Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sarpsborg and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $935 a month against $2,872 in Sarpsborg, rent and utilities included – about $23,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Sarpsborg
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Sarpsborg Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Sarpsborg

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,872

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,872 per month in Sarpsborg vs $935 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Sarpsborg $2,872
Chiang Mai $935

A couple spends around $4,169 per month in Sarpsborg vs $1,467 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Sarpsborg $4,169
Chiang Mai $1,467

A family of three spends $5,466 per month in Sarpsborg vs $1,999 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Sarpsborg $5,466
Chiang Mai $1,999

Sarpsborg costs about 207% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sarpsborg sits 112% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$40.81 NOK 379

$2.13 ฿71.2

1815.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$99.3 NOK 921

$18.62 ฿622

433.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$19.17 NOK 178

$5.60 ฿187

242.32%

Cappuccino

$5.74 NOK 53.3

$1.66 ฿55.5

245.78%

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

$2.88 NOK 26.75

$0.65 ฿21.59

343.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 NOK 24.77

$0.30 ฿10.18

790.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.60 NOK 61.2

$2.32 ฿77.5

184.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.19 NOK 76.0

$3.67 ฿122

123.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.32 NOK 21.49

$2.02 ฿67.3

14.85%

White Bread (500g)

$3.49 NOK 32.42

$1.41 ฿47.00

147.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.01 NOK 37.22

$1.39 ฿46.46

188.49%

Eggs

$4.56 NOK 42.30

$2.37 ฿79.0

92.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.54 NOK 116

$16.52 ฿551

-24.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$17.04 NOK 158

$2.67 ฿89.1

538.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$34.26 NOK 318

$9.02 ฿301

279.82%

Apples (1kg)

$3.85 NOK 35.74

$2.40 ฿80.1

60.42%

Banana (1kg)

$2.67 NOK 24.81

$1.04 ฿34.76

156.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.49 NOK 32.43

$1.66 ฿55.4

110.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.04 NOK 56.1

$1.56 ฿52.0

287.18%

Potato (1kg)

$2.84 NOK 26.39

$1.24 ฿41.31

129.03%

Onion (1kg)

$3.18 NOK 29.50

$1.09 ฿36.27

191.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.65 NOK 24.61

$0.76 ฿25.43

248.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.59 NOK 24.00

$0.51 ฿17.16

407.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$15.56 NOK 144

$4.12 ฿138

277.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.73 NOK 127

$17.93 ฿598

-23.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.34 NOK 30.97

$1.62 ฿54.2

106.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.71 NOK 43.69

$2.82 ฿94.2

67.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.62 NOK 24.36

$0.93 ฿31.19

181.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$87.2 NOK 809

$52.9 ฿1,766

64.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$12.01 NOK 111

$1.18 ฿39.28

917.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.97 NOK 18.26

$0.17 ฿5.72

1058.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$63.8 NOK 592

$1.81 ฿60.5

3424.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.27 NOK 21.08

$1.47 ฿49.16

54.42%

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

$55.3K NOK 513.5K

$21.0K ฿701.4K

163.32%

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

$47.2K NOK 437.7K

$26.5K ฿885.1K

77.88%

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

$238 NOK 2,207

$62.6 ฿2,088

280.16%

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

$36.62 NOK 340

$11.60 ฿387

215.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.03 NOK 436

$20.30 ฿678

131.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.1 NOK 465

$37.88 ฿1,264

32.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$38.46 NOK 357

$3.70 ฿123

939.46%

Cinema Ticket

$19.49 NOK 181

$6.51 ฿217

199.39%

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

$239 NOK 2,217

$727 ฿24.3K

-67.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K NOK 107.7K

$16.6K ฿553.2K

-29.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$111 NOK 1,034

$53.5 ฿1,787

108.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$66.9 NOK 621

$24.80 ฿828

169.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$125 NOK 1,158

$90.4 ฿3,017

38.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$180 NOK 1,670

$72.0 ฿2,402

150.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,224 NOK 11.4K

$481 ฿16.1K

154.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,093 NOK 10.1K

$310 ฿10.3K

252.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,606 NOK 14.9K

$1,058 ฿35.3K

51.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,399 NOK 13.0K

$659 ฿22.0K

112.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,415 NOK 59.5K

$2,418 ฿80.7K

165.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,241 NOK 39.4K

$1,609 ฿53.7K

163.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,714 NOK 25.2K

$595 ฿19.9K

356.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.18

5.57

-7.00%

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

Last update for Sarpsborg: November 1, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sarpsborg

$1.1K 38.1%

Chiang Mai

$310 33.1% 71.6% $783

Eating Out

Sarpsborg

$524 18.3%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.2% 85.4% $448

Groceries & Markets

Sarpsborg

$508 17.7%

Chiang Mai

$237 25.3% 53.4% $271

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sarpsborg

$321 11.2%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 70.6% $227

Clothing & Footwear

Sarpsborg

$217 7.6%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.6% 50.2% $109

Getting Around

Sarpsborg

$120 4.2%

Chiang Mai

$59 6.3% 50.9% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Sarpsborg

$89 3.1%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.4% 42.8% $38

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,224 in Sarpsborg versus $481 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 Sarpsborg are about 4.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $99 in Sarpsborg versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $508 vs $237 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Sarpsborg

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

04:20 4:20 AM

10:20 10:20 AM

6 h ahead of Sarpsborg

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

59,906

127,240

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.78 USD

100 NOK = 9.6 EUR

100 THB = 3 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.28 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.42 NOK (100 NOK = 9.6 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 33.38 THB (100 THB = 3 USD). 1 EUR = 37.47 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sarpsborg Chiang Mai 8,090 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Sarpsborg
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

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

Sarpsborg costs about 207% 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 $4,308 per month in Sarpsborg 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 $481 there versus $1,224 in Sarpsborg.

Kindergarten costs $239 per month in Sarpsborg and $727 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 114% more in Sarpsborg, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,872 in Sarpsborg and $935 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 $935 in Chiang Mai to $2,872 in Sarpsborg. 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 Chiang Mai. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sarpsborg makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.