Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sale, Australia and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,496 in Sale, rent and utilities included – about $18,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

122

Cost of Living Index in Sale
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Sale Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Sale

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,496

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,496 per month in Sale vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Sale $2,496
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,598 per month in Sale vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Sale $3,598
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $4,701 per month in Sale vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Sale $4,701
Chiang Mai $1,979

Sale costs about 167% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sale sits 83% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.56 A$26.29

$2.24 ฿75.5

728.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.3 A$125

$19.00 ฿640

364.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 A$15.73

$5.55 ฿187

100.00%

Cappuccino

$3.42 A$4.85

$1.67 ฿56.4

104.79%

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

$2.71 A$3.84

$0.64 ฿21.51

323.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 A$2.99

$0.31 ฿10.29

580.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.95 A$11.26

$2.36 ฿79.5

236.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.53 A$10.67

$3.66 ฿123

105.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 A$2.38

$1.95 ฿65.7

-13.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.34 A$3.32

$1.44 ฿48.41

62.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.22 A$3.14

$1.33 ฿44.97

66.92%

Eggs

$4.60 A$6.52

$2.28 ฿77.0

101.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.39 A$11.89

$16.45 ฿554

-49.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.35 A$13.24

$2.78 ฿93.8

236.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.11 A$19.99

$9.31 ฿314

51.56%

Apples (1kg)

$3.50 A$4.96

$2.35 ฿79.3

48.94%

Banana (1kg)

$2.90 A$4.10

$0.97 ฿32.75

198.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.97 A$4.20

$1.60 ฿53.8

85.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.48 A$6.34

$1.50 ฿50.6

198.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.80 A$3.96

$1.28 ฿43.06

118.75%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 A$3.04

$1.10 ฿37.14

95.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.68 A$3.80

$0.71 ฿23.79

277.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 A$2.41

$0.49 ฿16.34

246.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$41.03 A$58.1

$4.14 ฿140

891.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.91 A$19.70

$17.52 ฿590

-20.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.43 A$6.27

$1.61 ฿54.4

175.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.43 A$7.69

$2.78 ฿93.8

95.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.72 A$3.85

$0.87 ฿29.27

212.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.1 A$109

$54.1 ฿1,823

42.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.00 A$5.67

$1.16 ฿39.00

244.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.83 A$2.60

$0.53 ฿17.78

245.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$42.26 A$59.9

$2.42 ฿81.6

1646.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 A$2.04

$1.45 ฿48.82

-0.69%

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

$33.2K A$47.1K

$21.1K ฿709.7K

57.81%

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

$26.4K A$37.4K

$26.9K ฿907.9K

-1.90%

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

$194 A$275

$62.2 ฿2,095

212.61%

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

$30.24 A$42.83

$12.17 ฿410

148.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.46 A$68.7

$20.12 ฿678

140.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 A$79.9

$37.31 ฿1,257

51.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.09 A$25.63

$3.77 ฿127

379.84%

Cinema Ticket

$14.56 A$20.63

$6.49 ฿219

124.35%

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

$2,348 A$3,326

$736 ฿24.8K

218.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.7K A$25.1K

$14.8K ฿497.6K

19.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.1 A$111

$53.4 ฿1,799

46.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.36 A$68.5

$24.64 ฿830

96.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 A$145

$91.5 ฿3,083

11.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 A$155

$71.9 ฿2,424

51.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,417 A$2,007

$482 ฿16.3K

193.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,232 A$1,745

$309 ฿10.4K

298.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,154 A$3,051

$1,006 ฿33.9K

114.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,823 A$2,582

$633 ฿21.3K

187.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,343 A$7,569

$2,363 ฿79.6K

126.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,335 A$6,141

$1,589 ฿53.6K

172.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

5.57

5.92%

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

Last update for Sale: 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

Sale

$1.2K 49.4%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 74.9% $923

Groceries & Markets

Sale

$356 14.2%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 34.1% $121

Eating Out

Sale

$297 11.9%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 73.9% $219

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sale

$273 10.9%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 65.4% $179

Clothing & Footwear

Sale

$152 6.1%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 28.5% $43

Getting Around

Sale

$101 4.1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 39.3% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Sale

$85 3.4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 41.2% $35

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,417 in Sale 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 $88 in Sale versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $356 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sale

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

13:27 1:27 PM

09:27 9:27 AM

4 h behind Sale

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,673

127,240

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.706 USD

1 AUD = 0.634 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.706 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.634 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sale Chiang Mai 8,070 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Sale
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

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

Sale costs about 167% 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 $3,744 per month in Sale 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 $1,417 in Sale.

Kindergarten costs $2,348 per month in Sale 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 52% more in Sale, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,496 in Sale 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.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

For expats, Chiang Mai is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 63% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.