Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Preston and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,114 in Preston, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in Preston
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Preston Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Preston

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,114

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,114 per month in Preston vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Preston $2,114
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,021 per month in Preston vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Preston $3,021
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $3,928 per month in Preston vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Preston $3,928
Chiang Mai $1,979

Preston costs about 126% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Preston sits 55% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.89 £11.87

$2.24 ฿75.6

609.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.3 £55.5

$19.00 ฿641

291.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.20 £6.88

$5.55 ฿187

65.77%

Cappuccino

$4.24 £3.17

$1.67 ฿56.5

153.89%

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

$2.31 £1.72

$0.64 ฿21.55

260.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 £1.37

$0.31 ฿10.31

490.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.39 £4.03

$2.36 ฿79.6

128.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.20 £3.89

$3.66 ฿124

42.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 £1.11

$1.95 ฿65.8

-23.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.44 ฿48.48

-0.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 £1.20

$1.33 ฿45.04

20.30%

Eggs

$3.59 £2.68

$2.28 ฿77.1

57.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.30 £3.96

$16.45 ฿555

-67.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 £7.12

$2.78 ฿93.9

242.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.68 £9.47

$9.31 ฿314

36.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.59 £1.93

$2.35 ฿79.4

10.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 £1.28

$0.97 ฿32.80

77.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 £1.92

$1.60 ฿53.9

60.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.96 £2.96

$1.50 ฿50.6

164.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 £1.54

$1.28 ฿43.12

60.94%

Onion (1kg)

$2.25 £1.68

$1.10 ฿37.19

104.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 £0.88

$0.71 ฿23.82

64.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 £1.23

$0.49 ฿16.37

236.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.56 £16.11

$4.14 ฿140

420.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.14 £6.83

$17.52 ฿591

-47.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.37

$1.61 ฿54.5

97.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 £2.43

$2.78 ฿94.0

16.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.92 £2.93

$0.87 ฿29.31

350.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.5 £73.6

$54.1 ฿1,826

82.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.60 £1.94

$1.16 ฿39.06

124.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.10 £1.57

$0.53 ฿17.80

296.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.48

$1.45 ฿48.90

37.24%

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

$37.9K £28.3K

$21.1K ฿710.7K

79.97%

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

$41.1K £30.7K

$26.9K ฿909.3K

52.69%

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

$439 £328

$62.2 ฿2,098

606.18%

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

$14.86 £11.10

$12.17 ฿411

22.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.51 £32.51

$20.12 ฿679

116.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.40 £30.93

$37.31 ฿1,259

10.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 £12.55

$3.77 ฿127

345.62%

Cinema Ticket

$17.83 £13.32

$6.49 ฿219

174.73%

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

$1,512 £1,130

$736 ฿24.8K

105.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,738 £6,528

$14.8K ฿498.3K

-40.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.7 £56.6

$53.4 ฿1,801

41.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.16 £19.54

$24.64 ฿831

6.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$65.4 £48.85

$91.5 ฿3,087

-28.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.4 £49.60

$71.9 ฿2,428

-7.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$969 £724

$482 ฿16.3K

100.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$767 £573

$309 ฿10.4K

148.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 £1,201

$1,006 ฿33.9K

59.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,211 £905

$633 ฿21.4K

91.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,634 £2,715

$2,363 ฿79.8K

53.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,379 £1,777

$1,589 ฿53.6K

49.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,994 £2,237

$590 ฿19.9K

407.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.93

5.57

-11.49%

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

Last update for Preston: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Preston

$767 36.3%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 59.7% $458

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Preston

$497 23.5%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 81% $403

Groceries & Markets

Preston

$281 13.3%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 16.5% $46

Eating Out

Preston

$260 12.3%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 70.1% $182

Getting Around

Preston

$127 6%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 51.8% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Preston

$105 5%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 3.3% $3.5

Sport & Entertainment

Preston

$77 3.6%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 34.8% $27

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $969 in Preston 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 Preston are about 5.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $74 in Preston versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $281 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Preston

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

03:19 3:19 AM

10:19 10:19 AM

7 h ahead of Preston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

114,300

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Preston Chiang Mai 9,070 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Preston
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

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

Preston costs about 126% 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 $3,172 per month in Preston 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 $969 in Preston.

Kindergarten costs $1,512 per month in Preston 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 20% more in Preston, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,114 in Preston and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Chiang Mai – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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