL 1,524

$53.9 ฿1,801

-64.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.73 ALL 301

$1.17 ฿39.18

218.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.82 ALL 308

$0.57 ฿19.00

570.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.97 ALL 1,447

$2.37 ฿79.2

658.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 ALL 182

$1.45 ฿48.32

55.17%

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

$33.2K ALL 2.7M

$20.5K ฿684.3K

62.25%

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

$24.8K ALL 2.0M

$26.5K ฿886.1K

-6.64%

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

$60.0 ALL 4,833

$62.3 ฿2,083

-3.71%

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

$16.37 ALL 1,318

$12.27 ฿410

33.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.98 ALL 1,367

$19.97 ฿668

-14.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.3 ALL 4,456

$37.91 ฿1,267

45.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.76 ฿126

Cinema Ticket

$8.77 ALL 706

$6.71 ฿224

30.70%

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

$180 ALL 14.5K

$797 ฿26.6K

-77.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿495.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.81 ALL 4,011

$53.3 ฿1,780

-6.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.5 ALL 4,468

$25.05 ฿837

121.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.3 ALL 7,752

$91.6 ฿3,062

5.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$146 ALL 11.8K

$73.5 ฿2,455

98.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ALL 38.9K

$464 ฿15.5K

3.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$308 ALL 24.8K

$305 ฿10.2K

1.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$709 ALL 57.1K

$915 ฿30.6K

-22.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$429 ALL 34.6K

$552 ฿18.5K

-22.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,694 ALL 136.4K

$1,912 ฿63.9K

-11.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,133 ALL 91.2K

$1,438 ฿48.1K

-21.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$609 ALL 49.1K

$595 ฿19.9K

2.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-10.23%

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

Last update for Lezhe: October 12, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lezhe

$308 30.5%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 1.2% $3.8

Groceries & Markets

Lezhe

$249 24.6%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 4.4% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Lezhe

$156 15.5%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 30% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lezhe

$93 9.2%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 1.3% $1.2

Eating Out

Lezhe

$87 8.6%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 9.4% $8.2

Sport & Entertainment

Lezhe

$73 7.2%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 29.6% $22

Getting Around

Lezhe

$44 4.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 40.2% $18

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Lezhe versus $464 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 run about 2% higher in Lezhe, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $37.00 in Lezhe versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $249 vs $238 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇱 Lezhe

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

09:37 9:37 AM

14:37 2:37 PM

5 h ahead of Lezhe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

65,633

127,240

💱 Currency

Albanian Lek ALL L

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 ALL = 1.24 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ALL – Albanian Lek Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇱 Albanian Lek (L)

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 80.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 90.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to ALL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lezhe Chiang Mai 7,760 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Lezhe
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

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

Lezhe costs about 8% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,516 per month in Lezhe and $1,408 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 $180 per month in Lezhe and $797 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 5% more in Lezhe, 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 $938, than in Lezhe at $1,011. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lezhe it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $938 versus $1,011 in Lezhe. 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, Lezhe makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.