Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Swansea and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,196 in Swansea, rent and utilities included – about $15,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Swansea
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Swansea Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Swansea

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,196

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,196 per month in Swansea vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Swansea $2,196
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,130 per month in Swansea vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Swansea $3,130
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $4,065 per month in Swansea vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Swansea $4,065
Chiang Mai $1,979

Swansea costs about 135% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Swansea sits 61% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.41 £15.25

$2.24 ฿75.6

811.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.1 £47.11

$19.00 ฿641

231.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 £7.82

$5.55 ฿187

88.65%

Cappuccino

$4.76 £3.56

$1.67 ฿56.5

185.03%

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

$2.36 £1.76

$0.64 ฿21.55

268.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.26 £0.94

$0.31 ฿10.31

306.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.89 £4.40

$2.36 ฿79.6

149.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.38 £4.77

$3.66 ฿124

74.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 £1.00

$1.95 ฿65.8

-31.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 £1.53

$1.44 ฿48.48

42.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 £1.54

$1.33 ฿45.04

54.89%

Eggs

$3.52 £2.63

$2.28 ฿77.1

54.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.78 £5.82

$16.45 ฿555

-52.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.33 £6.22

$2.78 ฿93.9

199.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.87 £9.61

$9.31 ฿314

38.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.32 £1.73

$2.35 ฿79.4

-1.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 £0.93

$0.97 ฿32.80

27.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 £2.14

$1.60 ฿53.9

79.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.57 £2.67

$1.50 ฿50.6

138.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.25 £1.68

$1.28 ฿43.12

75.78%

Onion (1kg)

$3.05 £2.28

$1.10 ฿37.19

177.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 £0.95

$0.71 ฿23.82

78.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.29 £1.71

$0.49 ฿16.37

367.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.23 £17.35

$4.14 ฿140

461.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.63 £7.94

$17.52 ฿591

-39.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 £1.74

$1.61 ฿54.5

44.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 £2.54

$2.78 ฿94.0

22.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.12 £3.08

$0.87 ฿29.31

373.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.1 £72.5

$54.1 ฿1,826

79.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 £2.95

$1.16 ฿39.06

240.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.68 £2.01

$0.53 ฿17.80

405.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.33 £24.90

$2.42 ฿81.8

1277.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.95 £1.46

$1.45 ฿48.90

34.48%

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

$38.9K £29.1K

$21.1K ฿710.7K

84.77%

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

$40.5K £30.2K

$26.9K ฿909.3K

50.22%

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

$306 £229

$62.2 ฿2,098

392.95%

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

$14.81 £11.07

$12.17 ฿411

21.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.20 £32.27

$20.12 ฿679

114.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.28 £24.87

$37.31 ฿1,259

-10.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.52 £11.60

$3.77 ฿127

311.67%

Cinema Ticket

$9.85 £7.36

$6.49 ฿219

51.77%

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

$1,777 £1,327

$736 ฿24.8K

141.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.3K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.7 £67.0

$53.4 ฿1,801

67.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.22 £36.03

$24.64 ฿831

95.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 £91.3

$91.5 ฿3,087

33.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.6 £61.7

$71.9 ฿2,428

14.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,112 £831

$482 ฿16.3K

130.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$891 £666

$309 ฿10.4K

188.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,500 £1,120

$1,006 ฿33.9K

49.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 £999

$633 ฿21.4K

111.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,563 £2,662

$2,363 ฿79.8K

50.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,615 £1,953

$1,589 ฿53.6K

64.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,263 £2,437

$590 ฿19.9K

453.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.04

5.57

8.44%

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

Last update for Swansea: 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

Swansea

$891 40.6%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 65.3% $582

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Swansea

$364 16.6%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 74.1% $270

Eating Out

Swansea

$309 14.1%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 74.9% $231

Groceries & Markets

Swansea

$293 13.4%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 20.1% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Swansea

$154 7%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 29.5% $46

Getting Around

Swansea

$131 6%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 53.1% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Swansea

$53 2.4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 5.1% $2.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,112 in Swansea 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 Swansea are about 5.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $63 in Swansea 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

🇬🇧 Swansea

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

10:13 10:13 AM

17:13 5:13 PM

7 h ahead of Swansea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

239,000

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

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Between locations

Swansea Chiang Mai 9,240 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Swansea
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

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

Swansea costs about 135% 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 $3,293 per month in Swansea 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 $1,112 in Swansea.

Kindergarten costs $1,777 per month in Swansea 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 25% more in Swansea, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,196 in Swansea and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $936 versus $2,196 in Swansea. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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