Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taoyuan and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,183 in Taoyuan, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Taoyuan
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Taoyuan Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Taoyuan

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,183

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,183 per month in Taoyuan vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Taoyuan $1,183
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,731 per month in Taoyuan vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Taoyuan $1,731
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $2,278 per month in Taoyuan vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Taoyuan $2,278
Chiang Mai $1,979

Taoyuan costs about 26% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Taoyuan and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Taoyuan 13% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.13 NT$135

$2.24 ฿75.6

84.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.84 NT$810

$19.00 ฿641

30.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.46 NT$178

$5.55 ฿187

-1.62%

Cappuccino

$3.00 NT$97.8

$1.67 ฿56.5

79.64%

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

$1.00 NT$32.66

$0.64 ฿21.54

56.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 NT$22.65

$0.31 ฿10.31

122.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.81 NT$58.9

$2.36 ฿79.5

-23.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 NT$73.3

$3.66 ฿124

-38.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.76 NT$89.9

$1.95 ฿65.7

41.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.16 NT$37.73

$1.44 ฿48.46

-19.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.58 NT$84.0

$1.33 ฿45.03

93.98%

Eggs

$2.14 NT$69.9

$2.28 ฿77.1

-6.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.84 NT$288

$16.45 ฿555

-46.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.14 NT$233

$2.78 ฿93.9

156.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.23 NT$692

$9.31 ฿314

128.03%

Apples (1kg)

$3.77 NT$123

$2.35 ฿79.4

60.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 NT$63.3

$0.97 ฿32.79

100.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 NT$99.4

$1.60 ฿53.9

90.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.05 NT$99.5

$1.50 ฿50.6

103.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.44 NT$79.5

$1.28 ฿43.11

90.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.91 NT$62.2

$1.10 ฿37.18

73.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.29 NT$74.6

$0.71 ฿23.82

222.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 NT$28.21

$0.49 ฿16.36

77.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.85 NT$158

$4.14 ฿140

17.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.78 NT$351

$17.52 ฿591

-38.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 NT$48.27

$1.61 ฿54.5

-8.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 NT$66.3

$2.78 ฿93.9

-26.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 NT$17.07

$0.87 ฿29.30

-40.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.11 NT$1,210

$54.1 ฿1,825

-31.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.83 NT$92.3

$1.16 ฿39.04

143.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.81 NT$26.32

$0.53 ฿17.80

52.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.89 NT$225

$2.42 ฿81.7

184.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 NT$31.03

$1.45 ฿48.88

-34.48%

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

$36.5K NT$1.2M

$21.1K ฿710.5K

73.24%

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

$23.0K NT$748.9K

$26.9K ฿909.0K

-14.75%

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

$66.9 NT$2,180

$62.2 ฿2,098

7.54%

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

$17.45 NT$569

$12.17 ฿411

43.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.84 NT$712

$20.12 ฿679

8.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.19 NT$984

$37.31 ฿1,259

-19.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.09 NT$231

$3.77 ฿127

88.06%

Cinema Ticket

$10.80 NT$352

$6.49 ฿219

66.41%

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

$521 NT$17.0K

$736 ฿24.8K

-29.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$31.3K NT$1.0M

$14.8K ฿498.2K

112.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.0 NT$2,871

$53.4 ฿1,801

64.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.36 NT$794

$24.64 ฿831

-1.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.0 NT$2,707

$91.5 ฿3,087

-9.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.0 NT$3,129

$71.9 ฿2,427

33.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$641 NT$20.9K

$482 ฿16.3K

32.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$437 NT$14.2K

$309 ฿10.4K

41.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$777 NT$25.3K

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-22.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$610 NT$19.9K

$633 ฿21.4K

-3.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,226 NT$203.0K

$2,363 ฿79.7K

163.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,079 NT$133.0K

$1,589 ฿53.6K

156.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,507 NT$49.1K

$590 ฿19.9K

155.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.38

5.57

-57.27%

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

Last update for Taoyuan: 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

Taoyuan

$437 36.9%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 29.3% $128

Groceries & Markets

Taoyuan

$306 25.8%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 23.3% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Taoyuan

$131 11.1%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 17.1% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taoyuan

$106 9%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 11% $12

Eating Out

Taoyuan

$106 8.9%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 26.6% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Taoyuan

$52 4.4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 2.9% $1.5

Getting Around

Taoyuan

$46 3.9%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 33.2% $15

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $641 in Taoyuan 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 Taoyuan are about 2.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $25 in Taoyuan versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $306 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Taoyuan

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

02:41 2:41 AM

01:41 1:41 AM

1 h behind Taoyuan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,147,763

127,240

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.41 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Taoyuan Chiang Mai 2,400 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Taoyuan
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

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

Taoyuan costs about 26% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,775 per month in Taoyuan 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 $641 in Taoyuan.

Kindergarten costs $521 per month in Taoyuan 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 30% more in Taoyuan, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,183 in Taoyuan and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $936 in Chiang Mai to $1,183 in Taoyuan. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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