Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surrey, United Kingdom and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $3,025 in Surrey, rent and utilities included – about $25,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

148

Cost of Living Index in Surrey
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Surrey Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Surrey

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,025

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,025 per month in Surrey vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Surrey $3,025
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $4,456 per month in Surrey vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Surrey $4,456
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $5,887 per month in Surrey vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Surrey $5,887
Chiang Mai $1,979

Surrey costs about 223% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Surrey sits 122% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.47 £17.66

$2.24 ฿75.7

947.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.5 £44.75

$19.00 ฿642

212.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.62 £7.24

$5.55 ฿188

73.33%

Cappuccino

$4.77 £3.59

$1.67 ฿56.6

185.63%

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

$2.26 £1.70

$0.64 ฿21.56

253.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 £1.11

$0.31 ฿10.32

377.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.54 £4.92

$2.36 ฿79.6

177.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.15 £4.63

$3.66 ฿124

68.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 £0.99

$1.95 ฿65.8

-32.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 £1.58

$1.44 ฿48.51

45.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 £1.21

$1.33 ฿45.07

20.30%

Eggs

$4.15 £3.13

$2.28 ฿77.1

82.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.62 £6.49

$16.45 ฿556

-47.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 £7.02

$2.78 ฿94.0

235.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.52 £12.43

$9.31 ฿314

77.44%

Apples (1kg)

$3.19 £2.40

$2.35 ฿79.5

35.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 £1.12

$0.97 ฿32.82

52.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 £1.53

$1.60 ฿53.9

26.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.26 £2.45

$1.50 ฿50.7

117.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.38 £1.04

$1.28 ฿43.15

7.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.10 ฿37.22

62.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.06

$0.71 ฿23.84

97.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 £0.88

$0.49 ฿16.38

138.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.32 £17.55

$4.14 ฿140

463.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.47 £7.88

$17.52 ฿592

-40.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.22 £1.67

$1.61 ฿54.5

37.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 £1.88

$2.78 ฿94.0

-10.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.90 £2.93

$0.87 ฿29.33

348.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.22 £3.93

$1.16 ฿39.08

350.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.82

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 £1.45

$1.45 ฿48.93

33.10%

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

$38.1K £28.7K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

81.09%

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

$41.0K £30.8K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

52.07%

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

$263 £198

$62.2 ฿2,100

322.57%

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

$13.29 £10.00

$12.17 ฿411

9.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.87 £27.00

$20.12 ฿680

78.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 £39.69

$37.31 ฿1,260

41.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.44 £13.88

$3.77 ฿127

389.12%

Cinema Ticket

$13.07 £9.84

$6.49 ฿219

101.39%

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

$2,137 £1,609

$736 ฿24.9K

190.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.9K £22.5K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

102.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.7 £39.69

$53.4 ฿1,802

-1.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.02 £30.12

$24.64 ฿832

62.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.4 £65.8

$91.5 ฿3,089

-4.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.0 £70.0

$71.9 ฿2,429

29.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,945 £1,463

$482 ฿16.3K

303.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,864 £1,403

$309 ฿10.4K

503.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,308 £2,489

$1,006 ฿34.0K

228.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,400 £2,559

$633 ฿21.4K

436.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,255 £5,460

$1,589 ฿53.7K

356.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,565 £3,436

$590 ฿19.9K

674.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.4

5.57

-3.05%

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

Last update for Surrey: October 27, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Surrey

$1.9K 61.6%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 83.4% $1.6K

Eating Out

Surrey

$334 11%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 76.8% $256

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Surrey

$312 10.3%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 69.7% $217

Groceries & Markets

Surrey

$293 9.7%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 20% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Surrey

$123 4.1%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 11.6% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Surrey

$79 2.6%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 36.3% $29

Getting Around

Surrey

$21 * 0.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 195% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,945 in Surrey 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 Surrey are about 7.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $59 in Surrey versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $293 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Surrey

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

20:01 8:01 PM

03:01 3:01 AM

7 h ahead of Surrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

585

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Surrey Chiang Mai 9,010 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Surrey
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

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

Surrey costs about 223% 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 $4,538 per month in Surrey 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 $1,945 in Surrey.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $59 in Surrey 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 25% more in Surrey, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $3,025 in Surrey 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, Surrey makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.