Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Msida and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,805 in Msida, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Msida
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Msida Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Msida

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,805

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,805 per month in Msida vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Msida $1,805
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $2,670 per month in Msida vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Msida $2,670
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $3,536 per month in Msida vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Msida $3,536
Chiang Mai $1,979

Msida costs about 93% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Msida sits 33% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.29 €10.08

$2.24 ฿75.6

404.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.1 €44.69

$19.00 ฿641

163.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.72 €9.57

$5.55 ฿187

93.15%

Cappuccino

$2.26 €2.02

$1.67 ฿56.5

35.33%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$0.64 ฿21.53

253.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.10 €0.99

$0.31 ฿10.30

254.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.60 €4.11

$2.36 ฿79.5

94.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 €3.08

$3.66 ฿124

-5.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.95 ฿65.7

-42.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 €1.21

$1.44 ฿48.45

-6.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.46 €3.98

$1.33 ฿45.01

235.34%

Eggs

$2.65 €2.36

$2.28 ฿77.0

16.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.48 €7.57

$16.45 ฿555

-48.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.44 €9.31

$2.78 ฿93.8

275.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.08 €16.13

$9.31 ฿314

94.20%

Apples (1kg)

$4.27 €3.81

$2.35 ฿79.4

81.70%

Banana (1kg)

$2.84 €2.53

$0.97 ฿32.78

192.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.69 €3.29

$1.60 ฿53.9

130.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.32 €2.96

$1.50 ฿50.6

121.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$1.28 ฿43.10

72.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.10 ฿37.17

72.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.35 €2.10

$0.71 ฿23.81

230.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$0.49 ฿16.36

163.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.87

$4.14 ฿140

58.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 €7.21

$17.52 ฿591

-53.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 €1.53

$1.61 ฿54.5

6.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 €2.14

$2.78 ฿93.9

-13.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.18 €1.95

$0.87 ฿29.29

150.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.45 €4.86

$1.16 ฿39.03

369.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.17 €1.94

$0.53 ฿17.79

309.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.80 €23.91

$2.42 ฿81.7

1007.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 €1.33

$1.45 ฿48.87

2.76%

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

$37.1K €33.1K

$21.1K ฿710.3K

76.22%

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

$39.7K €35.4K

$26.9K ฿908.7K

47.28%

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

$84.8 €75.6

$62.2 ฿2,097

36.37%

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

$25.53 €22.78

$12.17 ฿410

109.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.62 €24.64

$20.12 ฿679

37.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.3 €50.3

$37.31 ฿1,259

50.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$9.96 €8.89

$6.49 ฿219

53.47%

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

$363 €324

$736 ฿24.8K

-50.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K €9,770

$14.8K ฿498.0K

-25.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.7

$53.4 ฿1,800

61.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.84 €35.55

$24.64 ฿831

61.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.3 €87.7

$91.5 ฿3,086

7.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.6 €70.1

$71.9 ฿2,426

9.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,048 €935

$482 ฿16.3K

117.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$917 €818

$309 ฿10.4K

196.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,823 €1,627

$1,006 ฿33.9K

81.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,485 €1,325

$633 ฿21.4K

134.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,734 €2,440

$590 ฿19.9K

363.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.9

5.57

-47.94%

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

Last update for Msida: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Msida

$917 50.8%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 66.3% $608

Groceries & Markets

Msida

$320 17.7%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 26.7% $85

Eating Out

Msida

$193 10.7%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 59.8% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Msida

$138 7.6%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 31.5% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Msida

$136 7.6%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 20.2% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Msida

$76 4.2%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 34.1% $26

Getting Around

Msida

$25 * 1.4%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 145% $36

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,048 in Msida 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 Msida are about 4.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $50 in Msida versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $320 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Msida

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

18:36 6:36 PM

00:36 12:36 AM

6 h ahead of Msida

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Msida Chiang Mai 8,320 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Msida
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

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

Msida costs about 93% 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 $2,707 per month in Msida 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 $482 there versus $1,048 in Msida.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $50 in Msida and $19 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 36% more in Msida, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,805 in Msida and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $936 in Chiang Mai to $1,805 in Msida. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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 Chiang Mai. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Msida makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.