Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between the Philippines and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in the Philippines: $754 a month against $906 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

🇵🇭 Philippines
$754
/mo nomad
Chiang Mai
🇹🇭 Thailand
$906
/mo nomad
🙂 Solo nomad: The Philippines is 18.1% cheaper than Chiang Mai without rent, and 16.8% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: The Philippines is 13.9% cheaper than Chiang Mai without rent, and 15.4% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Philippines
Chiang Mai
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$4.08 ₱256
$2.13 ฿71.4
91.55%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$21.43 ₱1,344
$19.40 ฿649
10.46%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$3.18 ₱199
$5.47 ฿183
-41.86%
Cappuccino
$2.22 ₱139
$1.68 ฿56.4
32.14%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.70 ₱43.83
$0.66 ฿22.10
6.06%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.37 ₱22.97
$0.34 ฿11.52
8.82%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.29 ₱81.2
$2.42 ฿81.0
-46.69%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.00 ₱126
$3.73 ฿125
-46.38%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Philippines
Chiang Mai
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.69 ₱106
$2.06 ฿68.9
-17.96%
White Bread (500g)
$1.18 ₱74.1
$1.46 ฿48.78
-19.18%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$0.87 ₱54.3
$1.35 ฿45.09
-35.56%
Eggs
$1.96 ₱123
$2.27 ฿76.0
-13.66%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$6.95 ₱436
$16.31 ฿546
-57.39%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$4.29 ₱269
$2.70 ฿90.3
58.89%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.07 ₱444
$9.20 ฿308
-23.15%
Apples (1kg)
$2.90 ₱182
$2.39 ฿80.1
21.34%
Banana (1kg)
$1.44 ₱90.2
$1.04 ฿34.66
38.46%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.52 ₱158
$1.60 ฿53.7
57.50%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.50 ₱94.4
$1.44 ฿48.37
4.17%
Potato (1kg)
$2.19 ₱137
$1.30 ฿43.59
68.46%
Onion (1kg)
$2.56 ₱161
$1.11 ฿37.29
130.63%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.33 ₱83.2
$0.70 ฿23.55
90.00%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.65 ₱40.91
$0.51 ฿16.99
27.45%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.83 ₱177
$4.13 ฿138
-31.48%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.20 ₱389
$17.78 ฿595
-65.13%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.17 ₱73.5
$1.63 ฿54.7
-28.22%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.73 ₱108
$2.87 ฿96.0
-39.72%
🚌 Getting Around
Philippines
Chiang Mai
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.28 ₱17.68
$0.86 ฿28.76
-67.44%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$12.71 ₱797
$53.2 ฿1,780
-76.09%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.78 ₱48.96
$1.22 ฿40.81
-36.07%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.23 ₱14.43
$0.56 ฿18.81
-58.93%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$1.88 ₱118
$2.31 ฿77.5
-18.61%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.16 ₱72.6
$1.50 ฿50.2
-22.67%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.2K ₱1.3M
$20.9K ฿698.3K
1.70%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$19.5K ₱1.2M
$26.7K ฿895.0K
-27.12%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Philippines
Chiang Mai
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$103 ₱6,459
$61.3 ฿2,051
68.10%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$14.13 ₱886
$12.50 ฿419
13.04%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$27.09 ₱1,699
$20.36 ฿682
33.06%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Philippines
Chiang Mai
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$31.47 ₱1,974
$37.94 ฿1,270
-17.05%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$5.95 ₱373
$3.77 ฿126
57.82%
Cinema Ticket
$5.46 ₱342
$6.60 ฿221
-17.27%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Philippines
Chiang Mai
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$142 ₱8,889
$774 ฿25.9K
-81.69%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,663 ₱355.2K
$14.4K ฿483.2K
-60.76%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Philippines
Chiang Mai
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$43.92 ₱2,755
$54.8 ฿1,835
-19.85%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$24.08 ₱1,510
$25.26 ฿846
-4.67%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$67.1 ₱4,210
$90.6 ฿3,032
-25.88%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$60.4 ₱3,789
$73.3 ฿2,453
-17.53%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Philippines
Chiang Mai
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$322 ₱20.2K
$459 ฿15.4K
-29.77%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$184 ₱11.5K
$294 ฿9,835
-37.40%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$652 ₱40.9K
$919 ฿30.8K
-29.10%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$355 ₱22.2K
$552 ฿18.5K
-35.73%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,998 ₱188.0K
$1,917 ฿64.2K
56.34%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,394 ₱87.4K
$1,445 ฿48.4K
-3.52%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Philippines
Chiang Mai
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$313 ₱19.6K
$592 ฿19.8K
-47.15%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
7.2
5.57
29.26%

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

Last update for the Philippines: October 5, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Groceries & Markets
Philippines
$191
Chiang Mai
$236 23.7% $45
Accommodation & Living
Philippines
$184
Chiang Mai
$294 59.8% $110
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Philippines
$144
Chiang Mai
$94 34.7% $50
Clothing & Footwear
Philippines
$88
Chiang Mai
$110 24.7% $22
Eating Out
Philippines
$84
Chiang Mai
$77 7.6% $6.3
Sport & Entertainment
Philippines
$42
Chiang Mai
$51 20.6% $8.8
Getting Around
Philippines
$16
Chiang Mai
$61 284% $45
Good to know
🇵🇭 Philippines
🇹🇭 Chiang Mai
🕒 Local time
18:31 6:31 PM
17:31 5:31 PM
1 h behind the Philippines
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
109,035,343
127,240
💱 Currency
Thai Baht THB ฿
Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.28 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Philippines Chiang Mai 2,390 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Philippines
  • 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

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