Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Motherwell and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $2,285 in Motherwell, rent and utilities included – about $16,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

111

Cost of Living Index in Motherwell
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Motherwell Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Motherwell

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,285

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,285 per month in Motherwell vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Motherwell $2,285
Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $3,349 per month in Motherwell vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Motherwell $3,349
Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $4,414 per month in Motherwell vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Motherwell $4,414
Chiang Mai $1,914

Motherwell costs about 144% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Motherwell sits 69% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 30% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.07 £15.06

$2.26 ฿75.4

788.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.0 £55.5

$19.18 ฿641

285.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.64 £7.98

$5.59 ฿187

90.34%

Cappuccino

$4.69 £3.52

$1.72 ฿57.6

172.67%

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

$2.15 £1.61

$0.64 ฿21.54

235.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 £1.32

$0.33 ฿11.18

433.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.41 £4.06

$2.36 ฿78.7

129.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.67 £5.00

$3.90 ฿130

71.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 £1.10

$2.05 ฿68.6

-28.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.63 £1.22

$1.40 ฿46.70

16.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.19 £1.64

$1.28 ฿42.89

71.09%

Eggs

$3.80 £2.85

$2.25 ฿75.3

68.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.14 £6.86

$16.94 ฿566

-46.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.13 £6.85

$2.74 ฿91.6

233.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.65 £12.49

$9.36 ฿313

77.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 £2.11

$2.40 ฿80.3

17.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.01 ฿33.92

50.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.88 £2.16

$1.61 ฿53.9

78.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.16 £2.37

$1.52 ฿50.7

107.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 £1.48

$1.28 ฿42.90

53.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 £1.07

$1.11 ฿37.22

27.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 £0.90

$0.72 ฿24.09

65.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 £1.17

$0.52 ฿17.54

200.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.95 £15.71

$4.33 ฿145

383.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.45 £7.84

$17.73 ฿593

-41.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.13 £2.35

$1.63 ฿54.4

92.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.41 £2.56

$2.85 ฿95.3

19.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.49 £2.62

$0.85 ฿28.31

310.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.5 £73.1

$53.9 ฿1,801

80.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.49

$1.17 ฿39.18

411.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.14 £0.86

$0.57 ฿19.00

100.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.19 £21.15

$2.37 ฿79.2

1089.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.57

$1.45 ฿48.32

44.14%

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

$38.5K £28.9K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

87.95%

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

$39.9K £30.0K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

50.60%

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

$241 £181

$62.3 ฿2,083

286.51%

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

$19.77 £14.83

$12.27 ฿410

61.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.45 £31.10

$19.97 ฿668

107.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.34 £34.77

$37.91 ฿1,267

22.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 £4.99

$3.76 ฿126

76.86%

Cinema Ticket

$12.06 £9.05

$6.71 ฿224

79.73%

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

$910 £683

$797 ฿26.6K

14.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K £13.2K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

18.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$117 £87.7

$53.3 ฿1,780

119.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.37 £36.29

$25.05 ฿837

93.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 £77.7

$91.6 ฿3,062

13.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.2 £67.6

$73.5 ฿2,455

22.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,218 £914

$464 ฿15.5K

162.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,019 £765

$305 ฿10.2K

234.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,124 £1,593

$915 ฿30.6K

132.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,643 £1,233

$552 ฿18.5K

197.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,030 £3,774

$1,912 ฿63.9K

163.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,920 £2,941

$1,438 ฿48.1K

172.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-10.23%

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

Last update for Motherwell: October 10, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Motherwell

$1K 44.6%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 70.1% $714

Eating Out

Motherwell

$305 13.3%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 74.1% $226

Groceries & Markets

Motherwell

$304 13.3%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 21.7% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Motherwell

$302 13.2%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 68.7% $208

Clothing & Footwear

Motherwell

$162 7.1%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 32.2% $52

Getting Around

Motherwell

$123 5.4%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 50.2% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Motherwell

$70 3.1%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 27.1% $19

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,218 in Motherwell 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $74.0 in Motherwell versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $304 vs $238 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Motherwell

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

17:05 5:05 PM

23:05 11:05 PM

6 h ahead of Motherwell

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

32,120

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 19, 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 19, 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

Motherwell Chiang Mai 9,070 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Motherwell
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

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

Motherwell costs about 144% 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 $3,428 per month in Motherwell 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 $910 per month in Motherwell 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 28% more in Motherwell, 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 Motherwell at $2,285. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Motherwell it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $938 versus $2,285 in Motherwell. 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, Motherwell makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.