Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Quetzaltenango and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,138 in Quetzaltenango, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Quetzaltenango
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Quetzaltenango Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Quetzaltenango

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,138

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,138 per month in Quetzaltenango vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Quetzaltenango $1,138
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,443 per month in Quetzaltenango vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Quetzaltenango $1,443
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $1,747 per month in Quetzaltenango vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Quetzaltenango $1,747
Chiang Mai $1,979

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

Both Quetzaltenango and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Quetzaltenango 16% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.77 Q 51.7

$2.24 ฿75.6

202.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.9 Q 389

$19.00 ฿641

167.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.68 Q 58.7

$5.55 ฿187

38.38%

Cappuccino

$3.36 Q 25.69

$1.67 ฿56.5

101.20%

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

$1.10 Q 8.40

$0.64 ฿21.54

71.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.97 Q 7.44

$0.31 ฿10.31

212.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.33 Q 25.45

$2.36 ฿79.5

41.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.62 Q 35.27

$3.66 ฿124

26.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.10 Q 16.01

$1.95 ฿65.7

7.69%

White Bread (500g)

$2.57 Q 19.64

$1.44 ฿48.46

78.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 Q 15.69

$1.33 ฿45.03

54.14%

Eggs

$2.36 Q 18.05

$2.28 ฿77.1

3.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.37 Q 48.69

$16.45 ฿555

-61.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.92 Q 60.5

$2.78 ฿93.9

184.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.09 Q 100

$9.31 ฿314

40.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.96 Q 22.58

$2.35 ฿79.4

25.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 Q 13.14

$0.97 ฿32.79

77.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.92 Q 22.34

$1.60 ฿53.9

82.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.60 Q 12.20

$1.50 ฿50.6

6.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.54 Q 11.73

$1.28 ฿43.11

20.31%

Onion (1kg)

$2.20 Q 16.79

$1.10 ฿37.18

100.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 Q 5.65

$0.71 ฿23.82

4.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 Q 8.90

$0.49 ฿16.36

136.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.35 Q 25.61

$4.14 ฿140

-19.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.04 Q 61.5

$17.52 ฿591

-54.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 Q 13.57

$1.61 ฿54.5

10.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.60 Q 19.84

$2.78 ฿93.9

-6.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.30

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,825

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.12 Q 39.12

$1.16 ฿39.04

341.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.72 Q 13.16

$0.53 ฿17.80

224.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.34 Q 79.0

$2.42 ฿81.7

327.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 Q 10.14

$1.45 ฿48.88

-8.28%

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

$27.6K Q 210.6K

$21.1K ฿710.5K

30.90%

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

$25.8K Q 197.5K

$26.9K ฿909.0K

-4.06%

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

$72.2 Q 551

$62.2 ฿2,098

16.07%

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

$12.97 Q 99.1

$12.17 ฿411

6.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.36 Q 354

$20.12 ฿679

130.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.27 Q 254

$37.31 ฿1,259

-10.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$6.34 Q 48.46

$6.49 ฿219

-2.31%

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

$342 Q 2,613

$736 ฿24.8K

-53.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,808 Q 52.0K

$14.8K ฿498.2K

-53.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.78 Q 373

$53.4 ฿1,801

-8.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.81 Q 365

$24.64 ฿831

94.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Q 839

$91.5 ฿3,087

20.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 Q 853

$71.9 ฿2,427

55.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$399 Q 3,052

$482 ฿16.3K

-17.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$389 Q 2,971

$309 ฿10.4K

25.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿33.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

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 %)

11.62

5.57

108.62%

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

Last update for Quetzaltenango: 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

Quetzaltenango

$389 34.2%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 20.5% $80

Groceries & Markets

Quetzaltenango

$263 23.1%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 11% $29

Eating Out

Quetzaltenango

$152 13.3%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 48.9% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Quetzaltenango

$143 12.6%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 24.1% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Quetzaltenango

$131 11.6%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 28.2% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Quetzaltenango

$46 4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 9.4% $4.3

Getting Around

Quetzaltenango

$14 * 1.2%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 347% $48

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $399 in Quetzaltenango 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 $51 in Quetzaltenango versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $263 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇹 Quetzaltenango

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

16:24 4:24 PM

05:24 5:24 AM

13 h ahead of Quetzaltenango

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

500,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GTQ – Guatemalan Quetzal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇹 Guatemalan Quetzal (Q)

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 7.64 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.53 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

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

USD to GTQ in detail →

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Between locations

Quetzaltenango Chiang Mai 16,100 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Quetzaltenango
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

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

Quetzaltenango 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 $1,707 per month in Quetzaltenango 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 Quetzaltenango, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $399 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $51 in Quetzaltenango 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 12% more in Quetzaltenango, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,138 in Quetzaltenango 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 $1,138 in Quetzaltenango. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.