Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lija and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,974 in Lija, rent and utilities included – about $12,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

100

Cost of Living Index in Lija
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Lija Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Lija

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,974

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,974 per month in Lija vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lija $1,974
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,101 per month in Lija vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lija $3,101
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $4,228 per month in Lija vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lija $4,228
Chiang Mai $1,979

Lija costs about 111% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Lija sits 45% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.47 €20.05

$2.24 ฿75.6

903.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.7 €80.9

$19.00 ฿641

377.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.33 €11.89

$5.55 ฿187

140.18%

Cappuccino

$3.20 €2.86

$1.67 ฿56.5

91.62%

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

$2.34 €2.08

$0.64 ฿21.53

265.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.92 €1.71

$0.31 ฿10.30

519.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.71 €5.10

$2.36 ฿79.5

141.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.78 €6.05

$3.66 ฿124

85.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 €1.18

$1.95 ฿65.7

-32.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 €1.30

$1.44 ฿48.45

1.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.42 €3.05

$1.33 ฿45.01

157.14%

Eggs

$4.23 €3.78

$2.28 ฿77.0

85.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.29 €9.18

$16.45 ฿555

-37.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.83 €10.55

$2.78 ฿93.8

325.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.44 €16.46

$9.31 ฿314

98.07%

Apples (1kg)

$3.75 €3.35

$2.35 ฿79.4

59.57%

Banana (1kg)

$2.80 €2.50

$0.97 ฿32.78

188.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.96 €3.54

$1.60 ฿53.9

147.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.84 €3.42

$1.50 ฿50.6

156.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.28 ฿43.10

45.31%

Onion (1kg)

$3.36 €3.00

$1.10 ฿37.17

205.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.21 €1.97

$0.71 ฿23.81

211.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 €1.33

$0.49 ฿16.36

204.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.18 €5.52

$4.14 ฿140

49.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.85 €5.22

$17.52 ฿591

-66.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.39 €2.13

$1.61 ฿54.5

48.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 €2.04

$2.78 ฿93.9

-17.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.45 €2.18

$0.87 ฿29.29

181.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.55

$1.16 ฿39.03

243.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.76 €1.57

$0.53 ฿17.79

232.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.80 €29.26

$2.42 ฿81.7

1255.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 €1.36

$1.45 ฿48.87

4.83%

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

$28.2K €25.1K

$21.1K ฿710.3K

33.70%

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

$38.9K €34.8K

$26.9K ฿908.7K

44.57%

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

$157 €140

$62.2 ฿2,097

152.71%

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

$31.50 €28.10

$12.17 ฿410

158.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.99 €25.87

$20.12 ฿679

44.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.7 €50.6

$37.31 ฿1,259

51.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$11.33 €10.11

$6.49 ฿219

74.58%

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

$272 €243

$736 ฿24.8K

-63.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K €11.0K

$14.8K ฿498.0K

-16.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.7 €51.5

$53.4 ฿1,800

8.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$67.6 €60.3

$24.64 ฿831

174.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 €99.0

$91.5 ฿3,086

21.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 €117

$71.9 ฿2,426

82.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,205 €1,075

$482 ฿16.3K

149.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$830 €741

$309 ฿10.4K

168.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,528 €1,363

$1,006 ฿33.9K

51.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,497 €1,336

$633 ฿21.4K

136.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,448 €3,969

$2,363 ฿79.7K

88.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,958 €2,639

$1,589 ฿53.6K

86.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.05

5.57

-27.29%

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

Last update for Lija: October 24, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lija

$830 42.1%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 62.8% $521

Groceries & Markets

Lija

$341 17.3%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 31.4% $107

Eating Out

Lija

$317 16.1%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 75.5% $240

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lija

$218 11%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 56.6% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Lija

$165 8.4%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 34.3% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Lija

$79 4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 36.6% $29

Getting Around

Lija

$23 * 1.1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 172% $39

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,205 in Lija 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 $91 in Lija versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $341 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Lija

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

19:16 7:16 PM

01:16 1:16 AM

6 h ahead of Lija

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,200

127,240

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lija Chiang Mai 8,320 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lija
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

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

Lija costs about 111% 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 $2,961 per month in Lija 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 $1,205 in Lija.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $91 in Lija 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 46% more in Lija, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,974 in Lija 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 $1,974 in Lija. 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.