Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nottingham and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $2,312 in Nottingham, rent and utilities included – about $16,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index in Nottingham
Learn more

Nottingham Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Nottingham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,312

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,312 per month in Nottingham vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Nottingham $2,312
Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $3,326 per month in Nottingham vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Nottingham $3,326
Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $4,341 per month in Nottingham vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Nottingham $4,341
Chiang Mai $1,914

Nottingham costs about 146% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Nottingham sits 71% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 30% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.89 £14.92

$2.26 ฿75.4

780.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$77.1 £57.8

$19.18 ฿641

301.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.66 £8.00

$5.59 ฿187

90.70%

Cappuccino

$4.48 £3.36

$1.72 ฿57.6

160.47%

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

$2.42 £1.82

$0.64 ฿21.54

278.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 £1.27

$0.33 ฿11.18

415.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.52 £4.89

$2.36 ฿78.7

176.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.57 £4.93

$3.90 ฿130

68.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.90 £1.42

$2.05 ฿68.6

-7.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.48 £1.11

$1.40 ฿46.70

5.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 £1.67

$1.28 ฿42.89

74.22%

Eggs

$4.85 £3.64

$2.25 ฿75.3

115.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.22 £6.17

$16.94 ฿566

-51.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 £6.73

$2.74 ฿91.6

227.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 £11.25

$9.36 ฿313

60.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 £2.20

$2.40 ฿80.3

22.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 £1.38

$1.01 ฿33.92

82.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.66 £2.75

$1.61 ฿53.9

127.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.42 £2.56

$1.52 ฿50.7

125.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 £1.58

$1.28 ฿42.90

64.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.11 ฿37.22

76.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 £0.97

$0.72 ฿24.09

79.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 £1.35

$0.52 ฿17.54

248.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.19 £16.65

$4.33 ฿145

412.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.38 £10.04

$17.73 ฿593

-24.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.44 £2.58

$1.63 ฿54.4

111.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.38 £4.04

$2.85 ฿95.3

88.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.86 £2.89

$0.85 ฿28.31

354.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$106 £79.7

$53.9 ฿1,801

96.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.69 £2.02

$1.17 ฿39.18

129.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.52 £1.14

$0.57 ฿19.00

166.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.00 £18.76

$2.37 ฿79.2

954.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 £1.60

$1.45 ฿48.32

47.59%

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

$38.0K £28.5K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

85.69%

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

$40.1K £30.1K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

51.13%

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

$287 £216

$62.3 ฿2,083

361.19%

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

$19.23 £14.43

$12.27 ฿410

56.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.01 £30.77

$19.97 ฿668

105.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.93 £31.46

$37.91 ฿1,267

10.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.64 £15.48

$3.76 ฿126

448.94%

Cinema Ticket

$15.92 £11.94

$6.71 ฿224

137.26%

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

$1,747 £1,310

$797 ฿26.6K

119.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$26.8K £20.1K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

80.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.9 £65.2

$53.3 ฿1,780

63.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.6 £46.21

$25.05 ฿837

145.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 £81.2

$91.6 ฿3,062

18.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 £78.4

$73.5 ฿2,455

42.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,202 £901

$464 ฿15.5K

158.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$963 £722

$305 ฿10.2K

215.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,952 £1,464

$915 ฿30.6K

113.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,422 £1,067

$552 ฿18.5K

157.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,112 £3,085

$1,912 ฿63.9K

115.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,807 £3,606

$1,438 ฿48.1K

234.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,119 £2,340

$595 ฿19.9K

424.00%

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 Nottingham: October 12, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nottingham

$963 41.7%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 68.4% $658

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nottingham

$348 15%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 72.8% $253

Groceries & Markets

Nottingham

$326 14.1%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 26.9% $88

Eating Out

Nottingham

$307 13.3%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 74.3% $228

Clothing & Footwear

Nottingham

$163 7%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 32.6% $53

Getting Around

Nottingham

$132 5.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 53.5% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Nottingham

$74 3.2%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 30.4% $22

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,202 in Nottingham 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.

Salaries run about 424% higher in Nottingham, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $77.0 in Nottingham versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $326 vs $238 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Nottingham

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

05:54 5:54 AM

11:54 11:54 AM

6 h ahead of Nottingham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

305,700

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 20, 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 20, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nottingham Chiang Mai 9,010 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Nottingham
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

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

Nottingham costs about 146% 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 $3,467 per month in Nottingham 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 $1,747 per month in Nottingham 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 37% more in Nottingham, 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 Nottingham at $2,312. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Nottingham it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $938 versus $2,312 in Nottingham. 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, Nottingham makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.