Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Malmo and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $2,031 in Malmo, rent and utilities included – about $13,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

99

Cost of Living Index in Malmo
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Malmo Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Malmo

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,031

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,031 per month in Malmo vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Malmo $2,031
Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $3,108 per month in Malmo vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Malmo $3,108
Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $4,185 per month in Malmo vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Malmo $4,185
Chiang Mai $1,914

Malmo costs about 116% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Malmo sits 50% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 30% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.01 SEK 149

$2.26 ฿75.4

564.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.8 SEK 741

$19.18 ฿641

289.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.13 SEK 120

$5.59 ฿187

116.99%

Cappuccino

$4.98 SEK 49.36

$1.72 ฿57.6

189.53%

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

$3.44 SEK 34.07

$0.64 ฿21.54

437.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.65 SEK 26.24

$0.33 ฿11.18

703.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.49 SEK 84.1

$2.36 ฿78.7

259.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.01 SEK 89.3

$3.90 ฿130

131.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 SEK 16.38

$2.05 ฿68.6

-19.51%

White Bread (500g)

$2.80 SEK 27.74

$1.40 ฿46.70

100.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.44 SEK 34.08

$1.28 ฿42.89

168.75%

Eggs

$3.98 SEK 39.43

$2.25 ฿75.3

76.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.86 SEK 127

$16.94 ฿566

-24.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.07 SEK 120

$2.74 ฿91.6

340.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.13 SEK 209

$9.36 ฿313

125.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 SEK 29.53

$2.40 ฿80.3

24.17%

Banana (1kg)

$2.59 SEK 25.63

$1.01 ฿33.92

156.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.98 SEK 29.50

$1.61 ฿53.9

85.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.29 SEK 42.46

$1.52 ฿50.7

182.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.63 SEK 16.12

$1.28 ฿42.90

27.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 SEK 15.03

$1.11 ฿37.22

36.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.44 SEK 24.20

$0.72 ฿24.09

238.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 SEK 11.56

$0.52 ฿17.54

125.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.83 SEK 77.6

$4.33 ฿145

80.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.49 SEK 114

$17.73 ฿593

-35.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 SEK 19.21

$1.63 ฿54.4

19.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 SEK 23.04

$2.85 ฿95.3

-18.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.12 SEK 30.89

$0.85 ฿28.31

267.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$64.3 SEK 637

$53.9 ฿1,801

19.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.36 SEK 63.1

$1.17 ฿39.18

443.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.47 SEK 24.48

$0.57 ฿19.00

333.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$49.15 SEK 487

$2.37 ฿79.2

1973.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.78 SEK 17.68

$1.45 ฿48.32

22.76%

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

$32.7K SEK 323.9K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

59.64%

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

$33.3K SEK 330.1K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

25.64%

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

$139 SEK 1,377

$62.3 ฿2,083

122.88%

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

$25.01 SEK 248

$12.27 ฿410

103.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.88 SEK 385

$19.97 ฿668

94.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.60 SEK 402

$37.91 ฿1,267

7.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.04 SEK 288

$3.76 ฿126

672.34%

Cinema Ticket

$16.99 SEK 168

$6.71 ฿224

153.20%

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

$168 SEK 1,667

$797 ฿26.6K

-78.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,337 SEK 33.1K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

-77.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$97.8 SEK 969

$53.3 ฿1,780

83.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.17 SEK 438

$25.05 ฿837

76.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 SEK 1,097

$91.6 ฿3,062

20.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 SEK 1,493

$73.5 ฿2,455

105.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,059 SEK 10.5K

$464 ฿15.5K

128.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$806 SEK 7,989

$305 ฿10.2K

164.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,720 SEK 17.0K

$915 ฿30.6K

87.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,354 SEK 13.4K

$552 ฿18.5K

145.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,083 SEK 40.5K

$1,912 ฿63.9K

113.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,100 SEK 30.7K

$1,438 ฿48.1K

115.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,978 SEK 29.5K

$595 ฿19.9K

400.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.05

5.57

-45.24%

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

Last update for Malmo: 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

Malmo

$806 39.7%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 62.2% $502

Groceries & Markets

Malmo

$369 18.2%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 35.6% $131

Eating Out

Malmo

$301 14.8%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 73.8% $222

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Malmo

$203 10%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 53.4% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Malmo

$181 8.9%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 39.7% $72

Getting Around

Malmo

$96 4.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 35.8% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Malmo

$75 3.7%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 31.2% $23

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,059 in Malmo 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 400% higher in Malmo, 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 $75.0 in Malmo versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $369 vs $238 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Malmo

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

05:57 5:57 AM

10:57 10:57 AM

5 h ahead of Malmo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

316,588

127,240

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 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 SEK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Malmo Chiang Mai 8,040 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Malmo
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

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

Malmo costs about 116% 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 $3,047 per month in Malmo 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 $168 per month in Malmo 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 55% more in Malmo, 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 Malmo at $2,031. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Malmo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $938 versus $2,031 in Malmo. 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, Malmo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.