Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Gallen and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $3,635 in St. Gallen, rent and utilities included – about $32,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

178

Cost of Living Index in St. Gallen
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St. Gallen Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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St. Gallen

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,635

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,635 per month in St. Gallen vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

St. Gallen $3,635
Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $5,183 per month in St. Gallen vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

St. Gallen $5,183
Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $6,730 per month in St. Gallen vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

St. Gallen $6,730
Chiang Mai $1,914

St. Gallen costs about 287% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

St. Gallen sits 169% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 30% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$29.02 CHF 23.90

$2.26 ฿75.4

1184.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$143 CHF 118

$19.18 ฿641

644.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$17.94 CHF 14.78

$5.59 ฿187

220.93%

Cappuccino

$5.96 CHF 4.91

$1.72 ฿57.6

246.51%

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

$5.81 CHF 4.79

$0.64 ฿21.54

807.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.02 CHF 4.13

$0.33 ฿11.18

1421.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.92 CHF 7.34

$2.36 ฿78.7

277.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.31 CHF 5.19

$3.90 ฿130

61.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 CHF 1.75

$2.05 ฿68.6

3.90%

White Bread (500g)

$3.10 CHF 2.55

$1.40 ฿46.70

121.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.59 CHF 2.96

$1.28 ฿42.89

180.47%

Eggs

$7.63 CHF 6.29

$2.25 ฿75.3

239.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$25.24 CHF 20.79

$16.94 ฿566

49.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.21 CHF 23.23

$2.74 ฿91.6

929.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.20 CHF 32.29

$9.36 ฿313

318.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.07 CHF 2.53

$2.40 ฿80.3

27.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 CHF 1.31

$1.01 ฿33.92

57.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 CHF 1.89

$1.61 ฿53.9

42.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.87 CHF 4.84

$1.52 ฿50.7

286.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 CHF 1.41

$1.28 ฿42.90

34.37%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 CHF 1.71

$1.11 ฿37.22

87.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.26 CHF 1.86

$0.72 ฿24.09

213.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 CHF 0.96

$0.52 ฿17.54

123.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.00 CHF 9.06

$4.33 ฿145

154.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.19 CHF 9.21

$17.73 ฿593

-36.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.11 CHF 1.74

$1.63 ฿54.4

29.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 CHF 1.83

$2.85 ฿95.3

-21.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.26 CHF 3.51

$0.85 ฿28.31

401.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$125 CHF 103

$53.9 ฿1,801

132.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.73 CHF 5.54

$1.17 ฿39.18

475.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.56 CHF 3.75

$0.57 ฿19.00

700.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$78.0 CHF 64.3

$2.37 ฿79.2

3191.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.30 CHF 1.89

$1.45 ฿48.32

58.62%

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

$34.2K CHF 28.2K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

67.05%

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

$39.3K CHF 32.3K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

48.11%

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

$309 CHF 254

$62.3 ฿2,083

395.19%

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

$37.13 CHF 30.58

$12.27 ฿410

202.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.8 CHF 45.11

$19.97 ฿668

174.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$79.0 CHF 65.1

$37.91 ฿1,267

108.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.76 ฿126

Cinema Ticket

$30.06 CHF 24.76

$6.71 ฿224

347.99%

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

$2,233 CHF 1,839

$797 ฿26.6K

180.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.0K CHF 26.4K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

115.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$144 CHF 118

$53.3 ฿1,780

169.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$63.6 CHF 52.4

$25.05 ฿837

153.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$144 CHF 119

$91.6 ฿3,062

57.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$179 CHF 147

$73.5 ฿2,455

143.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,720 CHF 1,417

$464 ฿15.5K

270.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,662 CHF 1,369

$305 ฿10.2K

445.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,818 CHF 2,321

$915 ฿30.6K

207.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,152 CHF 1,773

$552 ฿18.5K

289.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$11.9K CHF 9,807

$1,912 ฿63.9K

522.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$9,042 CHF 7,447

$1,438 ฿48.1K

528.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,580 CHF 5,419

$595 ฿19.9K

1005.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.1

5.57

-62.30%

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

Last update for St. Gallen: October 11, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St. Gallen

$1.7K 45.7%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 81.7% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

St. Gallen

$565 15.5%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 57.9% $327

Eating Out

St. Gallen

$458 12.6%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 82.7% $379

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Gallen

$401 11%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 76.4% $306

Clothing & Footwear

St. Gallen

$239 6.6%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 54.1% $129

Getting Around

St. Gallen

$172 4.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 64.3% $111

Sport & Entertainment

St. Gallen

$139 3.8%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 63.1% $88

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,720 in St. Gallen versus $464 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 1006% higher in St. Gallen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $143 in St. Gallen versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $565 vs $238 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇭 St. Gallen

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

07:42 7:42 AM

12:42 12:42 PM

5 h ahead of St. Gallen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,213

127,240

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St. Gallen Chiang Mai 8,450 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

St. Gallen
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

St. Gallen vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St. Gallen costs about 287% 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 $5,453 per month in St. Gallen and $1,408 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $2,233 per month in St. Gallen and $797 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 137% more in St. Gallen, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Chiang Mai, where all-in costs run around $938, than in St. Gallen at $3,635. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in St. Gallen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $938 versus $3,635 in St. Gallen. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, St. Gallen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.