Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Perez Zeledon and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,317 in Perez Zeledon, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

64

Cost of Living Index in Perez Zeledon
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Perez Zeledon Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Perez Zeledon

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,317

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,317 per month in Perez Zeledon vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Perez Zeledon $1,317
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $2,364 per month in Perez Zeledon vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Perez Zeledon $2,364
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $3,410 per month in Perez Zeledon vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Perez Zeledon $3,410
Chiang Mai $1,979

Perez Zeledon costs about 41% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Perez Zeledon and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Perez Zeledon 3% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.09 ₡4,102

$2.24 ฿75.6

305.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.24 ₡16.8K

$19.00 ฿641

96.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.19 ₡3,699

$5.55 ฿187

47.57%

Cappuccino

$2.70 ₡1,217

$1.67 ฿56.5

61.68%

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

$1.97 ₡887

$0.64 ฿21.54

207.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 ₡805

$0.31 ฿10.31

474.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.73 ₡780

$2.36 ฿79.5

-26.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.21 ₡1,447

$3.66 ฿124

-12.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 ₡724

$1.95 ฿65.7

-17.95%

White Bread (500g)

$3.13 ₡1,413

$1.44 ฿48.46

117.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 ₡1,122

$1.33 ฿45.03

87.22%

Eggs

$2.49 ₡1,126

$2.28 ฿77.1

9.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.73 ₡4,846

$16.45 ฿555

-34.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.28 ₡4,639

$2.78 ฿93.9

269.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.14 ₡6,384

$9.31 ฿314

51.88%

Apples (1kg)

$5.24 ₡2,365

$2.35 ฿79.4

122.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 ₡488

$0.97 ฿32.79

11.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.89 ₡2,206

$1.60 ฿53.9

205.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.85 ₡1,737

$1.50 ฿50.6

156.67%

Potato (1kg)

$3.72 ₡1,680

$1.28 ฿43.11

190.63%

Onion (1kg)

$3.59 ₡1,622

$1.10 ฿37.18

226.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.45 ₡205

$0.71 ฿23.82

-36.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.09 ₡1,394

$0.49 ฿16.36

530.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.57 ₡2,516

$4.14 ฿140

34.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.80 ₡8,937

$17.52 ฿591

13.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.87 ₡1,297

$1.61 ฿54.5

78.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,638

$2.78 ฿93.9

30.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 ₡364

$0.87 ฿29.30

-6.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.49 ₡1,126

$1.16 ฿39.04

114.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 ₡737

$0.53 ฿17.80

207.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.76 ₡3,955

$2.42 ฿81.7

261.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡688

$1.45 ฿48.88

4.83%

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

$33.8K ₡15.2M

$21.1K ฿710.5K

60.29%

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

$42.1K ₡19.0M

$26.9K ฿909.0K

56.30%

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

$93.6 ₡42.2K

$62.2 ฿2,098

50.51%

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

$23.99 ₡10.8K

$12.17 ฿411

97.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59.2 ₡26.7K

$20.12 ฿679

193.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.9 ₡30.7K

$37.31 ฿1,259

82.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$7.67 ₡3,464

$6.49 ฿219

18.18%

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

$498 ₡224.8K

$736 ฿24.8K

-32.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.3K ₡7.8M

$14.8K ฿498.2K

17.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.8 ₡32.4K

$53.4 ฿1,801

34.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.0 ₡24.8K

$24.64 ฿831

123.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 ₡57.7K

$91.5 ฿3,087

39.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 ₡60.0K

$71.9 ฿2,427

84.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$402 ₡181.3K

$482 ฿16.3K

-16.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$326 ₡147.1K

$309 ฿10.4K

5.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,133 ₡963.0K

$1,006 ฿33.9K

112.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,260 ₡568.7K

$633 ฿21.4K

98.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

5.57

54.76%

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

Last update for Perez Zeledon: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Perez Zeledon

$383 29.1%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 38.8% $149

Accommodation & Living

Perez Zeledon

$326 24.8%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 5.2% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Perez Zeledon

$177 13.4%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 46.5% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Perez Zeledon

$174 13.2%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 37.7% $66

Eating Out

Perez Zeledon

$160 12.1%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 51.4% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Perez Zeledon

$83 6.3%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 39.6% $33

Getting Around

Perez Zeledon

$14 * 1.1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 342% $47

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $402 in Perez Zeledon 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $37 in Perez Zeledon versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $383 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Perez Zeledon

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

18:10 6:10 PM

07:10 7:10 AM

13 h ahead of Perez Zeledon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

135,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Perez Zeledon Chiang Mai 16,880 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Perez Zeledon
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

Perez Zeledon vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Perez Zeledon costs about 41% 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 $1,975 per month in Perez Zeledon 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 Perez Zeledon, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $402 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $37 in Perez Zeledon 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 63% more in Perez Zeledon, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,317 in Perez Zeledon and $936 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 $936 in Chiang Mai to $1,317 in Perez Zeledon. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.