Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stirling and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,133 in Stirling, rent and utilities included – about $14,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

102

Cost of Living Index in Stirling
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Stirling Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Stirling

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,133

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,133 per month in Stirling vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Stirling $2,133
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,249 per month in Stirling vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Stirling $3,249
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $4,365 per month in Stirling vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Stirling $4,365
Chiang Mai $1,979

Stirling costs about 128% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Stirling sits 57% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.26 £15.14

$2.24 ฿75.6

804.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.5 £69.9

$19.00 ฿641

392.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.62 £7.93

$5.55 ฿187

91.35%

Cappuccino

$4.68 £3.49

$1.67 ฿56.5

180.24%

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

$2.45 £1.83

$0.64 ฿21.55

282.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 £1.36

$0.31 ฿10.31

490.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.13 £4.58

$2.36 ฿79.6

159.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 £3.41

$3.66 ฿124

24.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 £1.02

$1.95 ฿65.8

-29.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.44 ฿48.48

-5.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.89 £1.41

$1.33 ฿45.04

42.11%

Eggs

$3.72 £2.78

$2.28 ฿77.1

63.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.72 £6.51

$16.45 ฿555

-46.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.72 £5.77

$2.78 ฿93.9

177.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.58 £4.91

$9.31 ฿314

-29.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.96 £2.21

$2.35 ฿79.4

25.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.34 £1.00

$0.97 ฿32.80

38.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.85 £2.13

$1.60 ฿53.9

78.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.66 £1.99

$1.50 ฿50.6

77.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 £1.23

$1.28 ฿43.12

28.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 £1.12

$1.10 ฿37.19

36.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.01 £0.75

$0.71 ฿23.82

42.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 £1.11

$0.49 ฿16.37

204.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.67 £16.93

$4.14 ฿140

447.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.07 £8.27

$17.52 ฿591

-36.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 £2.03

$1.61 ฿54.5

68.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 £2.19

$2.78 ฿94.0

5.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$6.25 £4.67

$0.87 ฿29.31

618.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.9 £56.7

$54.1 ฿1,826

40.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.91 £2.92

$1.16 ฿39.06

237.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.42 £1.81

$0.53 ฿17.80

356.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.97 £17.91

$2.42 ฿81.8

890.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.45 ฿48.90

42.76%

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

$38.7K £28.9K

$21.1K ฿710.7K

83.78%

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

$40.0K £29.9K

$26.9K ฿909.3K

48.44%

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

$284 £212

$62.2 ฿2,098

357.23%

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

$15.62 £11.67

$12.17 ฿411

28.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.24 £30.06

$20.12 ฿679

100.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.94 £23.86

$37.31 ฿1,259

-14.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.97 £12.68

$3.77 ฿127

350.13%

Cinema Ticket

$9.29 £6.94

$6.49 ฿219

43.14%

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

$1,875 £1,401

$736 ฿24.8K

154.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K £17.4K

$14.8K ฿498.3K

57.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$98.5 £73.6

$53.4 ฿1,801

84.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.77 £27.47

$24.64 ฿831

49.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.6 £69.2

$91.5 ฿3,087

1.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$54.3 £40.58

$71.9 ฿2,428

-24.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 £768

$482 ฿16.3K

113.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$938 £701

$309 ฿10.4K

203.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,350 £1,756

$1,006 ฿33.9K

133.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,700 £1,270

$633 ฿21.4K

168.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,505 £2,618

$590 ฿19.9K

494.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

5.57

-8.26%

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

Last update for Stirling: 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

Stirling

$938 44%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 67.1% $629

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stirling

$340 16%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 72.2% $246

Eating Out

Stirling

$307 14.4%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 74.7% $229

Groceries & Markets

Stirling

$253 11.9%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 7.4% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Stirling

$127 6%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 14.4% $18

Getting Around

Stirling

$117 5.5%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 47.5% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Stirling

$51 2.4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 0.5% $0.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,028 in Stirling 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 Stirling are about 5.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $94 in Stirling versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $253 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Stirling

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

10:08 10:08 AM

17:08 5:08 PM

7 h ahead of Stirling

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

37,800

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Stirling Chiang Mai 9,050 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Stirling
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

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

Stirling costs about 128% 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 $3,199 per month in Stirling 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 $1,028 in Stirling.

Kindergarten costs $1,875 per month in Stirling 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 8% more in Stirling, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,133 in Stirling 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.

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, Stirling makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.