Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Manzanillo and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $1,200 in Manzanillo, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Manzanillo
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Manzanillo Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Manzanillo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,200

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,200 per month in Manzanillo vs $935 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Manzanillo $1,200
Chiang Mai $935

A couple spends around $2,100 per month in Manzanillo vs $1,467 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Manzanillo $2,100
Chiang Mai $1,467

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Manzanillo vs $1,999 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Manzanillo $3,000
Chiang Mai $1,999

Manzanillo costs about 28% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Manzanillo and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Manzanillo 11% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.88 MX$202

$2.13 ฿71.8

410.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.44 MX$604

$18.62 ฿626

74.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.92 MX$203

$5.60 ฿188

95.00%

Cappuccino

$3.71 MX$69.1

$1.66 ฿55.9

123.49%

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

$1.14 MX$21.14

$0.65 ฿21.75

75.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.12 MX$20.81

$0.30 ฿10.25

273.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.11 MX$39.23

$2.32 ฿78.1

-9.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.31 MX$80.2

$3.67 ฿123

17.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.04

$2.02 ฿67.8

-25.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 MX$47.10

$1.41 ฿47.34

79.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.16 MX$21.54

$1.39 ฿46.79

-16.55%

Eggs

$2.07 MX$38.50

$2.37 ฿79.6

-12.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.01 MX$149

$16.52 ฿555

-51.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.42 MX$101

$2.67 ฿89.8

103.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.44 MX$176

$9.02 ฿303

4.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 MX$53.4

$2.40 ฿80.6

19.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.67

$1.04 ฿35.01

32.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 MX$32.21

$1.66 ฿55.8

4.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.46 MX$27.23

$1.56 ฿52.4

-6.41%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$42.95

$1.24 ฿41.61

86.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.65 MX$30.77

$1.09 ฿36.53

51.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.83 MX$34.15

$0.76 ฿25.61

140.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 MX$21.53

$0.51 ฿17.29

127.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$4.12 ฿139

28.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.36 MX$118

$17.93 ฿603

-64.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 MX$33.46

$1.62 ฿54.6

11.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 MX$45.32

$2.82 ฿94.9

-13.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 MX$13.94

$0.93 ฿31.42

-19.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,778

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.39 MX$44.54

$1.18 ฿39.56

102.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.48 MX$46.14

$0.17 ฿5.76

1358.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.20 MX$153

$1.81 ฿60.9

353.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.16

$1.47 ฿49.51

-4.08%

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

$23.9K MX$445.2K

$21.0K ฿706.4K

13.85%

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

$23.3K MX$434.3K

$26.5K ฿891.4K

-11.98%

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

$64.1 MX$1,193

$62.6 ฿2,103

2.46%

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

$19.79 MX$368

$11.60 ฿390

70.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.60 MX$532

$20.30 ฿683

40.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$65.8 MX$1,224

$37.88 ฿1,274

73.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.67 MX$589

$3.70 ฿124

755.95%

Cinema Ticket

$4.34 MX$80.8

$6.51 ฿219

-33.33%

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

$162 MX$3,022

$727 ฿24.4K

-77.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,458 MX$157.4K

$16.6K ฿557.2K

-48.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.68 MX$794

$53.5 ฿1,800

-20.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.94 MX$464

$24.80 ฿834

0.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.9 MX$1,376

$90.4 ฿3,039

-18.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 MX$2,112

$72.0 ฿2,420

57.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$660 MX$12.3K

$481 ฿16.2K

37.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 MX$8,560

$310 ฿10.4K

48.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,531 MX$28.5K

$1,058 ฿35.6K

44.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,322 MX$24.6K

$659 ฿22.1K

100.80%

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)

$402 MX$7,485

$595 ฿20.0K

-32.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

5.57

102.87%

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

Last update for Manzanillo: November 1, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Manzanillo

$460 38.3%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 32.6% $150

Groceries & Markets

Manzanillo

$228 19%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 4% $9

Eating Out

Manzanillo

$193 16.1%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 60.2% $116

Clothing & Footwear

Manzanillo

$115 9.6%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 5.6% $6.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Manzanillo

$112 9.4%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 16% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Manzanillo

$74 6.2%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 31.7% $24

Getting Around

Manzanillo

$18 * 1.5%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 230% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $660 in Manzanillo versus $481 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 48% higher in Chiang Mai, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Manzanillo versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $228 in Manzanillo vs $237 in Chiang Mai – so Manzanillo wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Manzanillo

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

14:50 2:50 PM

03:50 3:50 AM

13 h ahead of Manzanillo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

159,853

127,240

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 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 MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Manzanillo Chiang Mai 15,100 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Manzanillo
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

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

Manzanillo costs about 28% 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 $1,800 per month in Manzanillo 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 $481 there versus $660 in Manzanillo.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Manzanillo and $19 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 4% cheaper in Manzanillo – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,200 in Manzanillo and $935 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.