Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,357 in San Rafael, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in San Rafael
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San Rafael Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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San Rafael

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,357

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,357 per month in San Rafael vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

San Rafael $1,357
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $2,260 per month in San Rafael vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

San Rafael $2,260
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $3,163 per month in San Rafael vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

San Rafael $3,163
Chiang Mai $1,979

San Rafael costs about 45% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.81 ARS 16.7K

$2.24 ฿75.5

382.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.9 ARS 78.7K

$19.00 ฿640

168.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.80 ARS 22.9K

$5.55 ฿187

166.67%

Cappuccino

$4.47 ARS 6,901

$1.67 ฿56.4

167.66%

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

$2.42 ARS 3,738

$0.64 ฿21.51

278.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 ARS 3,013

$0.31 ฿10.29

529.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.09 ARS 6,324

$2.36 ฿79.5

73.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 ARS 6,761

$3.66 ฿123

19.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 ARS 2,056

$1.95 ฿65.7

-31.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.21 ARS 3,418

$1.44 ฿48.41

53.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.76 ARS 4,262

$1.33 ฿44.97

107.52%

Eggs

$3.24 ARS 5,000

$2.28 ฿77.0

42.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.53 ARS 22.4K

$16.45 ฿554

-11.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.42 ARS 9,917

$2.78 ฿93.8

130.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.09 ARS 17.1K

$9.31 ฿314

19.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.36 ARS 3,640

$2.35 ฿79.3

0.43%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 ARS 3,326

$0.97 ฿32.75

121.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.29 ARS 1,998

$1.60 ฿53.8

-19.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.18 ARS 4,913

$1.50 ฿50.6

112.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 ARS 2,976

$1.28 ฿43.06

50.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 ARS 2,350

$1.10 ฿37.14

38.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.01 ARS 3,106

$0.71 ฿23.79

183.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.44 ARS 3,765

$0.49 ฿16.34

397.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.71 ARS 4,192

$4.14 ฿140

-34.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.09 ARS 7,862

$17.52 ฿590

-70.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 ARS 2,721

$1.61 ฿54.4

9.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 ARS 4,500

$2.78 ฿93.8

4.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.00 ARS 1,542

$0.87 ฿29.27

14.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,823

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.97 ARS 3,037

$1.16 ฿39.00

69.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.99 ARS 1,523

$0.53 ฿17.78

86.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 ARS 7,675

$2.42 ฿81.6

105.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 ARS 1,955

$1.45 ฿48.82

-12.41%

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

$27.1K ARS 41.9M

$21.1K ฿709.7K

28.67%

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

$33.0K ARS 50.9M

$26.9K ฿907.9K

22.33%

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

$146 ARS 225.1K

$62.2 ฿2,095

134.33%

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

$17.12 ARS 26.4K

$12.17 ฿410

40.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.87 ARS 36.9K

$20.12 ฿678

18.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.97 ARS 46.3K

$37.31 ฿1,257

-19.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.67 ARS 27.3K

$3.77 ฿127

368.70%

Cinema Ticket

$7.24 ARS 11.2K

$6.49 ฿219

11.56%

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

$172 ARS 265.9K

$736 ฿24.8K

-76.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,098 ARS 6.3M

$14.8K ฿497.6K

-72.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$126 ARS 194.4K

$53.4 ฿1,799

135.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$141 ARS 217.6K

$24.64 ฿830

471.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$145 ARS 223.7K

$91.5 ฿3,083

58.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$158 ARS 244.0K

$71.9 ฿2,424

119.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$545 ARS 842.3K

$482 ฿16.3K

13.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$342 ARS 529.0K

$309 ฿10.4K

10.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,077 ARS 1.7M

$1,006 ฿33.9K

7.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$900 ARS 1.4M

$633 ฿21.3K

42.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,277 ARS 2.0M

$1,589 ฿53.6K

-19.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

959.25%

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

Last update for San Rafael: 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 Rafael

$342 25.2%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 9.8% $33

Groceries & Markets

San Rafael

$285 21%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 17.8% $51

Clothing & Footwear

San Rafael

$256 18.9%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 57.6% $148

Eating Out

San Rafael

$231 17%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 66.4% $154

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Rafael

$187 13.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 49.4% $92

Sport & Entertainment

San Rafael

$44 3.3%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 13.1% $5.8

Getting Around

San Rafael

$11 * 0.8%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 464% $50

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $545 in San Rafael 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 San Rafael versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $285 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇷 San Rafael

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

07:16 7:16 AM

17:16 5:16 PM

10 h ahead of San Rafael

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

118,850

127,240

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.78 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 1,545 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD). 1 EUR = 1,730 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.78 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.73 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Rafael Chiang Mai 17,860 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

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

San Rafael costs about 45% 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 $2,035 per month in San Rafael 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 $545 in San Rafael.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $51 in San Rafael 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 22% more in San Rafael, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,357 in San Rafael 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 $1,357 in San Rafael. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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