Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tonga and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $906 a month against $1,087 in Tonga, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. The total is higher in Tonga despite lower rent and utilities.

🇹🇴 Tonga
$1,087
/mo nomad
Chiang Mai
🇹🇭 Thailand
$906
/mo nomad
😐 Solo nomad: Tonga is 46.8% more expensive than Chiang Mai without rent, and 20% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Tonga is 53.6% more expensive than Chiang Mai without rent, and 44.8% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Tonga
Chiang Mai
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$8.54 TOP 20.47
$2.13 ฿71.4
300.94%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$63.5 TOP 152
$19.40 ฿649
227.32%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.42 TOP 24.98
$5.47 ฿183
90.49%
Cappuccino
$2.95 TOP 7.07
$1.68 ฿56.4
75.60%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.82 TOP 6.75
$0.66 ฿22.10
327.27%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.42 TOP 5.80
$0.34 ฿11.52
611.76%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.24 TOP 7.76
$2.42 ฿81.0
33.88%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.94 TOP 11.84
$3.73 ฿125
32.44%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Tonga
Chiang Mai
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.52 TOP 3.64
$2.06 ฿68.9
-26.21%
White Bread (500g)
$1.02 TOP 2.44
$1.46 ฿48.78
-30.14%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.12 TOP 5.08
$1.35 ฿45.09
57.04%
Eggs
$5.01 TOP 12.00
$2.27 ฿76.0
120.70%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.97 TOP 21.49
$16.31 ฿546
-45.00%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.73 TOP 13.73
$2.70 ฿90.3
112.22%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.60 TOP 18.22
$9.20 ฿308
-17.39%
Apples (1kg)
$2.71 TOP 6.49
$2.39 ฿80.1
13.39%
Banana (1kg)
$2.76 TOP 6.61
$1.04 ฿34.66
165.38%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.85 TOP 6.83
$1.60 ฿53.7
78.13%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.81 TOP 9.14
$1.44 ฿48.37
164.58%
Potato (1kg)
$3.12 TOP 7.48
$1.30 ฿43.59
140.00%
Onion (1kg)
$2.65 TOP 6.35
$1.11 ฿37.29
138.74%
Lettuce (1 head)
$2.18 TOP 5.24
$0.70 ฿23.55
211.43%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.37 TOP 3.27
$0.51 ฿16.99
168.63%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$10.09 TOP 24.19
$4.13 ฿138
144.31%
Wine (Bottle)
$17.24 TOP 41.33
$17.78 ฿595
-3.04%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$3.24 TOP 7.77
$1.63 ฿54.7
98.77%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.38 TOP 8.09
$2.87 ฿96.0
17.77%
🚌 Getting Around
Tonga
Chiang Mai
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$2.05 TOP 4.92
$0.86 ฿28.76
138.37%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$41.49 TOP 99.4
$53.2 ฿1,780
-21.94%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.10 TOP 5.04
$1.22 ฿40.81
72.13%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.07 TOP 4.96
$0.56 ฿18.81
269.64%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$41.58 TOP 99.7
$2.31 ฿77.5
1700.00%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.47 TOP 3.51
$1.50 ฿50.2
-2.00%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$5,703 TOP 13.7K
$20.9K ฿698.3K
-72.66%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$8,292 TOP 19.9K
$26.7K ฿895.0K
-68.98%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Tonga
Chiang Mai
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$188 TOP 451
$61.3 ฿2,051
207.12%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$21.78 TOP 52.2
$12.50 ฿419
74.24%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$126 TOP 303
$20.36 ฿682
520.43%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Tonga
Chiang Mai
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$30.90 TOP 74.1
$37.94 ฿1,270
-18.56%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$41.51 TOP 99.5
$3.77 ฿126
1001.06%
Cinema Ticket
$41.13 TOP 98.6
$6.60 ฿221
523.18%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Tonga
Chiang Mai
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$161 TOP 385
$774 ฿25.9K
-79.22%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$247 TOP 593
$14.4K ฿483.2K
-98.29%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Tonga
Chiang Mai
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$14.46 TOP 34.65
$54.8 ฿1,835
-73.61%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$17.82 TOP 42.71
$25.26 ฿846
-29.45%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$20.91 TOP 50.1
$90.6 ฿3,032
-76.91%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$29.00 TOP 69.5
$73.3 ฿2,453
-60.41%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Tonga
Chiang Mai
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$630 TOP 1,511
$459 ฿15.4K
37.42%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$50.8 TOP 122
$294 ฿9,835
-82.70%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$842 TOP 2,018
$919 ฿30.8K
-8.40%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$568 TOP 1,362
$552 ฿18.5K
3.00%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$421 TOP 1,009
$1,917 ฿64.2K
-78.05%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$251 TOP 602
$1,445 ฿48.4K
-82.61%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Tonga
Chiang Mai
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$678 TOP 1,625
$592 ฿19.8K
14.47%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
0
5.57
-

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

Last update for Tonga: October 3, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Tonga
$336
Chiang Mai
$94 72% $242
Groceries & Markets
Tonga
$290
Chiang Mai
$236 18.6% $54
Eating Out
Tonga
$182
Chiang Mai
$77 57.6% $105
Sport & Entertainment
Tonga
$113
Chiang Mai
$51 54.8% $62
Getting Around
Tonga
$62
Chiang Mai
$61 2.4% $1.5
Accommodation & Living
Tonga
$51
Chiang Mai
$294 478% $243
Clothing & Footwear
Tonga
$37
Chiang Mai
$110 197% $73
Good to know
🇹🇴 Tonga
🇹🇭 Chiang Mai
🕒 Local time
15:31 3:31 PM
09:31 9:31 AM
6 h behind Tonga
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
108,020
127,240
💱 Currency
Thai Baht THB ฿
Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to TOP – Tongan Paʻanga Converter

Tongan Paʻanga exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.4 TOP (1 TOP = 0.417 USD). 1 EUR = 2.69 TOP (1 TOP = 0.372 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.55 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Tonga Chiang Mai 10,340 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Tonga
  • 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

Tonga vs other spots: cost of living compared

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