Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Paks and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $1,143 in Paks, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Paks
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Paks Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Paks

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,143

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,143 per month in Paks vs $935 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Paks $1,143
Chiang Mai $935

A couple spends around $1,717 per month in Paks vs $1,467 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Paks $1,717
Chiang Mai $1,467

A family of three spends $2,291 per month in Paks vs $1,999 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Paks $2,291
Chiang Mai $1,999

Paks costs about 22% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Paks and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Paks 15% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.59 Ft 2,790

$2.13 ฿72.0

303.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.02 Ft 9,757

$18.62 ฿628

61.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.22 Ft 2,346

$5.60 ฿189

28.93%

Cappuccino

$0.86 Ft 281

$1.66 ฿56.1

-48.19%

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

$1.14 Ft 371

$0.65 ฿21.82

75.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 Ft 269

$0.30 ฿10.29

176.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.18 Ft 385

$2.32 ฿78.3

-49.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.92 Ft 624

$3.67 ฿124

-47.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 375

$2.02 ฿68.0

-43.07%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 Ft 194

$1.41 ฿47.49

-57.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.41 Ft 785

$1.39 ฿46.94

73.38%

Eggs

$3.32 Ft 1,078

$2.37 ฿79.9

40.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.84 Ft 3,523

$16.52 ฿557

-34.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.03 Ft 1,960

$2.67 ฿90.1

125.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.72 Ft 4,457

$9.02 ฿304

52.11%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 596

$2.40 ฿80.9

-23.75%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 654

$1.04 ฿35.12

93.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.09 Ft 679

$1.66 ฿56.0

25.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 Ft 1,298

$1.56 ฿52.6

155.77%

Potato (1kg)

$0.58 Ft 187

$1.24 ฿41.75

-53.23%

Onion (1kg)

$0.53 Ft 172

$1.09 ฿36.65

-51.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 507

$0.76 ฿25.70

105.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.47 Ft 154

$0.51 ฿17.34

-7.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.69 Ft 2,500

$4.12 ฿139

86.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.23 Ft 2,024

$17.93 ฿605

-65.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

$1.62 ฿54.8

-21.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 Ft 527

$2.82 ฿95.2

-42.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.23 Ft 400

$0.93 ฿31.52

32.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.53 Ft 8,622

$52.9 ฿1,784

-49.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 Ft 1,002

$1.18 ฿39.69

161.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.51 Ft 489

$0.17 ฿5.78

788.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.94 Ft 5,829

$1.81 ฿61.1

891.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.88 Ft 611

$1.47 ฿49.67

27.89%

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

$32.1K Ft 10.4M

$21.0K ฿708.7K

52.86%

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

$36.2K Ft 11.8M

$26.5K ฿894.4K

36.50%

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

$135 Ft 43.7K

$62.6 ฿2,110

115.06%

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

$10.17 Ft 3,305

$11.60 ฿391

-12.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.02 Ft 3,907

$20.30 ฿685

-40.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.7 Ft 16.5K

$37.88 ฿1,278

33.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.16 Ft 5,901

$3.70 ฿125

390.81%

Cinema Ticket

$7.45 Ft 2,422

$6.51 ฿220

14.44%

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

$250 Ft 81.3K

$727 ฿24.5K

-65.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,542 Ft 2.5M

$16.6K ฿559.0K

-54.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 Ft 29.2K

$53.5 ฿1,806

67.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$13.75 Ft 4,467

$24.80 ฿836

-44.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.8 Ft 31.5K

$90.4 ฿3,049

7.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 Ft 35.0K

$72.0 ฿2,428

49.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$534 Ft 173.4K

$481 ฿16.2K

10.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$391 Ft 126.9K

$310 ฿10.5K

26.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$746 Ft 242.4K

$1,058 ฿35.7K

-29.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$646 Ft 209.8K

$659 ฿22.2K

-1.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,203 Ft 1.0M

$2,418 ฿81.5K

32.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,439 Ft 792.7K

$1,609 ฿54.3K

51.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,287 Ft 418.1K

$595 ฿20.1K

116.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.25

5.57

48.11%

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

Last update for Paks: 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

Paks

$391 34.2%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 20.7% $81

Groceries & Markets

Paks

$231 20.2%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 2.6% $6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Paks

$157 13.7%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 39.7% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Paks

$139 12.1%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 21.9% $30

Eating Out

Paks

$118 10.4%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 35.3% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Paks

$66 5.7%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 22.5% $15

Getting Around

Paks

$42 3.7%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 39.4% $17

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $534 in Paks 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 Paks are about 2.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $30 in Paks versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $231 in Paks vs $237 in Chiang Mai – so Paks wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Paks

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

07:29 7:29 AM

13:29 1:29 PM

6 h ahead of Paks

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,917

127,240

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.08 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 325 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.72 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Paks Chiang Mai 7,760 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Paks
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

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

Paks costs about 22% 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 $1,714 per month in Paks 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 $534 in Paks.

Kindergarten costs $250 per month in Paks and $727 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 3% cheaper in Paks – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,143 in Paks and $935 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $935 in Chiang Mai to $1,143 in Paks. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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, Paks makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.