Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Machakos and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Machakos: $520 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Machakos
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Machakos Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Machakos

🇰🇪 Kenya

$520

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $520 per month in Machakos vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Machakos $520
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $802 per month in Machakos vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Machakos $802
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $1,084 per month in Machakos vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Machakos $1,084
Chiang Mai $1,979

Machakos is about 44% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Machakos and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Machakos 62% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.99 KES 389

$2.24 ฿75.6

33.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.26 KES 2,500

$19.00 ฿641

1.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.26 KES 812

$5.55 ฿187

12.79%

Cappuccino

$1.97 KES 255

$1.67 ฿56.5

17.96%

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

$0.66 KES 85.4

$0.64 ฿21.53

3.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 KES 69.6

$0.31 ฿10.30

74.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 KES 281

$2.36 ฿79.5

-8.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 KES 346

$3.66 ฿124

-27.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.39 KES 50.9

$1.95 ฿65.7

-80.00%

White Bread (500g)

$0.48 KES 62.7

$1.44 ฿48.45

-66.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.80 KES 104

$1.33 ฿45.01

-39.85%

Eggs

$1.36 KES 177

$2.28 ฿77.0

-40.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.89 KES 1,413

$16.45 ฿555

-33.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.36 KES 826

$2.78 ฿93.8

128.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.71 KES 612

$9.31 ฿314

-49.41%

Apples (1kg)

$1.50 KES 195

$2.35 ฿79.4

-36.17%

Banana (1kg)

$0.81 KES 105

$0.97 ฿32.78

-16.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.37 KES 47.49

$1.60 ฿53.9

-76.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.40 KES 51.6

$1.50 ฿50.6

-73.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 KES 102

$1.28 ฿43.10

-38.28%

Onion (1kg)

$0.76 KES 98.6

$1.10 ฿37.17

-30.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 KES 97.6

$0.71 ฿23.81

5.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.39 KES 51.1

$0.49 ฿16.36

-20.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.51 KES 455

$4.14 ฿140

-15.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.31 KES 1,468

$17.52 ฿591

-35.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 KES 248

$1.61 ฿54.5

18.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 KES 351

$2.78 ฿93.9

-2.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.29

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 KES 96.4

$1.16 ฿39.03

-36.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 KES 97.8

$0.53 ฿17.79

41.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.86 KES 371

$2.42 ฿81.7

18.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 KES 195

$1.45 ฿48.87

3.45%

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

$19.1K KES 2.5M

$21.1K ฿710.3K

-9.20%

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

$21.7K KES 2.8M

$26.9K ฿908.7K

-19.35%

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

$57.0 KES 7,396

$62.2 ฿2,097

-8.35%

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

$7.83 KES 1,017

$12.17 ฿410

-35.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.58 KES 1,503

$20.12 ฿679

-42.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.98 KES 5,060

$37.31 ฿1,259

4.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$7.66 KES 994

$6.49 ฿219

18.03%

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

$45.51 KES 5,907

$736 ฿24.8K

-93.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K KES 1.6M

$14.8K ฿498.0K

-16.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$11.62 KES 1,509

$53.4 ฿1,800

-78.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.49 KES 3,698

$24.64 ฿831

15.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.8 KES 8,923

$91.5 ฿3,086

-24.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$38.19 KES 4,956

$71.9 ฿2,426

-46.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$94.2 KES 12.2K

$482 ฿16.3K

-80.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$70.4 KES 9,132

$309 ฿10.4K

-77.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$155 KES 20.1K

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-84.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$116 KES 15.1K

$633 ฿21.4K

-81.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$385 KES 50.0K

$590 ฿19.9K

-34.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

14.71

5.57

164.09%

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

Last update for Machakos: October 24, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Machakos

$161 31%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 45.6% $73

Eating Out

Machakos

$87 16.8%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 11.1% $9.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Machakos

$76 14.7%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 23.6% $18

Accommodation & Living

Machakos

$70 13.5%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 339% $239

Clothing & Footwear

Machakos

$66 12.7%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 64.2% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Machakos

$54 10.4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 7.4% $4

Getting Around

Machakos

$4.5 * 0.9%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 1261% $57

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $94 in Machakos 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.

Salaries run about 53% higher in Chiang Mai, 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 $19 in Machakos versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $161 vs $234 – making Machakos the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Machakos

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

22:51 10:51 PM

02:51 2:51 AM

4 h ahead of Machakos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

114,109

127,240

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.87 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to KES – Kenyan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇪 Kenyan Shilling (Sh)

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.87 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to KES in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Machakos Chiang Mai 7,110 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Machakos
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

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

Chiang Mai costs about 80% more than Machakos, 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 $780 per month in Machakos 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 Machakos, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $94 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $520 in Machakos and $936 in Chiang Mai. That makes Machakos about 44% cheaper.

Groceries cost about 46% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Machakos, where all-in costs run around $520, than in Chiang Mai at $936. In Machakos it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chiang Mai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Machakos – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

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