Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Thames and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,212 in Thames, rent and utilities included – about $15,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

102

Cost of Living Index in Thames
Learn more

Thames Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Thames

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,212

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,212 per month in Thames vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Thames $2,212
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,073 per month in Thames vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Thames $3,073
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $3,934 per month in Thames vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Thames $3,934
Chiang Mai $1,979

Thames costs about 136% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Thames sits 63% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.37 NZ$25.61

$2.24 ฿75.7

541.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.1 NZ$120

$19.00 ฿642

253.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.11 NZ$16.23

$5.55 ฿188

64.14%

Cappuccino

$3.41 NZ$6.09

$1.67 ฿56.6

104.19%

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

$1.97 NZ$3.52

$0.64 ฿21.56

207.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 NZ$3.14

$0.31 ฿10.32

467.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.94 NZ$12.37

$2.36 ฿79.6

194.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.98 NZ$12.44

$3.66 ฿124

90.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.98 NZ$3.53

$1.95 ฿65.8

1.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.18 NZ$3.88

$1.44 ฿48.51

51.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.89 NZ$3.37

$1.33 ฿45.07

42.11%

Eggs

$6.53 NZ$11.64

$2.28 ฿77.1

186.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.68 NZ$15.47

$16.45 ฿556

-47.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.92 NZ$17.67

$2.78 ฿94.0

256.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.12 NZ$30.51

$9.31 ฿314

83.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.82 NZ$5.03

$2.35 ฿79.5

20.00%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 NZ$3.82

$0.97 ฿32.82

120.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.97 NZ$5.29

$1.60 ฿53.9

85.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.83 NZ$10.40

$1.50 ฿50.7

288.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 NZ$3.85

$1.28 ฿43.15

68.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 NZ$2.71

$1.10 ฿37.22

38.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.05 NZ$3.65

$0.71 ฿23.84

188.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.06 NZ$1.90

$0.49 ฿16.38

116.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$27.29 NZ$48.63

$4.14 ฿140

559.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.20 NZ$18.19

$17.52 ฿592

-41.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.87 NZ$5.12

$1.61 ฿54.5

78.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 NZ$5.91

$2.78 ฿94.0

19.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.91 NZ$3.41

$0.87 ฿29.33

119.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$105 NZ$186

$54.1 ฿1,827

93.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.24 NZ$3.99

$1.16 ฿39.08

93.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 NZ$3.60

$0.53 ฿17.82

281.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.52 NZ$58.0

$2.42 ฿81.8

1243.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.92 NZ$3.42

$1.45 ฿48.93

32.41%

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

$26.8K NZ$47.8K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

27.29%

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

$21.9K NZ$38.9K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

-18.88%

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

$182 NZ$323

$62.2 ฿2,100

191.96%

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

$26.73 NZ$47.63

$12.17 ฿411

119.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.3 NZ$93.2

$20.12 ฿680

159.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.75 NZ$63.7

$37.31 ฿1,260

-4.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$12.00 NZ$21.39

$6.49 ฿219

84.90%

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

$1,048 NZ$1,867

$736 ฿24.9K

42.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K NZ$35.6K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

35.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.2 NZ$145

$53.4 ฿1,802

52.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 NZ$73.9

$24.64 ฿832

68.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.8 NZ$165

$91.5 ฿3,089

1.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 NZ$195

$71.9 ฿2,429

52.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,034 NZ$1,842

$482 ฿16.3K

114.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,032 NZ$1,839

$309 ฿10.4K

234.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,785 NZ$3,181

$1,006 ฿34.0K

77.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,321 NZ$2,354

$633 ฿21.4K

108.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,599 NZ$8,197

$2,363 ฿79.8K

94.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,098 NZ$5,521

$1,589 ฿53.7K

94.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.37

5.57

-3.59%

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

Last update for Thames: 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

Thames

$1K 46.7%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 70.1% $723

Groceries & Markets

Thames

$342 15.5%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 31.5% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Thames

$261 11.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 63.7% $166

Eating Out

Thames

$247 11.2%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 68.6% $169

Clothing & Footwear

Thames

$146 6.6%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 25.7% $38

Getting Around

Thames

$125 5.6%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 50.8% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Thames

$60 2.7%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 15.8% $9.5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,034 in Thames 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $67 in Thames versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $342 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Thames

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

09:33 9:33 AM

03:33 3:33 AM

6 h behind Thames

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,500

127,240

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.561 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 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 NZD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Thames Chiang Mai 10,130 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Thames
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

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

Thames costs about 136% 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 $3,318 per month in Thames 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 $1,034 in Thames.

Kindergarten costs $1,048 per month in Thames 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 46% more in Thames, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,212 in Thames 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.

For expats, Chiang Mai is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 58% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.