Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Newham and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $3,121 in Newham, rent and utilities included – about $26,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

151

Cost of Living Index in Newham
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Newham Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Newham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,121

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,121 per month in Newham vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Newham $3,121
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $4,499 per month in Newham vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Newham $4,499
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $5,876 per month in Newham vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Newham $5,876
Chiang Mai $1,979

Newham costs about 234% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Newham sits 129% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.56 £15.35

$2.24 ฿75.6

817.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.2 £65.9

$19.00 ฿641

364.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.55 £7.88

$5.55 ฿187

90.09%

Cappuccino

$4.93 £3.68

$1.67 ฿56.5

195.21%

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

$2.53 £1.89

$0.64 ฿21.54

295.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.34

$0.31 ฿10.31

477.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.83 £5.10

$2.36 ฿79.5

189.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.17 £4.60

$3.66 ฿124

68.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 £1.24

$1.95 ฿65.7

-14.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.67 £1.25

$1.44 ฿48.46

15.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 £1.62

$1.33 ฿45.03

63.16%

Eggs

$3.87 £2.89

$2.28 ฿77.1

69.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.15 £6.83

$16.45 ฿555

-44.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.54 £6.38

$2.78 ฿93.9

207.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.73 £11.00

$9.31 ฿314

58.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.96 £2.21

$2.35 ฿79.4

25.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 £1.17

$0.97 ฿32.79

61.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.83 £2.11

$1.60 ฿53.9

76.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.39 £2.53

$1.50 ฿50.6

126.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.63 £1.21

$1.28 ฿43.11

27.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.57 £1.17

$1.10 ฿37.18

42.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$0.71 ฿23.82

69.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 £1.16

$0.49 ฿16.36

216.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.77 £17.75

$4.14 ฿140

474.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.62 £7.93

$17.52 ฿591

-39.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.99 £2.23

$1.61 ฿54.5

85.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.26 £2.44

$2.78 ฿93.9

17.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.57 £2.67

$0.87 ฿29.30

310.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.3 £72.6

$54.1 ฿1,825

79.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.94 £3.69

$1.16 ฿39.04

325.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 £1.55

$0.53 ฿17.80

290.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.28 £19.62

$2.42 ฿81.7

985.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 £1.49

$1.45 ฿48.88

37.93%

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

$37.8K £28.2K

$21.1K ฿710.5K

79.57%

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

$39.8K £29.7K

$26.9K ฿909.0K

47.78%

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

$308 £230

$62.2 ฿2,098

395.64%

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

$17.28 £12.90

$12.17 ฿411

41.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.95 £31.32

$20.12 ฿679

108.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.41 £34.65

$37.31 ฿1,259

24.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$13.89 £10.37

$6.49 ฿219

114.02%

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

$1,602 £1,196

$736 ฿24.8K

117.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.1K £16.5K

$14.8K ฿498.2K

49.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.7 £64.8

$53.4 ฿1,801

62.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.16 £33.72

$24.64 ฿831

83.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.6 £70.6

$91.5 ฿3,087

3.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.7 £72.9

$71.9 ฿2,427

35.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,241 £927

$482 ฿16.3K

157.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,790 £1,336

$309 ฿10.4K

479.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,390 £2,531

$1,006 ฿33.9K

236.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,986 £2,230

$633 ฿21.4K

371.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,101 £3,809

$2,363 ฿79.7K

115.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,883 £2,900

$1,589 ฿53.6K

144.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.09

5.57

-8.62%

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

Last update for Newham: October 27, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Newham

$1.8K 57.3%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 82.7% $1.5K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Newham

$367 11.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 74.3% $273

Eating Out

Newham

$319 10.2%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 75.7% $241

Groceries & Markets

Newham

$298 9.6%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 21.5% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Newham

$146 4.7%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 25.5% $37

Getting Around

Newham

$127 4.1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 51.6% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Newham

$74 2.4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 32.2% $24

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,241 in Newham 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $88 in Newham versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $298 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Newham

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

21:16 9:16 PM

04:16 4:16 AM

7 h ahead of Newham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,551

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 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 GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Newham Chiang Mai 8,980 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Newham
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

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

Newham costs about 234% 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 $4,682 per month in Newham 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 $1,241 in Newham.

Kindergarten costs $1,602 per month in Newham and $736 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 27% more in Newham, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $3,121 in Newham and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Chiang Mai – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

For expats, Chiang Mai is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 70% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.