Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Welwyn Garden City and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $2,222 in Welwyn Garden City, rent and utilities included – about $15,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

108

Cost of Living Index in Welwyn Garden City
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Welwyn Garden City Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Welwyn Garden City

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,222

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,222 per month in Welwyn Garden City vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Welwyn Garden City $2,222
Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $4,264 per month in Welwyn Garden City vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Welwyn Garden City $4,264
Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $6,307 per month in Welwyn Garden City vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Welwyn Garden City $6,307
Chiang Mai $1,914

Welwyn Garden City costs about 137% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Welwyn Garden City sits 65% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 30% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.80 £15.60

$2.26 ฿75.4

820.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.9 £63.7

$19.18 ฿641

342.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.46 £8.60

$5.59 ฿187

105.01%

Cappuccino

$4.82 £3.62

$1.72 ฿57.6

180.23%

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

$2.00 £1.50

$0.64 ฿21.54

212.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 £1.26

$0.33 ฿11.18

409.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.50 £4.87

$2.36 ฿78.7

175.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.85 £4.39

$3.90 ฿130

50.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 £1.27

$2.05 ฿68.6

-17.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.60 £1.20

$1.40 ฿46.70

14.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.40 £1.80

$1.28 ฿42.89

87.50%

Eggs

$4.08 £3.06

$2.25 ฿75.3

81.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.65 £6.49

$16.94 ฿566

-48.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.58 £6.44

$2.74 ฿91.6

213.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.39 £12.29

$9.36 ฿313

75.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.28

$2.40 ฿80.3

26.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.47 £1.10

$1.01 ฿33.92

45.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.50 £1.87

$1.61 ฿53.9

55.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.77 £2.08

$1.52 ฿50.7

82.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 £1.17

$1.28 ฿42.90

21.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.55 £1.16

$1.11 ฿37.22

39.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 £0.89

$0.72 ฿24.09

65.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 £1.04

$0.52 ฿17.54

165.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.10 £17.33

$4.33 ฿145

433.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.73 £8.05

$17.73 ฿593

-39.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.69 £2.02

$1.63 ฿54.4

65.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 £1.82

$2.85 ฿95.3

-15.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.32 £2.49

$0.85 ฿28.31

290.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.9 ฿1,801

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.83 £3.62

$1.17 ฿39.18

312.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.41 £1.06

$0.57 ฿19.00

147.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.19 £18.15

$2.37 ฿79.2

920.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.98 £1.49

$1.45 ฿48.32

36.55%

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

$38.1K £28.6K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

86.00%

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

$39.8K £29.8K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

49.93%

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

$288 £216

$62.3 ฿2,083

361.59%

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

$14.52 £10.89

$12.27 ฿410

18.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.93 £26.20

$19.97 ฿668

74.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.6 £40.23

$37.91 ฿1,267

41.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.76 ฿126

Cinema Ticket

$23.48 £17.61

$6.71 ฿224

249.93%

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

$1,858 £1,394

$797 ฿26.6K

133.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.6K £16.9K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

52.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 £85.1

$53.3 ฿1,780

113.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.26 £30.20

$25.05 ฿837

60.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.8 £66.6

$91.6 ฿3,062

-3.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.0 £69.7

$73.5 ฿2,455

26.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,451 £1,089

$464 ฿15.5K

212.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$997 £748

$305 ฿10.2K

227.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,798 £2,850

$915 ฿30.6K

314.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,614 £2,711

$552 ฿18.5K

554.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,445 £5,585

$1,912 ฿63.9K

289.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,290 £3,219

$1,438 ฿48.1K

198.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,831 £2,874

$595 ฿19.9K

543.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.05

5.57

-9.34%

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

Last update for Welwyn Garden City: October 12, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Welwyn Garden City

$997 44.9%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 69.4% $693

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Welwyn Garden City

$337 15.2%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 71.9% $243

Eating Out

Welwyn Garden City

$318 14.3%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 75.1% $239

Groceries & Markets

Welwyn Garden City

$294 13.2%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 19% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Welwyn Garden City

$151 6.8%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 27.5% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Welwyn Garden City

$101 4.5%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 49% $49

Getting Around

Welwyn Garden City

$25 * 1.1%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 144% $36

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,451 in Welwyn Garden City versus $464 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 run about 544% higher in Welwyn Garden City, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85.0 in Welwyn Garden City versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $294 vs $238 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Welwyn Garden City

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

19:56 7:56 PM

01:56 1:56 AM

6 h ahead of Welwyn Garden City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

48,380

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Welwyn Garden City Chiang Mai 8,990 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Welwyn Garden City
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

Welwyn Garden City vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Welwyn Garden City costs about 137% 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 $3,333 per month in Welwyn Garden City and $1,408 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85.0 in Welwyn Garden City and $19.00 in Chiang Mai. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 23% more in Welwyn Garden City, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Chiang Mai, where all-in costs run around $938, than in Welwyn Garden City at $2,222. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Welwyn Garden City it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $938 versus $2,222 in Welwyn Garden City. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Welwyn Garden City makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.