Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Matara and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Matara: $576 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

28

Cost of Living Index in Matara
Learn more

Matara Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Matara

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$576

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $576 per month in Matara vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Matara $576
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $839 per month in Matara vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Matara $839
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $1,102 per month in Matara vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Matara $1,102
Chiang Mai $1,979

Matara is about 38% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Matara and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Matara 58% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.73 LKR 1,241

$2.24 ฿75.7

66.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.54 LKR 8,159

$19.00 ฿642

29.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.53 LKR 2,503

$5.55 ฿188

35.68%

Cappuccino

$2.44 LKR 810

$1.67 ฿56.6

46.11%

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

$0.67 LKR 222

$0.64 ฿21.56

4.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 LKR 83.1

$0.31 ฿10.32

-19.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.23 LKR 741

$2.36 ฿79.6

-5.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 LKR 1,017

$3.66 ฿124

-16.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 LKR 519

$1.95 ฿65.8

-20.00%

White Bread (500g)

$0.53 LKR 177

$1.44 ฿48.51

-63.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.76 LKR 253

$1.33 ฿45.07

-42.86%

Eggs

$1.53 LKR 509

$2.28 ฿77.1

-32.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.58 LKR 4,514

$16.45 ฿556

-17.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.84 LKR 1,609

$2.78 ฿94.0

74.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.26 LKR 2,415

$9.31 ฿314

-22.02%

Apples (1kg)

$6.71 LKR 2,230

$2.35 ฿79.5

185.53%

Banana (1kg)

$0.43 LKR 142

$0.97 ฿32.82

-55.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.46 LKR 1,481

$1.60 ฿53.9

178.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.91 LKR 302

$1.50 ฿50.7

-39.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 LKR 306

$1.28 ฿43.15

-28.13%

Onion (1kg)

$0.58 LKR 193

$1.10 ฿37.22

-47.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 LKR 295

$0.71 ฿23.84

25.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.46 LKR 151

$0.49 ฿16.38

-6.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.85 LKR 3,276

$4.14 ฿140

137.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.94 LKR 4,303

$17.52 ฿592

-26.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 LKR 596

$1.61 ฿54.5

11.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 LKR 997

$2.78 ฿94.0

7.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 LKR 104

$0.87 ฿29.33

-64.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 LKR 133

$1.16 ฿39.08

-65.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 LKR 115

$0.53 ฿17.82

-33.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.95 LKR 317

$2.42 ฿81.8

-60.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 LKR 458

$1.45 ฿48.93

-4.83%

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

$44.2K LKR 14.7M

$21.1K ฿711.2K

110.08%

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

$41.3K LKR 13.7M

$26.9K ฿909.8K

53.45%

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

$46.17 LKR 15.4K

$62.2 ฿2,100

-25.74%

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

$4.22 LKR 1,403

$12.17 ฿411

-65.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.99 LKR 6,977

$20.12 ฿680

4.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,260

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$4.60 LKR 1,530

$6.49 ฿219

-29.12%

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

$38.17 LKR 12.7K

$736 ฿24.9K

-94.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,204 LKR 400.4K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-91.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.04 LKR 5,997

$53.4 ฿1,802

-66.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.90 LKR 5,618

$24.64 ฿832

-31.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.9 LKR 26.2K

$91.5 ฿3,089

-13.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.70 LKR 13.9K

$71.9 ฿2,429

-42.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$179 LKR 59.6K

$482 ฿16.3K

-62.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$90.1 LKR 30.0K

$309 ฿10.4K

-70.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿34.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$105 LKR 34.8K

$590 ฿19.9K

-82.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

5.57

127.83%

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

Last update for Matara: October 27, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Matara

$229 39.8%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 2.3% $5.3

Eating Out

Matara

$103 17.8%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 24.4% $25

Accommodation & Living

Matara

$90 15.7%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 243% $219

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Matara

$71 12.4%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 32.3% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Matara

$70 12.2%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 55.2% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Matara

$9.2 * 1.6%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 446% $41

Getting Around

Matara

$3.4 * 0.6%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 1710% $58

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $179 in Matara 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 in Chiang Mai are about 5.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $25 in Matara versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $229 in Matara vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so Matara wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Matara

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

02:38 2:38 AM

04:08 4:08 AM

1 h 30 min ahead of Matara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

100,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Matara Chiang Mai 2,460 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Matara
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

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

Chiang Mai costs about 62% more than Matara, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $864 per month in Matara 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 Matara, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $179 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $576 in Matara and $936 in Chiang Mai. That makes Matara about 38% cheaper.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $25 in Matara and $19 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Families tend to lean toward Matara – 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 Matara. 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.