Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Malahide and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $3,240 in Malahide, rent and utilities included – about $27,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

156

Cost of Living Index in Malahide
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Malahide Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Malahide

🇮🇪 Ireland

$3,240

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,240 per month in Malahide vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Malahide $3,240
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $4,056 per month in Malahide vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Malahide $4,056
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $4,872 per month in Malahide vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Malahide $4,872
Chiang Mai $1,979

Malahide costs about 246% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Malahide sits 138% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.84 €17.78

$2.24 ฿75.6

785.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.7 €81.3

$19.00 ฿641

377.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.52 €10.32

$5.55 ฿187

107.57%

Cappuccino

$4.02 €3.61

$1.67 ฿56.5

140.72%

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

$2.40 €2.15

$0.64 ฿21.55

275.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 €2.02

$0.31 ฿10.31

629.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.74 €6.04

$2.36 ฿79.6

185.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.67 €5.97

$3.66 ฿124

82.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.42 €1.27

$1.95 ฿65.8

-27.18%

White Bread (500g)

$2.35 €2.10

$1.44 ฿48.48

63.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.98 €1.77

$1.33 ฿45.04

48.87%

Eggs

$4.61 €4.13

$2.28 ฿77.1

102.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.27 €8.31

$16.45 ฿555

-43.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.97 €10.72

$2.78 ฿93.9

330.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.07 €11.72

$9.31 ฿314

40.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.92 €2.62

$2.35 ฿79.4

24.26%

Banana (1kg)

$2.19 €1.96

$0.97 ฿32.80

125.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 €2.73

$1.60 ฿53.9

90.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.72 €4.23

$1.50 ฿50.6

214.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.13 €1.91

$1.28 ฿43.12

66.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.10 ฿37.19

28.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 €1.06

$0.71 ฿23.82

66.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 €1.52

$0.49 ฿16.37

244.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.51 €19.28

$4.14 ฿140

419.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.42 €11.13

$17.52 ฿591

-29.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.13 €2.80

$1.61 ฿54.5

94.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.04 €3.62

$2.78 ฿94.0

45.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.41 €2.16

$0.87 ฿29.31

177.01%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,826

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.64 €5.05

$1.16 ฿39.06

386.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 €1.16

$0.53 ฿17.80

145.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.80 €31.18

$2.42 ฿81.8

1338.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 €1.79

$1.45 ฿48.90

37.93%

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

$35.8K €32.1K

$21.1K ฿710.7K

69.97%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$26.9K ฿909.3K

23.09%

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

$255 €228

$62.2 ฿2,098

309.68%

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

$19.11 €17.13

$12.17 ฿411

57.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.0 €45.67

$20.12 ฿679

153.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.8 €59.9

$37.31 ฿1,259

79.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$11.94 €10.70

$6.49 ฿219

83.98%

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

$1,127 €1,010

$736 ฿24.8K

53.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,725 €5,130

$14.8K ฿498.3K

-61.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$108 €97.0

$53.4 ฿1,801

102.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.41 €36.21

$24.64 ฿831

64.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €93.4

$91.5 ฿3,087

13.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.9 €89.5

$71.9 ฿2,428

38.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,593 €1,427

$482 ฿16.3K

230.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,000 €1,792

$309 ฿10.4K

547.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,550 €2,285

$1,006 ฿33.9K

153.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,100 €1,882

$633 ฿21.4K

231.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,231 €2,895

$1,589 ฿53.6K

103.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.81

5.57

-31.60%

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

Last update for Malahide: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Malahide

$2K 61.7%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 84.6% $1.7K

Groceries & Markets

Malahide

$337 10.4%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 30.5% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Malahide

$325 10%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 70.9% $230

Eating Out

Malahide

$307 9.5%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 74.7% $230

Clothing & Footwear

Malahide

$159 4.9%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 31.6% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Malahide

$91 2.8%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 44.5% $40

Getting Around

Malahide

$22 * 0.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 182% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,593 in Malahide 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 Malahide versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $337 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Malahide

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

06:11 6:11 AM

13:11 1:11 PM

7 h ahead of Malahide

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

18,608

127,240

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Malahide Chiang Mai 9,300 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Malahide
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

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

Malahide costs about 246% 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 $4,861 per month in Malahide 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 $1,593 in Malahide.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $91 in Malahide 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 44% more in Malahide, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $3,240 in Malahide and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Chiang Mai – 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.