Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Swindon and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $906 a month against $2,391 in Swindon, rent and utilities included – about $17,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Swindon
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Swindon Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Swindon

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,391

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$906

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,391 per month in Swindon vs $906 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Swindon $2,391
Chiang Mai $906

A couple spends around $3,423 per month in Swindon vs $1,385 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Swindon $3,423
Chiang Mai $1,385

A family of three spends $4,455 per month in Swindon vs $1,864 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Swindon $4,455
Chiang Mai $1,864

Swindon costs about 164% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Swindon sits 78% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 32% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.32 £15.36

$2.13 ฿71.7

853.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.9 £46.78

$19.40 ฿652

219.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.38 £7.85

$5.47 ฿184

89.76%

Cappuccino

$4.60 £3.48

$1.68 ฿56.7

173.81%

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

$2.67 £2.02

$0.66 ฿22.19

304.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 £1.25

$0.34 ฿11.56

385.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.43 £4.10

$2.42 ฿81.3

124.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.40

$3.73 ฿126

20.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 £1.14

$2.06 ฿69.2

-26.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.46 ฿48.98

18.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.87 £1.41

$1.35 ฿45.27

38.52%

Eggs

$4.21 £3.18

$2.27 ฿76.3

85.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.03 £6.07

$16.31 ฿548

-50.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.90 £6.73

$2.70 ฿90.7

229.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.22 £9.99

$9.20 ฿309

43.70%

Apples (1kg)

$3.07 £2.32

$2.39 ฿80.5

28.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 £1.37

$1.04 ฿34.80

74.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 £1.97

$1.60 ฿53.9

63.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.18 £3.16

$1.44 ฿48.57

190.28%

Potato (1kg)

$2.03 £1.54

$1.30 ฿43.77

56.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 £1.13

$1.11 ฿37.45

34.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.91

$0.70 ฿23.65

72.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 £1.33

$0.51 ฿17.06

245.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.94 £17.34

$4.13 ฿139

455.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.70 £8.09

$17.78 ฿598

-39.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.75 £2.08

$1.63 ฿54.9

68.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.49 £2.64

$2.87 ฿96.4

21.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.08 £2.33

$0.86 ฿28.88

258.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$89.5 £67.6

$53.2 ฿1,787

68.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.39 £2.56

$1.22 ฿40.99

177.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.61 £1.21

$0.56 ฿18.89

187.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.70 £16.40

$2.31 ฿77.8

839.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 £1.51

$1.50 ฿50.4

33.33%

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

$37.7K £28.5K

$20.9K ฿701.2K

80.98%

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

$39.8K £30.1K

$26.7K ฿898.8K

48.91%

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

$323 £244

$61.3 ฿2,059

426.71%

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

$15.61 £11.80

$12.50 ฿420

24.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.79 £28.57

$20.36 ฿685

85.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.19 £28.11

$37.94 ฿1,275

-1.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.01 £17.39

$3.77 ฿127

510.34%

Cinema Ticket

$13.83 £10.45

$6.60 ฿222

109.55%

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

$1,180 £892

$774 ฿26.0K

52.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,414 £4,092

$14.4K ฿485.3K

-62.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.2 £67.4

$54.8 ฿1,842

62.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.92 £33.20

$25.26 ฿849

73.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.6 £63.2

$90.6 ฿3,045

-7.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.5 £66.1

$73.3 ฿2,463

19.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,215 £919

$459 ฿15.4K

164.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,124 £849

$294 ฿9,877

282.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,903 £1,438

$919 ฿30.9K

107.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,751 £1,324

$552 ฿18.6K

217.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,632 £1,989

$1,917 ฿64.5K

37.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,012 £2,277

$1,445 ฿48.6K

108.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,941 £2,223

$592 ฿19.9K

396.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.87

5.57

-12.57%

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

Last update for Swindon: October 5, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Swindon

$1.1K 46.5%

Chiang Mai

$294 31.8% 73.9% $830

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Swindon

$376 15.6%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2% 75% $282

Eating Out

Swindon

$302 12.5%

Chiang Mai

$77 8.4% 74.4% $225

Groceries & Markets

Swindon

$300 12.4%

Chiang Mai

$236 25.6% 21.3% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Swindon

$137 5.7%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.9% 19.8% $27

Getting Around

Swindon

$113 4.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 46.5% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Swindon

$65 2.7%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 21.1% $14

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,215 in Swindon versus $459 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 396% higher in Swindon, 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 $62.0 in Swindon versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $300 vs $236 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Swindon

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

00:55 12:55 AM

06:55 6:55 AM

6 h ahead of Swindon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

183,638

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 9, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 9, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.71 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Swindon Chiang Mai 9,100 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Swindon
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

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

Swindon costs about 164% 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 $3,586 per month in Swindon and $1,359 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 $1,180 per month in Swindon and $774 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 27% more in Swindon, 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 $906, than in Swindon at $2,391. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Swindon it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $906 versus $2,391 in Swindon. 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, Swindon makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.