Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Van and Chiang Mai

For one person, living costs are similar in Van and in Chiang Mai: $956 and $936 a month, rent and utilities included.

46

Cost of Living Index in Van
Learn more

Van Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Van

🇹🇷 Turkey

$956

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $956 per month in Van vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Van $956
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $1,536 per month in Van vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Van $1,536
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $2,116 per month in Van vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Van $2,116
Chiang Mai $1,979

Van costs about 2% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Van and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Van 30% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.48 ₺373

$2.24 ฿75.7

233.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.59 ₺1,723

$19.00 ฿642

82.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.93 ₺395

$5.55 ฿188

42.88%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₺178

$1.67 ฿56.6

113.77%

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

$1.14 ₺56.6

$0.64 ฿21.56

78.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.42 ₺21.17

$0.31 ฿10.32

35.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.33 ₺166

$2.36 ฿79.6

41.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 ₺154

$3.66 ฿124

-15.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.96 ₺47.67

$1.95 ฿65.8

-50.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.00 ₺49.80

$1.44 ฿48.51

-30.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.25 ₺112

$1.33 ฿45.07

69.17%

Eggs

$1.48 ₺73.9

$2.28 ฿77.1

-35.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.99 ₺448

$16.45 ฿556

-45.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.07 ₺203

$2.78 ฿94.0

46.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.62 ₺1,127

$9.31 ฿314

142.96%

Apples (1kg)

$1.82 ₺90.9

$2.35 ฿79.5

-22.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.83 ₺91.1

$0.97 ฿32.82

88.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.09 ₺54.3

$1.60 ฿53.9

-31.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.15 ₺57.4

$1.50 ฿50.7

-23.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.52 ₺25.73

$1.28 ฿43.15

-59.38%

Onion (1kg)

$0.35 ₺17.44

$1.10 ฿37.22

-68.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 ₺36.87

$0.71 ฿23.84

4.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 ₺30.53

$0.49 ฿16.38

24.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.16 ₺108

$4.14 ฿140

-47.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.36 ₺516

$17.52 ฿592

-40.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.01 ₺99.9

$1.61 ฿54.5

24.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ₺139

$2.78 ฿94.0

0.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.73 ₺36.59

$0.87 ฿29.33

-16.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.30 ₺64.6

$1.16 ฿39.08

12.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 ₺37.85

$0.53 ฿17.82

43.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.21 ₺359

$2.42 ฿81.8

197.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 ₺64.0

$1.45 ฿48.93

-11.72%

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

$42.2K ₺2.1M

$21.1K ฿711.2K

100.58%

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

$38.9K ₺1.9M

$26.9K ฿909.8K

44.41%

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

$79.9 ₺3,981

$62.2 ฿2,100

28.52%

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

$10.46 ₺521

$12.17 ฿411

-14.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.39 ₺667

$20.12 ฿680

-33.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.0 ₺2,841

$37.31 ฿1,260

52.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ₺324

$6.49 ฿219

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

$624 ₺31.1K

$736 ฿24.9K

-15.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K ₺566.1K

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-23.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.86 ₺2,285

$53.4 ฿1,802

-14.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.35 ₺1,661

$24.64 ฿832

35.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 ₺3,969

$91.5 ฿3,089

-12.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.8 ₺4,425

$71.9 ฿2,429

23.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$469 ₺23.4K

$482 ฿16.3K

-2.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$278 ₺13.9K

$309 ฿10.4K

-9.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$816 ₺40.6K

$1,006 ฿34.0K

-18.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$586 ₺29.2K

$633 ฿21.4K

-7.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,491 ₺74.3K

$2,363 ฿79.8K

-36.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$968 ₺48.2K

$1,589 ฿53.7K

-39.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

41.33

5.57

642.01%

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

Last update for Van: 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

Van

$278 29.1%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 11% $31

Groceries & Markets

Van

$229 23.9%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 2.4% $5.6

Eating Out

Van

$156 16.3%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 50.1% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Van

$111 11.7%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 2.5% $2.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Van

$104 10.9%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 9% $9.3

Sport & Entertainment

Van

$70 7.3%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 28.2% $20

Getting Around

Van

$8 * 0.8%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 664% $53

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $469 in Van 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 $35 in Van versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $229 in Van vs $234 in Chiang Mai – so Van wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Van

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

14:02 2:02 PM

18:02 6:02 PM

4 h ahead of Van

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,141,015

127,240

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.01 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 49.82 TRY (100 TRY = 2.01 USD). 1 EUR = 55.45 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Van Chiang Mai 5,750 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Van
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

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

Van costs about 2% 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 $1,434 per month in Van and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $469 in Van and $482 in Chiang Mai. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $956 in Van and $936 in Chiang Mai. That’s a gap of about 2%.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $35 in Van 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 $956 in Van 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 $956 in Van. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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.