Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Pedro, Costa Rica and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,712 in San Pedro, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

83

Cost of Living Index in San Pedro
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San Pedro Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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San Pedro

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,712

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,712 per month in San Pedro vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

San Pedro $1,712
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $2,640 per month in San Pedro vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

San Pedro $2,640
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $3,569 per month in San Pedro vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

San Pedro $3,569
Chiang Mai $1,979

San Pedro costs about 83% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

San Pedro sits 26% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.18 ₡5,498

$2.24 ฿75.7

443.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.6 ₡27.3K

$19.00 ฿642

218.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.46 ₡5,169

$5.55 ฿188

106.49%

Cappuccino

$4.51 ₡2,035

$1.67 ฿56.6

170.06%

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

$2.76 ₡1,246

$0.64 ฿21.56

331.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 ₡836

$0.31 ฿10.32

496.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 ₡1,500

$2.36 ฿79.6

40.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.51 ₡2,036

$3.66 ฿124

23.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.43 ₡1,096

$1.95 ฿65.8

24.62%

White Bread (500g)

$3.06 ₡1,381

$1.44 ฿48.51

112.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.44 ₡1,102

$1.33 ฿45.07

83.46%

Eggs

$3.42 ₡1,542

$2.28 ฿77.1

50.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.82 ₡4,881

$16.45 ฿556

-34.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 ₡4,715

$2.78 ฿94.0

275.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.23 ₡6,423

$9.31 ฿314

52.85%

Apples (1kg)

$5.09 ₡2,299

$2.35 ฿79.5

116.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 ₡719

$0.97 ฿32.82

63.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.69 ₡2,117

$1.60 ฿53.9

193.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.92 ₡1,767

$1.50 ฿50.7

161.33%

Potato (1kg)

$3.87 ₡1,747

$1.28 ฿43.15

202.34%

Onion (1kg)

$3.58 ₡1,615

$1.10 ฿37.22

225.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 ₡503

$0.71 ฿23.84

56.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.14 ₡1,417

$0.49 ฿16.38

540.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.05 ₡2,732

$4.14 ฿140

46.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.94 ₡8,999

$17.52 ฿592

13.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.91 ₡1,311

$1.61 ฿54.5

80.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,638

$2.78 ฿94.0

30.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.33 ₡598

$0.87 ฿29.33

52.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.47 ₡1,115

$1.16 ฿39.08

112.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡707

$0.53 ฿17.82

196.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.48 ₡3,824

$2.42 ฿81.8

250.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 ₡708

$1.45 ฿48.93

8.28%

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

$33.8K ₡15.2M

$21.1K ฿711.2K

60.34%

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

$41.8K ₡18.9M

$26.9K ฿909.8K

55.17%

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

$96.5 ₡43.5K

$62.2 ฿2,100

55.16%

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

$36.34 ₡16.4K

$12.17 ฿411

198.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.2 ₡26.3K

$20.12 ฿680

189.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.1 ₡28.5K

$37.31 ฿1,260

69.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$7.66 ₡3,455

$6.49 ฿219

18.03%

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

$993 ₡448.0K

$736 ฿24.9K

34.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.2K ₡7.8M

$14.8K ฿498.6K

16.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.4 ₡32.7K

$53.4 ฿1,802

35.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.3 ₡24.9K

$24.64 ฿832

124.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$130 ₡58.8K

$91.5 ฿3,089

42.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 ₡59.9K

$71.9 ฿2,429

84.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$816 ₡368.3K

$482 ฿16.3K

69.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 ₡279.6K

$309 ฿10.4K

100.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,163 ₡976.0K

$1,006 ฿34.0K

115.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,092 ₡492.9K

$633 ฿21.4K

72.46%

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)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

5.57

54.76%

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

Last update for San Pedro: 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 Pedro

$620 36.2%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 50.1% $311

Groceries & Markets

San Pedro

$402 23.5%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 41.7% $167

Eating Out

San Pedro

$230 13.4%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 66.3% $152

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Pedro

$191 11.2%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 50.5% $97

Clothing & Footwear

San Pedro

$176 10.3%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 38.2% $67

Sport & Entertainment

San Pedro

$78 4.6%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 35.9% $28

Getting Around

San Pedro

$16 * 0.9%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 293% $46

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $816 in San Pedro 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 $61 in San Pedro versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $402 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Pedro

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

17:18 5:18 PM

06:18 6:18 AM

13 h ahead of San Pedro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

27,477

127,240

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 502 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 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 CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Pedro Chiang Mai 16,810 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

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

San Pedro costs about 83% more than Chiang Mai, 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 $2,568 per month in San Pedro 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 $816 in San Pedro.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in San Pedro 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 71% more in San Pedro, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,712 in San Pedro 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.