Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sabratha and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Sabratha: $406 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Sabratha
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Sabratha Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Sabratha

🇱🇾 Libya

$406

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $406 per month in Sabratha vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Sabratha $406
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $596 per month in Sabratha vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Sabratha $596
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $785 per month in Sabratha vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Sabratha $785
Chiang Mai $1,979

Sabratha is about 57% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Sabratha and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Sabratha 70% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 LYD 19.40

$2.24 ฿75.7

35.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$9.55 LYD 61.2

$19.00 ฿642

-49.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$1.54 LYD 9.87

$5.55 ฿188

-72.25%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.60 LYD 3.87

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 LYD 4.33

Cappuccino

$0.44 LYD 2.83

$1.67 ฿56.6

-73.65%

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

$0.32 LYD 2.07

$0.64 ฿21.56

-50.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.09 LYD 0.57

$0.31 ฿10.32

-70.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 LYD 5.87

$1.95 ฿65.8

-52.82%

White Bread (500g)

$0.20 LYD 1.28

$1.44 ฿48.51

-86.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.10 LYD 7.06

$1.33 ฿45.07

-17.29%

Eggs

$1.41 LYD 9.01

$2.28 ฿77.1

-38.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.23 LYD 33.54

$16.45 ฿556

-68.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.50 LYD 22.43

$2.78 ฿94.0

25.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.32 LYD 59.7

$9.31 ฿314

0.11%

Apples (1kg)

$2.00 LYD 12.79

$2.35 ฿79.5

-14.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 LYD 9.86

$0.97 ฿32.82

58.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.69 LYD 4.44

$1.60 ฿53.9

-56.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.60 LYD 3.85

$1.50 ฿50.7

-60.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.48 LYD 3.10

$1.28 ฿43.15

-62.50%

Onion (1kg)

$0.32 LYD 2.06

$1.10 ฿37.22

-70.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.30 LYD 1.89

$0.71 ฿23.84

-57.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.17 LYD 1.09

$0.49 ฿16.38

-65.31%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.76 LYD 11.30

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 LYD 5.96

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 LYD 5.42

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.89 LYD 12.09

$4.14 ฿140

-54.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿592

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.82 LYD 5.25

$0.87 ฿29.33

-5.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.81 LYD 5.18

$1.16 ฿39.08

-30.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.32 LYD 2.06

$0.53 ฿17.82

-39.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.76 LYD 4.84

$2.42 ฿81.8

-68.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.02 LYD 0.11

$1.45 ฿48.93

-98.62%

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

$23.2K LYD 149.0K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

10.40%

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

$21.4K LYD 137.2K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

-20.55%

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

$91.9 LYD 589

$62.2 ฿2,100

47.80%

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

$3.80 LYD 24.38

$12.17 ฿411

-68.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.86 LYD 88.9

$20.12 ฿680

-31.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$11.06 LYD 70.9

$37.31 ฿1,260

-70.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.61 LYD 48.79

$3.77 ฿127

101.86%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

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

$39.49 LYD 253

$736 ฿24.9K

-94.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$946 LYD 6,064

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-93.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$19.10 LYD 122

$53.4 ฿1,802

-64.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.32 LYD 111

$24.64 ฿832

-29.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$64.7 LYD 415

$91.5 ฿3,089

-29.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$15.66 LYD 100

$71.9 ฿2,429

-78.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$157 LYD 1,006

$482 ฿16.3K

-67.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$78.6 LYD 504

$309 ฿10.4K

-74.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$232 LYD 1,487

$1,006 ฿34.0K

-76.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$108 LYD 694

$633 ฿21.4K

-82.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$280 LYD 1,796

$2,363 ฿79.8K

-88.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$189 LYD 1,208

$1,589 ฿53.7K

-88.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$187 LYD 1,201

$590 ฿19.9K

-68.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

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

Last update for Sabratha: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sabratha

$113 27.7%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 108% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sabratha

$110 27%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 13.8% $15

Accommodation & Living

Sabratha

$79 19.4%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 293% $230

Clothing & Footwear

Sabratha

$53 13%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 107% $56

Eating Out

Sabratha

$36 8.8%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 117% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Sabratha

$11 * 2.7%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 355% $39

Getting Around

Sabratha

$5.7 * 1.4%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 978% $56

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $157 in Sabratha 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 Chiang Mai are about 3.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $10 in Sabratha versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $113 vs $234 – making Sabratha the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇱🇾 Sabratha

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

00:09 12:09 AM

05:09 5:09 AM

5 h ahead of Sabratha

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

83,398

127,240

💱 Currency

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.14 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to LYD – Libyan Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇾 Libyan Dinar (ل.د)

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.41 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.13 LYD (1 LYD = 0.14 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to LYD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sabratha Chiang Mai 8,570 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Sabratha
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

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

Chiang Mai costs about 130% more than Sabratha, 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 $609 per month in Sabratha 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 Sabratha, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $157 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $10 in Sabratha 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 108% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Sabratha, where all-in costs run around $406, than in Chiang Mai at $936. In Sabratha it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chiang Mai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Sabratha – 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 Sabratha. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Chiang Mai makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.