Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sari and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Sari: $874 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $740 less a year. The total is higher in Chiang Mai despite lower rent and utilities.

42

Cost of Living Index in Sari
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Sari Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Sari

🇮🇷 Iran

$874

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $874 per month in Sari vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Sari $874
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,080 per month in Sari vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Sari $1,080
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $1,287 per month in Sari vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Sari $1,287
Chiang Mai $1,979

Sari is about 7% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Sari and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Sari 36% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.55 $3.55

$2.24 ฿75.6

58.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$11.80 $11.80

$19.00 ฿641

-37.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.08 $4.08

$5.55 ฿187

-26.49%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.68 $0.68

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 $0.91

Cappuccino

$1.23 $1.23

$1.67 ฿56.5

-26.35%

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

$0.48 $0.48

$0.64 ฿21.55

-25.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.52 $0.52

$0.31 ฿10.31

67.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$0.48 $0.48

$1.95 ฿65.8

-75.38%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 $0.60

$1.44 ฿48.48

-58.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.32 $3.32

$1.33 ฿45.04

149.62%

Eggs

$1.23 $1.23

$2.28 ฿77.1

-46.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.48 $4.48

$16.45 ฿555

-72.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.46 $3.46

$2.78 ฿93.9

24.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.25 $9.25

$9.31 ฿314

-0.64%

Apples (1kg)

$1.32 $1.32

$2.35 ฿79.4

-43.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 $1.88

$0.97 ฿32.80

93.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.19 $1.19

$1.60 ฿53.9

-25.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.65 $0.65

$1.50 ฿50.6

-56.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.59 $0.59

$1.28 ฿43.12

-53.91%

Onion (1kg)

$0.51 $0.51

$1.10 ฿37.19

-53.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.58 $0.58

$0.71 ฿23.82

-18.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.30 $0.30

$0.49 ฿16.37

-38.78%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.77 $0.77

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 $0.51

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 $2.15

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.44 $2.44

$4.14 ฿140

-41.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿591

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)

$0.87 ฿29.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.87 $9.87

$54.1 ฿1,826

-81.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.51 $0.51

$1.16 ฿39.06

-56.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 $0.31

$0.53 ฿17.80

-41.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.03 $3.03

$2.42 ฿81.8

25.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.09 $0.09

$1.45 ฿48.90

-93.79%

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

$50.9K $50.9K

$21.1K ฿710.7K

141.91%

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

$45.1K $45.1K

$26.9K ฿909.3K

67.38%

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

$13.18 $13.18

$62.2 ฿2,098

-78.80%

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

$1.58 $1.58

$12.17 ฿411

-87.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$3.99 $3.99

$20.12 ฿679

-80.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.52 $49.52

$37.31 ฿1,259

32.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.93 $11.93

$3.77 ฿127

216.45%

Cinema Ticket

$1.02 $1.02

$6.49 ฿219

-84.28%

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

$49.24 $49.24

$736 ฿24.8K

-93.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$815 $815

$14.8K ฿498.3K

-94.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.10 $26.10

$53.4 ฿1,801

-51.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.45 $37.45

$24.64 ฿831

51.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 $115

$91.5 ฿3,087

25.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.5 $73.5

$71.9 ฿2,428

2.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$794 $794

$482 ฿16.3K

64.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$497 $497

$309 ฿10.4K

60.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$693 $693

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-31.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$401 $401

$633 ฿21.4K

-36.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$857 $857

$2,363 ฿79.8K

-63.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$526 $526

$1,589 ฿53.6K

-66.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$248 $248

$590 ฿19.9K

-57.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

24.79

5.57

345.06%

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

Last update for Sari: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sari

$497 56.8%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 37.8% $188

Groceries & Markets

Sari

$122 14%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 91.9% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Sari

$113 13%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 4.2% $4.8

Eating Out

Sari

$59 6.8%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 30.5% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Sari

$52 5.9%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 2.5% $1.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sari

$19 2.1%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 404% $76

Getting Around

Sari

$12 * 1.4%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 414% $49

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $794 in Sari 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 2.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $12 in Sari versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $122 vs $234 – making Sari the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇷 Sari

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

09:42 9:42 AM

13:12 1:12 PM

3 h 30 min ahead of Sari

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

300,000

127,240

💱 Currency

USD USD

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.896 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, EUR to USD – USD Converter

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

USD exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

THB to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sari Chiang Mai 4,880 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Sari
Chiang Mai

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

Chiang Mai costs about 7% more than Sari, 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 $1,311 per month in Sari 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 $794 in Sari.

Kindergarten costs $49 per month in Sari 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 92% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $874 in Sari and $936 in Chiang Mai, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $874 in Sari to $936 in Chiang Mai. 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.

If budget matters most, go with Sari. 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.