Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Olten and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $925 a month against $3,049 in Olten, rent and utilities included – about $25,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

148

Cost of Living Index in Olten
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Olten Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Olten

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,049

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,049 per month in Olten vs $925 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Olten $3,049
Chiang Mai $925

A couple spends around $4,812 per month in Olten vs $1,414 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Olten $4,812
Chiang Mai $1,414

A family of three spends $6,576 per month in Olten vs $1,903 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Olten $6,576
Chiang Mai $1,903

Olten costs about 229% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Olten sits 125% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 32% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$33.18 CHF 27.33

$2.29 ฿76.5

1348.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$122 CHF 100

$19.64 ฿656

520.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$17.69 CHF 14.57

$5.61 ฿188

215.33%

Cappuccino

$6.29 CHF 5.18

$1.66 ฿55.6

278.92%

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

$5.51 CHF 4.54

$0.70 ฿23.40

687.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.21 CHF 4.29

$0.31 ฿10.24

1580.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.22 CHF 7.59

$2.41 ฿80.4

282.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.52 CHF 6.19

$3.71 ฿124

102.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.11 CHF 1.73

$1.95 ฿65.3

8.21%

White Bread (500g)

$3.87 CHF 3.19

$1.41 ฿47.03

174.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.81 CHF 3.14

$1.31 ฿43.62

190.84%

Eggs

$8.37 CHF 6.90

$2.18 ฿72.9

283.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$26.10 CHF 21.50

$16.65 ฿556

56.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$26.77 CHF 22.05

$2.76 ฿92.2

869.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$46.34 CHF 38.16

$9.11 ฿304

408.67%

Apples (1kg)

$4.02 CHF 3.31

$2.39 ฿80.0

68.20%

Banana (1kg)

$2.69 CHF 2.22

$1.03 ฿34.26

161.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.97 CHF 2.45

$1.63 ฿54.4

82.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.69 CHF 3.86

$1.50 ฿50.0

212.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.49 CHF 2.05

$1.29 ฿43.13

93.02%

Onion (1kg)

$2.14 CHF 1.76

$1.11 ฿37.03

92.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.55 CHF 2.10

$0.72 ฿24.08

254.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 CHF 1.06

$0.53 ฿17.59

143.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.85 CHF 8.93

$4.31 ฿144

151.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.12 CHF 11.63

$17.95 ฿600

-21.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.79 CHF 2.30

$1.58 ฿52.9

76.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 CHF 2.68

$2.84 ฿95.0

14.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.30 CHF 4.37

$0.86 ฿28.86

516.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$107 CHF 88.3

$53.3 ฿1,780

101.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.39 CHF 6.91

$1.21 ฿40.29

593.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.53 CHF 3.73

$0.57 ฿18.99

694.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$90.2 CHF 74.3

$2.35 ฿78.6

3738.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.16 CHF 1.78

$1.44 ฿47.96

50.00%

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

$39.5K CHF 32.6K

$20.7K ฿692.8K

90.77%

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

$39.3K CHF 32.4K

$26.8K ฿895.7K

46.64%

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

$275 CHF 227

$62.3 ฿2,083

341.78%

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

$32.97 CHF 27.15

$12.11 ฿405

172.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.51 CHF 39.13

$19.94 ฿666

138.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$80.2 CHF 66.1

$37.07 ฿1,239

116.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.78 ฿126

Cinema Ticket

$21.01 CHF 17.30

$6.50 ฿217

223.23%

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

$3,608 CHF 2,971

$793 ฿26.5K

355.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$41.7K CHF 34.3K

$14.8K ฿494.9K

181.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$143 CHF 118

$53.7 ฿1,796

166.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 CHF 48.81

$24.62 ฿823

140.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$167 CHF 137

$90.9 ฿3,036

83.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$210 CHF 173

$71.1 ฿2,378

195.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,210 CHF 997

$455 ฿15.2K

165.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,035 CHF 852

$298 ฿9,954

247.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,968 CHF 1,621

$908 ฿30.4K

116.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,948 CHF 1,605

$554 ฿18.5K

251.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,931 ฿64.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,445 ฿48.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,837 CHF 4,808

$591 ฿19.7K

887.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.07

5.57

-62.84%

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

Last update for Olten: October 20, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Olten

$1K 34%

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2% 71.2% $737

Groceries & Markets

Olten

$617 20.3%

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5% 61.9% $382

Eating Out

Olten

$498 16.3%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5% 84.2% $419

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Olten

$356 11.7%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2% 73.5% $261

Clothing & Footwear

Olten

$261 8.6%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7% 58.5% $153

Getting Around

Olten

$160 5.2%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 61.9% $99

Sport & Entertainment

Olten

$122 4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 59.1% $72

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,210 in Olten versus $455 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 888% higher in Olten, 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 $122 in Olten versus $20.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $617 vs $235 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Olten

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

13:39 1:39 PM

18:39 6:39 PM

5 h ahead of Olten

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,280

127,240

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 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 CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Olten Chiang Mai 8,560 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Olten
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

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

Olten costs about 229% 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 $4,573 per month in Olten and $1,388 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 $3,608 per month in Olten and $793 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 162% more in Olten, 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 $925, than in Olten at $3,049. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Olten it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $925 versus $3,049 in Olten. 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, Olten makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.