Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ushuaia and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $960 in Ushuaia, rent and utilities included – about $290 less a year. The total is higher in Ushuaia despite lower rent and utilities.

46

Cost of Living Index in Ushuaia
Learn more

Ushuaia Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

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Ushuaia

🇦🇷 Argentina

$960

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $960 per month in Ushuaia vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Ushuaia $960
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,575 per month in Ushuaia vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Ushuaia $1,575
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $2,190 per month in Ushuaia vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Ushuaia $2,190
Chiang Mai $1,979

Ushuaia costs about 3% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Ushuaia and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Ushuaia 29% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.44 ARS 16.1K

$2.24 ฿75.5

366.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.71 ARS 52.1K

$19.00 ฿640

77.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.19 ARS 14.2K

$5.55 ฿187

65.59%

Cappuccino

$2.68 ARS 4,137

$1.67 ฿56.4

60.48%

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

$1.73 ARS 2,667

$0.64 ฿21.51

170.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,400

$0.31 ฿10.29

400.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.06 ARS 3,184

$2.36 ฿79.5

-12.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.94 ARS 4,542

$3.66 ฿123

-19.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 ARS 1,944

$1.95 ฿65.7

-35.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.62 ARS 2,496

$1.44 ฿48.41

12.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.02 ARS 3,120

$1.33 ฿44.97

51.88%

Eggs

$2.24 ARS 3,464

$2.28 ฿77.0

-1.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.03 ARS 15.5K

$16.45 ฿554

-39.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.35 ARS 9,805

$2.78 ฿93.8

128.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.09 ARS 14.0K

$9.31 ฿314

-2.36%

Apples (1kg)

$1.96 ARS 3,025

$2.35 ฿79.3

-16.60%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 ARS 3,326

$0.97 ฿32.75

121.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,963

$1.60 ฿53.8

-20.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.60 ARS 4,010

$1.50 ฿50.6

73.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.14 ARS 1,766

$1.28 ฿43.06

-10.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 ARS 1,838

$1.10 ฿37.14

8.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 ARS 1,950

$0.71 ฿23.79

77.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 ARS 2,226

$0.49 ฿16.34

193.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.20 ARS 4,942

$4.14 ฿140

-22.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.02 ARS 7,761

$17.52 ฿590

-71.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 ARS 3,154

$1.61 ฿54.4

26.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 ARS 4,720

$2.78 ฿93.8

9.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.77 ARS 1,186

$0.87 ฿29.27

-11.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,823

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.54 ARS 2,384

$1.16 ฿39.00

32.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 ARS 1,422

$0.53 ฿17.78

73.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.15 ARS 9,504

$2.42 ฿81.6

154.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ARS 1,694

$1.45 ฿48.82

-24.14%

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

$27.8K ARS 42.9M

$21.1K ฿709.7K

32.00%

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

$30.3K ARS 46.8M

$26.9K ฿907.9K

12.36%

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

$66.4 ARS 102.6K

$62.2 ฿2,095

6.79%

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

$17.26 ARS 26.7K

$12.17 ฿410

41.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.37 ARS 34.6K

$20.12 ฿678

11.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.18 ARS 40.5K

$37.31 ฿1,257

-29.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.02 ARS 21.7K

$3.77 ฿127

271.88%

Cinema Ticket

$6.27 ARS 9,680

$6.49 ฿219

-3.39%

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

$222 ARS 343.1K

$736 ฿24.8K

-69.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,648 ARS 4.1M

$14.8K ฿497.6K

-82.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.6 ARS 113.7K

$53.4 ฿1,799

37.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.9 ARS 106.5K

$24.64 ฿830

179.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 ARS 179.9K

$91.5 ฿3,083

27.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 ARS 172.2K

$71.9 ฿2,424

54.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$336 ARS 519.4K

$482 ฿16.3K

-30.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$237 ARS 366.1K

$309 ฿10.4K

-23.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 ARS 1.0M

$1,006 ฿33.9K

-33.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$543 ARS 839.2K

$633 ฿21.3K

-14.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,889 ARS 2.9M

$2,363 ฿79.6K

-20.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,281 ARS 2.0M

$1,589 ฿53.6K

-19.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

58.5

5.57

950.27%

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

Last update for Ushuaia: 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

Ushuaia

$237 24.7%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 30.3% $72

Groceries & Markets

Ushuaia

$230 24%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 1.8% $4.2

Eating Out

Ushuaia

$173 18%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 55% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Ushuaia

$167 17.4%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 34.8% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ushuaia

$106 11%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 10.9% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Ushuaia

$39 4%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 29.9% $12

Getting Around

Ushuaia

$9.2 * 1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 566% $52

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $336 in Ushuaia 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 $34 in Ushuaia versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $230 in Ushuaia vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so Ushuaia wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Ushuaia

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

02:53 2:53 AM

12:53 12:53 PM

10 h ahead of Ushuaia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,538

127,240

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.77 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 1,545 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD). 1 EUR = 1,732 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.77 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.77 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ushuaia Chiang Mai 15,870 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Ushuaia
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

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

Ushuaia costs about 3% 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 $1,440 per month in Ushuaia 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 Ushuaia, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $336 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $960 in Ushuaia and $936 in Chiang Mai. That makes Chiang Mai about 3% cheaper.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $34 in Ushuaia and $19 in Chiang Mai. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $960 in Ushuaia 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 $960 in Ushuaia. 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.