Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Qalyub and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Qalyub: $451 a month against $925 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in Qalyub
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Qalyub Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Qalyub

🇪🇬 Egypt

$451

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $451 per month in Qalyub vs $925 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Qalyub $451
Chiang Mai $925

A couple spends around $740 per month in Qalyub vs $1,414 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Qalyub $740
Chiang Mai $1,414

A family of three spends $1,028 per month in Qalyub vs $1,903 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Qalyub $1,028
Chiang Mai $1,903

Qalyub is about 51% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Qalyub and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Qalyub 67% lower, Chiang Mai 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.33 E£241

$2.29 ฿77.2

89.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.25 E£1,073

$19.64 ฿663

-1.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.73 E£264

$5.61 ฿189

-15.69%

Cappuccino

$1.32 E£73.5

$1.66 ฿56.1

-20.48%

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

$0.29 E£16.43

$0.70 ฿23.61

-58.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.13 E£7.38

$0.31 ฿10.33

-58.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.32 E£73.3

$2.41 ฿81.1

-45.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 E£128

$3.71 ฿125

-38.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.82 E£45.70

$1.95 ฿65.9

-57.95%

White Bread (500g)

$0.70 E£39.29

$1.41 ฿47.47

-50.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.59 E£32.92

$1.31 ฿44.03

-54.96%

Eggs

$1.13 E£62.8

$2.18 ฿73.6

-48.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.80 E£212

$16.65 ฿562

-77.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.35 E£242

$2.76 ฿93.0

57.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.12 E£508

$9.11 ฿307

0.11%

Apples (1kg)

$1.54 E£86.0

$2.39 ฿80.7

-35.56%

Banana (1kg)

$0.78 E£43.67

$1.03 ฿34.58

-24.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.57 E£31.54

$1.63 ฿54.9

-65.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.33 E£18.27

$1.50 ฿50.5

-78.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 E£13.37

$1.29 ฿43.53

-81.40%

Onion (1kg)

$0.32 E£18.05

$1.11 ฿37.37

-71.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.25 E£13.82

$0.72 ฿24.30

-65.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.20 E£11.00

$0.53 ฿17.76

-62.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.93 E£108

$4.31 ฿145

-55.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.77 E£322

$17.95 ฿605

-67.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 E£66.6

$1.58 ฿53.4

-24.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 E£123

$2.84 ฿95.9

-22.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.20 E£11.12

$0.86 ฿29.13

-76.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.3 ฿1,797

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 E£22.23

$1.21 ฿40.66

-66.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 E£11.21

$0.57 ฿19.16

-64.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.20 E£66.8

$2.35 ฿79.4

-48.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.42 E£23.69

$1.44 ฿48.40

-70.83%

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

$32.3K E£1.8M

$20.7K ฿699.2K

55.92%

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

$26.9K E£1.5M

$26.8K ฿904.0K

0.22%

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

$14.31 E£798

$62.3 ฿2,102

-77.04%

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

$6.72 E£375

$12.11 ฿408

-44.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.08 E£729

$19.94 ฿673

-34.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.40 E£915

$37.07 ฿1,250

-55.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$0.91 E£51.0

$3.78 ฿127

-75.93%

Cinema Ticket

$2.77 E£155

$6.50 ฿219

-57.38%

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

$86.6 E£4,832

$793 ฿26.7K

-89.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,104 E£117.3K

$14.8K ฿499.5K

-85.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.54 E£1,870

$53.7 ฿1,813

-37.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.09 E£2,515

$24.62 ฿831

83.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 E£6,499

$90.9 ฿3,064

28.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$56.0 E£3,123

$71.1 ฿2,400

-21.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$132 E£7,358

$455 ฿15.4K

-71.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$76.8 E£4,281

$298 ฿10.0K

-74.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$251 E£14.0K

$908 ฿30.6K

-72.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$144 E£8,034

$554 ฿18.7K

-73.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$752 E£41.9K

$1,931 ฿65.1K

-61.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$357 E£19.9K

$1,445 ฿48.7K

-75.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$591 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

5.57

191.02%

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

Last update for Qalyub: October 18, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Qalyub

$126 27.8%

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5% 87.6% $110

Clothing & Footwear

Qalyub

$113 25.1%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7% 4.3% $4.9

Eating Out

Qalyub

$78 17.2%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5% 1.4% $1.1

Accommodation & Living

Qalyub

$77 17%

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2% 288% $221

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Qalyub

$34 7.6%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2% 177% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Qalyub

$22 4.9%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 128% $28

Getting Around

Qalyub

$2.2 * 0.5%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 2663% $59

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $132 in Qalyub versus $455 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 $19 in Qalyub versus $20 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $126 vs $235 – making Qalyub the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Qalyub

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

09:17 9:17 AM

13:17 1:17 PM

4 h ahead of Qalyub

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

109,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.6 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 55.77 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.57 EGP (100 EGP = 1.6 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.84 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Qalyub Chiang Mai 6,880 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Qalyub
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

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

Chiang Mai costs about 105% more than Qalyub, 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 $677 per month in Qalyub and $1,388 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Qalyub, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $132 there versus $455 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Qalyub and $20 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 88% more in Chiang Mai, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

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