Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Merthyr Tydfil and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $925 a month against $2,071 in Merthyr Tydfil, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in Merthyr Tydfil
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Merthyr Tydfil Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Merthyr Tydfil

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,071

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,071 per month in Merthyr Tydfil vs $925 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Merthyr Tydfil $2,071
Chiang Mai $925

A couple spends around $2,871 per month in Merthyr Tydfil vs $1,414 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Merthyr Tydfil $2,871
Chiang Mai $1,414

A family of three spends $3,671 per month in Merthyr Tydfil vs $1,903 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Merthyr Tydfil $3,671
Chiang Mai $1,903

Merthyr Tydfil costs about 124% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Merthyr Tydfil sits 53% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 32% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.21 £18.16

$2.29 ฿76.5

957.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 £46.76

$19.64 ฿656

217.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.85 £8.14

$5.61 ฿188

93.40%

Cappuccino

$4.45 £3.34

$1.66 ฿55.6

168.07%

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

$2.51 £1.88

$0.70 ฿23.40

258.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 £1.23

$0.31 ฿10.24

429.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.16 £4.62

$2.41 ฿80.4

155.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.81 £4.36

$3.71 ฿124

56.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 £1.08

$1.95 ฿65.3

-26.15%

White Bread (500g)

$0.61 £0.46

$1.41 ฿47.03

-56.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 £1.28

$1.31 ฿43.62

29.77%

Eggs

$4.10 £3.08

$2.18 ฿72.9

88.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.51 £6.39

$16.65 ฿556

-48.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.66 £6.50

$2.76 ฿92.2

213.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.08 £9.82

$9.11 ฿304

43.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.62 £1.97

$2.39 ฿80.0

9.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 £1.35

$1.03 ฿34.26

75.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.60 £1.95

$1.63 ฿54.4

59.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.22 £2.41

$1.50 ฿50.0

114.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.18 £0.88

$1.29 ฿43.13

-8.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.34 £1.00

$1.11 ฿37.03

20.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 £0.88

$0.72 ฿24.08

62.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 £0.82

$0.53 ฿17.59

105.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.15 £17.37

$4.31 ฿144

437.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.72 £8.04

$17.95 ฿600

-40.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 £2.09

$1.58 ฿52.9

75.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 £2.73

$2.84 ฿95.0

28.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 ฿28.86

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.9 £72.7

$53.3 ฿1,780

81.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.43 £2.57

$1.21 ฿40.29

183.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.70 £1.28

$0.57 ฿18.99

198.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.34 £19.76

$2.35 ฿78.6

1020.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.16 £1.62

$1.44 ฿47.96

50.00%

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

$38.2K £28.7K

$20.7K ฿692.8K

84.38%

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

$40.4K £30.3K

$26.8K ฿895.7K

50.61%

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

$320 £240

$62.3 ฿2,083

413.61%

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

$13.18 £9.89

$12.11 ฿405

8.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.40 £28.06

$19.94 ฿666

87.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.24 £29.44

$37.07 ฿1,239

5.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.78 ฿126

Cinema Ticket

$8.02 £6.02

$6.50 ฿217

23.38%

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

$2,211 £1,659

$793 ฿26.5K

178.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.5K £19.1K

$14.8K ฿494.9K

72.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 £76.2

$53.7 ฿1,796

89.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.44 £36.34

$24.62 ฿823

96.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £80.0

$90.9 ฿3,036

17.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 £73.4

$71.1 ฿2,378

37.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$807 £605

$455 ฿15.2K

77.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$770 £577

$298 ฿9,954

158.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,171 £878

$908 ฿30.4K

28.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$979 £734

$554 ฿18.5K

76.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,931 ฿64.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,445 ฿48.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,572 £1,180

$591 ฿19.7K

166.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.87

5.57

-12.57%

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

Last update for Merthyr Tydfil: October 19, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Merthyr Tydfil

$770 37.2%

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2% 61.3% $472

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Merthyr Tydfil

$371 17.9%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2% 74.5% $276

Eating Out

Merthyr Tydfil

$339 16.3%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5% 76.8% $260

Groceries & Markets

Merthyr Tydfil

$269 13%

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5% 12.4% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Merthyr Tydfil

$160 7.7%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7% 32.2% $51

Getting Around

Merthyr Tydfil

$109 * 5.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 44.2% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Merthyr Tydfil

$55 2.7%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 9.4% $5.2

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $807 in Merthyr Tydfil versus $455 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 166% higher in Merthyr Tydfil, 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 $62.0 in Merthyr Tydfil versus $20.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $269 vs $235 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Merthyr Tydfil

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

11:51 11:51 AM

17:51 5:51 PM

6 h ahead of Merthyr Tydfil

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

43,820

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Merthyr Tydfil Chiang Mai 9,190 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Merthyr Tydfil
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

Merthyr Tydfil vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Merthyr Tydfil costs about 124% 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 $3,107 per month in Merthyr Tydfil and $1,388 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 $2,211 per month in Merthyr Tydfil and $793 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 14% more in Merthyr Tydfil, 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 $925, than in Merthyr Tydfil at $2,071. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Merthyr Tydfil it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $925 versus $2,071 in Merthyr Tydfil. 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, Merthyr Tydfil makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.