Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New Cairo and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in New Cairo: $677 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in New Cairo
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New Cairo Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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New Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$677

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $677 per month in New Cairo vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

New Cairo $677
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,026 per month in New Cairo vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

New Cairo $1,026
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $1,375 per month in New Cairo vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

New Cairo $1,375
Chiang Mai $1,979

New Cairo is about 28% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both New Cairo and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – New Cairo 50% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.44 E£304

$2.24 ฿75.6

142.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.75 E£1,329

$19.00 ฿641

25.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.48 E£307

$5.55 ฿187

-1.26%

Cappuccino

$1.94 E£108

$1.67 ฿56.5

16.17%

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

$0.36 E£20.21

$0.64 ฿21.54

-43.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.13 E£7.39

$0.31 ฿10.31

-58.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.72 E£152

$2.36 ฿79.5

15.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 E£173

$3.66 ฿124

-15.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.91 E£50.7

$1.95 ฿65.7

-53.33%

White Bread (500g)

$0.98 E£55.0

$1.44 ฿48.46

-31.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 E£41.34

$1.33 ฿45.03

-44.36%

Eggs

$1.34 E£75.1

$2.28 ฿77.1

-41.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.04 E£226

$16.45 ฿555

-75.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.90 E£274

$2.78 ฿93.9

76.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.05 E£450

$9.31 ฿314

-13.53%

Apples (1kg)

$1.61 E£90.4

$2.35 ฿79.4

-31.49%

Banana (1kg)

$0.69 E£38.73

$0.97 ฿32.79

-28.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.50 E£27.95

$1.60 ฿53.9

-68.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.35 E£19.53

$1.50 ฿50.6

-76.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.33 E£18.48

$1.28 ฿43.11

-74.22%

Onion (1kg)

$0.48 E£26.80

$1.10 ฿37.18

-56.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.19 E£10.71

$0.71 ฿23.82

-73.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.20 E£11.18

$0.49 ฿16.36

-59.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.85 E£103

$4.14 ฿140

-55.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.11 E£510

$17.52 ฿591

-48.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 E£70.6

$1.61 ฿54.5

-21.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 E£109

$2.78 ฿93.9

-30.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.16 E£8.95

$0.87 ฿29.30

-81.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.51 E£28.34

$1.16 ฿39.04

-56.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.18 E£10.09

$0.53 ฿17.80

-66.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.62 E£203

$2.42 ฿81.7

49.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£24.07

$1.45 ฿48.88

-70.34%

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

$29.9K E£1.7M

$21.1K ฿710.5K

42.00%

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

$24.8K E£1.4M

$26.9K ฿909.0K

-8.09%

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

$38.48 E£2,153

$62.2 ฿2,098

-38.11%

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

$9.12 E£510

$12.17 ฿411

-25.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.53 E£757

$20.12 ฿679

-32.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.42 E£1,534

$37.31 ฿1,259

-26.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.80 E£324

$3.77 ฿127

53.85%

Cinema Ticket

$3.11 E£174

$6.49 ฿219

-52.08%

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

$168 E£9,424

$736 ฿24.8K

-77.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,338 E£242.7K

$14.8K ฿498.2K

-70.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.59 E£2,383

$53.4 ฿1,801

-20.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.8 E£2,840

$24.64 ฿831

106.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 E£5,971

$91.5 ฿3,087

16.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$52.8 E£2,954

$71.9 ฿2,427

-26.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$289 E£16.2K

$482 ฿16.3K

-40.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$224 E£12.5K

$309 ฿10.4K

-27.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$504 E£28.2K

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-49.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$335 E£18.7K

$633 ฿21.4K

-47.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,115 E£62.4K

$2,363 ฿79.7K

-52.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$629 E£35.2K

$1,589 ฿53.6K

-60.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$177 E£9,900

$590 ฿19.9K

-69.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.4

5.57

104.67%

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

Last update for New Cairo: 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

New Cairo

$224 33.1%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 38% $85

Groceries & Markets

New Cairo

$138 20.3%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 70.4% $97

Clothing & Footwear

New Cairo

$114 16.8%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 4.5% $5.2

Eating Out

New Cairo

$105 15.5%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 26.1% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New Cairo

$61 9%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 54.5% $33

Sport & Entertainment

New Cairo

$34 5%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 49.5% $17

Getting Around

New Cairo

$2.1 * 0.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 2893% $59

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $289 in New Cairo 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 3.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $24 in New Cairo versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $138 in New Cairo vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so New Cairo wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇪🇬 New Cairo

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

16:48 4:48 PM

21:48 9:48 PM

5 h ahead of New Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

298,343

127,240

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.6 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 55.95 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.47 EGP (100 EGP = 1.6 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

New Cairo Chiang Mai 6,860 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

New Cairo
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

New Cairo vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 38% more than New Cairo, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,015 per month in New Cairo 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 New Cairo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $289 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $24 in New Cairo 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 70% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in New Cairo, where all-in costs run around $677, than in Chiang Mai at $936. In New Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chiang Mai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward New Cairo – 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 New Cairo. 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.