Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Juan, Argentina and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan: $891 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $540 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in San Juan
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San Juan Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

San Juan

🇦🇷 Argentina

$891

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $891 per month in San Juan vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

San Juan $891
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,398 per month in San Juan vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

San Juan $1,398
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $1,904 per month in San Juan vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

San Juan $1,904
Chiang Mai $1,979

San Juan is about 5% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both San Juan and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – San Juan 35% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.16 ARS 11.0K

$2.24 ฿75.7

219.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.73 ARS 61.1K

$19.00 ฿642

109.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.51 ARS 19.2K

$5.55 ฿188

125.41%

Cappuccino

$2.62 ARS 4,030

$1.67 ฿56.6

56.89%

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

$2.19 ARS 3,365

$0.64 ฿21.56

242.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 ARS 2,797

$0.31 ฿10.32

487.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.96 ARS 6,094

$2.36 ฿79.6

67.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 ARS 7,011

$3.66 ฿124

24.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 ARS 2,075

$1.95 ฿65.8

-30.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 ARS 2,122

$1.44 ฿48.51

-4.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 ARS 2,138

$1.33 ฿45.07

4.51%

Eggs

$1.45 ARS 2,227

$2.28 ฿77.1

-36.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.90 ARS 4,463

$16.45 ฿556

-82.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.37 ARS 9,800

$2.78 ฿94.0

129.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.75 ARS 16.5K

$9.31 ฿314

15.47%

Apples (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,228

$2.35 ฿79.5

-38.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 ARS 2,123

$0.97 ฿32.82

42.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 ARS 2,103

$1.60 ฿53.9

-14.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,224

$1.50 ฿50.7

-3.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ARS 2,244

$1.28 ฿43.15

14.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ARS 2,127

$1.10 ฿37.22

25.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.39 ARS 2,138

$0.71 ฿23.84

95.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 ARS 2,241

$0.49 ฿16.38

197.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.69 ARS 4,138

$4.14 ฿140

-35.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.95 ARS 7,616

$17.52 ฿592

-71.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 ARS 2,241

$1.61 ฿54.5

-9.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.43 ARS 2,205

$2.78 ฿94.0

-48.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.04 ARS 1,596

$0.87 ฿29.33

19.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.03 ARS 3,126

$1.16 ฿39.08

75.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.97 ARS 1,494

$0.53 ฿17.82

83.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.04 ARS 7,758

$2.42 ฿81.8

108.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 ARS 1,742

$1.45 ฿48.93

-22.07%

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

$26.8K ARS 41.2M

$21.1K ฿711.2K

27.17%

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

$33.6K ARS 51.7M

$26.9K ฿909.8K

24.83%

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

$141 ARS 216.9K

$62.2 ฿2,100

126.80%

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

$9.91 ARS 15.2K

$12.17 ฿411

-18.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.96 ARS 27.6K

$20.12 ฿680

-10.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.64 ARS 45.6K

$37.31 ฿1,260

-20.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$6.96 ARS 10.7K

$6.49 ฿219

7.24%

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

$173 ARS 266.4K

$736 ฿24.9K

-76.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,149 ARS 6.4M

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-71.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$108 ARS 165.5K

$53.4 ฿1,802

101.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.19 ARS 64.9K

$24.64 ฿832

71.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$56.8 ARS 87.4K

$91.5 ฿3,089

-37.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.24 ARS 55.7K

$71.9 ฿2,429

-49.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$248 ARS 380.9K

$482 ฿16.3K

-48.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$198 ARS 303.9K

$309 ฿10.4K

-36.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ARS 769.5K

$1,006 ฿34.0K

-50.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$408 ARS 627.1K

$633 ฿21.4K

-35.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$696 ARS 1.1M

$590 ฿19.9K

17.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

869.48%

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

Last update for San Juan: 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

San Juan

$198 22.2%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 56.4% $111

Groceries & Markets

San Juan

$190 21.3%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 23.4% $44

Eating Out

San Juan

$171 19.2%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 54.7% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Juan

$169 19%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 44.1% $74

Clothing & Footwear

San Juan

$109 12.3%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 0.6% $0.6

Sport & Entertainment

San Juan

$44 4.9%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 15.5% $6.7

Getting Around

San Juan

$11 * 1.2%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 456% $50

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $248 in San Juan 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 run about 18% higher in San Juan, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40 in San Juan versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $190 in San Juan vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so San Juan wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇦🇷 San Juan

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

09:02 9:02 AM

19:02 7:02 PM

10 h ahead of San Juan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

522,029

127,240

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,538 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD). 1 EUR = 1,712 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

San Juan Chiang Mai 18,120 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

San Juan
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

San Juan vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiang Mai costs about 5% more than San Juan, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,337 per month in San Juan 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 San Juan, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $248 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40 in San Juan 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 23% 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.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $891 in San Juan and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.