Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Newquay and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $2,475 in Newquay, rent and utilities included – about $18,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

119

Cost of Living Index in Newquay
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Newquay Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Newquay

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,475

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,475 per month in Newquay vs $935 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Newquay $2,475
Chiang Mai $935

A couple spends around $3,640 per month in Newquay vs $1,467 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Newquay $3,640
Chiang Mai $1,467

A family of three spends $4,804 per month in Newquay vs $1,999 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Newquay $4,804
Chiang Mai $1,999

Newquay costs about 165% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Newquay sits 83% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.95 £14.80

$2.13 ฿71.8

836.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.6 £60.5

$18.62 ฿626

338.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.90 £7.34

$5.60 ฿188

76.79%

Cappuccino

$5.14 £3.81

$1.66 ฿55.9

209.64%

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

$2.35 £1.74

$0.65 ฿21.75

261.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 £1.18

$0.30 ฿10.25

430.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.17 £4.58

$2.32 ฿78.1

165.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.76 £5.01

$3.67 ฿123

84.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 £1.27

$2.02 ฿67.8

-15.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.59 £1.18

$1.41 ฿47.34

12.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.34 £1.73

$1.39 ฿46.79

68.35%

Eggs

$4.31 £3.20

$2.37 ฿79.6

81.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.55 £4.86

$16.52 ฿555

-60.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.96 £8.87

$2.67 ฿89.8

347.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.81 £9.50

$9.02 ฿303

42.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 £1.66

$2.40 ฿80.6

-6.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.79 £1.32

$1.04 ฿35.01

72.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 £1.38

$1.66 ฿55.8

12.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.27 £1.69

$1.56 ฿52.4

45.51%

Potato (1kg)

$2.20 £1.63

$1.24 ฿41.61

77.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.32 £0.98

$1.09 ฿36.53

21.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.98 £1.47

$0.76 ฿25.61

160.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 £1.41

$0.51 ฿17.29

272.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.12 £17.89

$4.12 ฿139

485.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.54 £7.08

$17.93 ฿603

-46.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.83 £2.10

$1.62 ฿54.6

74.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.63

$2.82 ฿94.9

-21.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿31.42

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.9 ฿1,778

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.23 £3.88

$1.18 ฿39.56

343.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.40 £1.78

$0.17 ฿5.76

1311.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.89 £19.20

$1.81 ฿60.9

1330.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.91 £1.42

$1.47 ฿49.51

29.93%

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

$38.4K £28.5K

$21.0K ฿706.4K

82.58%

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

$41.3K £30.6K

$26.5K ฿891.4K

55.82%

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

$357 £264

$62.6 ฿2,103

469.90%

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

$16.31 £12.10

$11.60 ฿390

40.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.34 £32.88

$20.30 ฿683

118.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.6 £40.52

$37.88 ฿1,274

44.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.70 ฿124

Cinema Ticket

$20.76 £15.39

$6.51 ฿219

218.89%

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

$2,179 £1,616

$727 ฿24.4K

199.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.5K £16.7K

$16.6K ฿557.2K

35.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.6 £67.2

$53.5 ฿1,800

69.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.2 £37.19

$24.80 ฿834

102.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$159 £118

$90.4 ฿3,039

76.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$142 £105

$72.0 ฿2,420

97.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,362 £1,010

$481 ฿16.2K

183.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,138 £844

$310 ฿10.4K

267.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,443 £1,812

$1,058 ฿35.6K

130.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,986 £1,473

$659 ฿22.1K

201.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,418 ฿81.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,609 ฿54.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,190 £1,624

$595 ฿20.0K

268.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.96

5.57

-10.95%

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

Last update for Newquay: November 1, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Newquay

$1.1K 46%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 72.8% $828

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Newquay

$417 16.9%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 77.4% $323

Eating Out

Newquay

$311 12.6%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 75.4% $235

Groceries & Markets

Newquay

$296 12%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 20% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Newquay

$199 8%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 45.5% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Newquay

$96 3.9%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 47.1% $45

Getting Around

Newquay

$17 * 0.7%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 240% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,362 in Newquay versus $481 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 Newquay are about 3.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $82 in Newquay versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $296 vs $237 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Newquay

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

13:07 1:07 PM

20:07 8:07 PM

7 h ahead of Newquay

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,189

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.742 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.831 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.69 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Newquay Chiang Mai 9,360 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Newquay
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

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

Newquay costs about 165% 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 $3,712 per month in Newquay 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 $481 there versus $1,362 in Newquay.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $82 in Newquay 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 25% more in Newquay, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,475 in Newquay and $935 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.

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