Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Osaka and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,396 in Osaka, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Osaka
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Osaka Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Osaka

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,396

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,396 per month in Osaka vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Osaka $1,396
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $2,027 per month in Osaka vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Osaka $2,027
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $2,658 per month in Osaka vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Osaka $2,658
Chiang Mai $1,979

Osaka costs about 49% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Osaka sits 3% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.50 ¥1,027

$2.24 ฿75.7

190.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.93 ¥5,041

$19.00 ฿642

68.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.15 ¥813

$5.55 ฿188

-7.21%

Cappuccino

$3.03 ¥478

$1.67 ฿56.6

81.44%

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

$1.39 ¥220

$0.64 ฿21.56

117.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.71 ¥113

$0.31 ฿10.32

129.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.75 ¥434

$2.36 ฿79.6

16.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.89 ¥614

$3.66 ฿124

6.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 ¥230

$1.95 ฿65.8

-25.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 ¥205

$1.44 ฿48.51

-9.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.46 ¥863

$1.33 ฿45.07

310.53%

Eggs

$2.03 ¥321

$2.28 ฿77.1

-10.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.63 ¥1,520

$16.45 ฿556

-41.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.45 ¥1,492

$2.78 ฿94.0

239.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.58 ¥2,933

$9.31 ฿314

99.57%

Apples (1kg)

$3.39 ¥535

$2.35 ฿79.5

44.26%

Banana (1kg)

$2.00 ¥316

$0.97 ฿32.82

106.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.09 ¥329

$1.60 ฿53.9

30.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.14 ¥654

$1.50 ฿50.7

176.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 ¥247

$1.28 ฿43.15

22.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 ¥185

$1.10 ฿37.22

6.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 ¥217

$0.71 ฿23.84

92.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 ¥128

$0.49 ฿16.38

65.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.02 ¥635

$4.14 ฿140

-2.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.72 ¥1,535

$17.52 ฿592

-44.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 ¥306

$1.61 ฿54.5

20.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 ¥503

$2.78 ฿94.0

14.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.35 ¥213

$0.87 ฿29.33

55.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$32.79 ¥5,178

$54.1 ฿1,827

-39.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.90 ¥616

$1.16 ฿39.08

236.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.26 ¥515

$0.53 ฿17.82

515.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.50 ¥3,395

$2.42 ฿81.8

788.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 ¥176

$1.45 ฿48.93

-23.45%

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

$22.3K ¥3.5M

$21.1K ฿711.2K

5.99%

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

$14.9K ¥2.3M

$26.9K ฿909.8K

-44.88%

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

$141 ¥22.3K

$62.2 ฿2,100

126.78%

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

$24.00 ¥3,790

$12.17 ฿411

97.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.50 ¥4,815

$20.12 ฿680

51.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.7 ¥8,168

$37.31 ฿1,260

38.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.86 ¥2,978

$3.77 ฿127

400.27%

Cinema Ticket

$12.85 ¥2,028

$6.49 ฿219

98.00%

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

$709 ¥111.9K

$736 ฿24.9K

-3.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K ¥2.1M

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-10.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.77 ¥7,700

$53.4 ฿1,802

-8.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.94 ¥4,885

$24.64 ฿832

25.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.9 ¥11.5K

$91.5 ฿3,089

-20.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.8 ¥14.3K

$71.9 ฿2,429

26.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$732 ¥115.6K

$482 ฿16.3K

51.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$516 ¥81.5K

$309 ฿10.4K

67.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,693 ¥267.3K

$1,006 ฿34.0K

68.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$773 ¥122.1K

$633 ฿21.4K

22.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,542 ¥1.0M

$2,363 ฿79.8K

176.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,063 ¥483.6K

$1,589 ฿53.7K

92.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,363 ¥373.1K

$590 ฿19.9K

300.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.21

5.57

-60.32%

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

Last update for Osaka: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Osaka

$516 37%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 40.1% $207

Groceries & Markets

Osaka

$305 21.9%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 23.2% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Osaka

$195 14%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 51.7% $101

Eating Out

Osaka

$134 9.6%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 42% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Osaka

$110 7.9%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 0.8% $0.9

Sport & Entertainment

Osaka

$77 5.6%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 35.1% $27

Getting Around

Osaka

$58 4.2%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 5.1% $3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $732 in Osaka 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 Osaka are about 4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Osaka versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $305 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Osaka

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

05:36 5:36 AM

03:36 3:36 AM

2 h behind Osaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,691,185

127,240

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Osaka Chiang Mai 4,000 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Osaka
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

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

Osaka costs about 49% more than Chiang Mai, 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 $2,094 per month in Osaka 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 $732 in Osaka.

Kindergarten costs $709 per month in Osaka 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 30% more in Osaka, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,396 in Osaka and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $936 versus $1,396 in Osaka. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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