Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zabol and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Zabol: $516 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Zabol
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Zabol Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Zabol

🇮🇷 Iran

$516

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $516 per month in Zabol vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Zabol $516
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $822 per month in Zabol vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Zabol $822
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $1,127 per month in Zabol vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Zabol $1,127
Chiang Mai $1,979

Zabol is about 45% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Zabol and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Zabol 62% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.06 $2.06

$2.24 ฿75.7

-8.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.80 $15.80

$19.00 ฿642

-16.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.45 $3.45

$5.55 ฿188

-37.84%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.52 $0.52

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.95 $0.95

Cappuccino

$0.48 $0.48

$1.67 ฿56.6

-71.26%

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

$0.49 $0.49

$0.64 ฿21.56

-23.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.88 $0.88

$0.31 ฿10.32

183.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$0.66 $0.66

$1.95 ฿65.8

-66.15%

White Bread (500g)

$0.47 $0.47

$1.44 ฿48.51

-67.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 $1.97

$1.33 ฿45.07

48.12%

Eggs

$1.23 $1.23

$2.28 ฿77.1

-46.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.54 $4.54

$16.45 ฿556

-72.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.17 $3.17

$2.78 ฿94.0

14.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.69 $11.69

$9.31 ฿314

25.56%

Apples (1kg)

$0.99 $0.99

$2.35 ฿79.5

-57.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 $1.48

$0.97 ฿32.82

52.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.85 $0.85

$1.60 ฿53.9

-46.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.59 $0.59

$1.50 ฿50.7

-60.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.53 $0.53

$1.28 ฿43.15

-58.59%

Onion (1kg)

$0.51 $0.51

$1.10 ฿37.22

-53.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.58 $0.58

$0.71 ฿23.84

-18.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.24 $0.24

$0.49 ฿16.38

-51.02%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.90 $0.90

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 $0.49

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 $1.35

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.78 $2.78

$4.14 ฿140

-32.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿592

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.13 $0.13

$0.87 ฿29.33

-85.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.85 $8.85

$54.1 ฿1,827

-83.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 $0.40

$1.16 ฿39.08

-65.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.30 $0.30

$0.53 ฿17.82

-43.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.33 $2.33

$2.42 ฿81.8

-3.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.10 $0.10

$1.45 ฿48.93

-93.10%

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

$54.9K $54.9K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

160.63%

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

$40.4K $40.4K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

49.96%

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

$11.33 $11.33

$62.2 ฿2,100

-81.78%

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

$1.47 $1.47

$12.17 ฿411

-87.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$3.34 $3.34

$20.12 ฿680

-83.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.29 $21.29

$37.31 ฿1,260

-42.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.39 $13.39

$3.77 ฿127

255.17%

Cinema Ticket

$1.76 $1.76

$6.49 ฿219

-72.88%

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

$111 $111

$736 ฿24.9K

-84.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,063 $2,063

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-86.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.16 $23.16

$53.4 ฿1,802

-56.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.90 $28.90

$24.64 ฿832

17.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.8 $99.8

$91.5 ฿3,089

9.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$75.4 $75.4

$71.9 ฿2,429

4.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$286 $286

$482 ฿16.3K

-40.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$207 $207

$309 ฿10.4K

-32.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$784 $784

$1,006 ฿34.0K

-22.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$356 $356

$633 ฿21.4K

-43.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,145 $1,145

$2,363 ฿79.8K

-51.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$538 $538

$1,589 ฿53.7K

-66.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$147 $147

$590 ฿19.9K

-75.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

24.3

5.57

336.27%

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

Last update for Zabol: 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

Zabol

$207 40.2%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 48.9% $101

Groceries & Markets

Zabol

$117 22.6%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 101% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Zabol

$102 19.8%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 6.2% $6.4

Eating Out

Zabol

$38 7.4%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 104% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Zabol

$25 4.8%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 103% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zabol

$16 3.1%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 485% $78

Getting Around

Zabol

$11 2.2%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 445% $50

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $286 in Zabol 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.

Salaries in Chiang Mai are about 4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $16 in Zabol versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $117 vs $234 – making Zabol the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇷 Zabol

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

16:34 4:34 PM

20:04 8:04 PM

3 h 30 min ahead of Zabol

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

140,000

127,240

💱 Currency

USD USD

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.899 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, EUR to USD – USD Converter

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

USD exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.899 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).

THB to USD in detail →

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Between locations

Zabol Chiang Mai 4,000 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Zabol
Chiang Mai

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

Chiang Mai costs about 81% more than Zabol, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $775 per month in Zabol 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 Zabol, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $286 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

Kindergarten costs $111 per month in Zabol 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 101% more in Chiang Mai, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $516 in Zabol and $936 in Chiang Mai, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Zabol – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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