Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lira and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Lira: $389 a month against $935 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

19

Cost of Living Index in Lira
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Lira Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Lira

🇺🇬 Uganda

$389

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $389 per month in Lira vs $935 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lira $389
Chiang Mai $935

A couple spends around $614 per month in Lira vs $1,467 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lira $614
Chiang Mai $1,467

A family of three spends $839 per month in Lira vs $1,999 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lira $839
Chiang Mai $1,999

Lira is about 58% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Lira and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Lira 71% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.32 UGX 9,929

$2.13 ฿71.8

8.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.02 UGX 98.4K

$18.62 ฿626

23.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.13 UGX 30.5K

$5.60 ฿188

27.32%

Cappuccino

$2.41 UGX 10.3K

$1.66 ฿55.9

45.18%

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

$0.24 UGX 1,030

$0.65 ฿21.75

-63.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.22 UGX 939

$0.30 ฿10.25

-26.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.71 UGX 3,038

$2.32 ฿78.1

-69.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 UGX 7,336

$3.67 ฿123

-53.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.76 UGX 3,234

$2.02 ฿67.8

-62.38%

White Bread (500g)

$0.84 UGX 3,605

$1.41 ฿47.34

-40.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.24 UGX 5,282

$1.39 ฿46.79

-10.79%

Eggs

$1.38 UGX 5,884

$2.37 ฿79.6

-41.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.04 UGX 17.3K

$16.52 ฿555

-75.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.35 UGX 18.6K

$2.67 ฿89.8

62.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.71 UGX 20.1K

$9.02 ฿303

-47.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 UGX 8,627

$2.40 ฿80.6

-15.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 UGX 5,754

$1.04 ฿35.01

29.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.21 UGX 5,188

$1.66 ฿55.8

-27.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.18 UGX 5,042

$1.56 ฿52.4

-24.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 UGX 5,118

$1.24 ฿41.61

-3.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.20 UGX 5,112

$1.09 ฿36.53

10.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.70 UGX 2,976

$0.76 ฿25.61

-7.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 UGX 2,144

$0.51 ฿17.29

-1.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.41 UGX 10.3K

$4.12 ฿139

-41.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.17 UGX 30.6K

$17.93 ฿603

-60.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 UGX 4,466

$1.62 ฿54.6

-35.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 UGX 7,589

$2.82 ฿94.9

-36.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.42

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,778

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.49 UGX 2,092

$1.18 ฿39.56

-58.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.28 UGX 1,188

$0.17 ฿5.76

64.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.90 UGX 12.4K

$1.81 ฿60.9

60.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 UGX 6,054

$1.47 ฿49.51

-3.40%

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

$6,923 UGX 29.6M

$21.0K ฿706.4K

-67.05%

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

$7,095 UGX 30.3M

$26.5K ฿891.4K

-73.24%

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

$65.4 UGX 279.7K

$62.6 ฿2,103

4.60%

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

$10.94 UGX 46.8K

$11.60 ฿390

-5.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.40 UGX 142.7K

$20.30 ฿683

64.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.88 ฿1,274

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿124

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 UGX 30.4K

$6.51 ฿219

9.37%

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

$259 UGX 1.1M

$727 ฿24.4K

-64.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.6K UGX 66.7M

$16.6K ฿557.2K

-5.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$12.99 UGX 55.5K

$53.5 ฿1,800

-75.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$12.06 UGX 51.6K

$24.80 ฿834

-51.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$30.89 UGX 132.0K

$90.4 ฿3,039

-65.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.89 UGX 179.0K

$72.0 ฿2,420

-41.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 ฿16.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$310 ฿10.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ฿35.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ฿22.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿54.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿20.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.75

5.57

272.53%

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

Last update for Lira: November 1, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Lira

$141 36.3%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 67.5% $95

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lira

$110 28.2%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 14% $15

Eating Out

Lira

$78 20%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 1.4% $1.1

Clothing & Footwear

Lira

$44 11.3%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 146% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Lira

$14 * 3.7%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 257% $37

Getting Around

Lira

$1.9 * 0.5%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 3020% $57

Accommodation & Living

Lira

- * 0%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $23 in Lira versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $141 in Lira vs $237 in Chiang Mai – so Lira wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇺🇬 Lira

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

23:06 11:06 PM

03:06 3:06 AM

4 h ahead of Lira

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

99,059

127,240

💱 Currency

Ugandan Shilling UGX Sh

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 UGX = 2.34 USD

10,000 UGX = 2.08 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to UGX – Ugandan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇺🇬 Ugandan Shilling (Sh)

Ugandan Shilling exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 4,273 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.34 USD). 1 EUR = 4,811 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.08 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.85 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

USD to UGX in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lira Chiang Mai 7,410 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Lira
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

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

Chiang Mai costs about 141% more than Lira, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $583 per month in Lira and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $23 in Lira 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 68% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $389 in Lira to $935 in Chiang Mai. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.