Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zărnești and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living costs are similar in Zărnești and in Chiang Mai: $889 and $925 a month, rent and utilities included.

44

Cost of Living Index in Zărnești
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Zărnești Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Zărnești

🇷🇴 Romania

$889

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $889 per month in Zărnești vs $925 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Zărnești $889
Chiang Mai $925

A couple spends around $1,383 per month in Zărnești vs $1,414 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Zărnești $1,383
Chiang Mai $1,414

A family of three spends $1,877 per month in Zărnești vs $1,903 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Zărnești $1,877
Chiang Mai $1,903

Zărnești is about 4% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Zărnești and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Zărnești 34% lower, Chiang Mai 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.00 RON 42.60

$2.29 ฿76.5

293.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.40 RON 201

$19.64 ฿656

115.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.36 RON 39.57

$5.61 ฿188

49.02%

Cappuccino

$2.18 RON 10.34

$1.66 ฿55.6

31.33%

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

$1.46 RON 6.90

$0.70 ฿23.40

108.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.20 RON 5.66

$0.31 ฿10.24

287.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.90 RON 9.00

$2.41 ฿80.4

-21.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 RON 10.79

$3.71 ฿124

-38.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 RON 6.02

$1.95 ฿65.3

-34.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 RON 5.06

$1.41 ฿47.03

-24.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 RON 6.81

$1.31 ฿43.62

9.92%

Eggs

$2.79 RON 13.20

$2.18 ฿72.9

27.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.89 RON 37.33

$16.65 ฿556

-52.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.74 RON 22.42

$2.76 ฿92.2

71.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.40 RON 49.21

$9.11 ฿304

14.16%

Apples (1kg)

$0.93 RON 4.41

$2.39 ฿80.0

-61.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.33 RON 6.30

$1.03 ฿34.26

29.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.27 RON 6.02

$1.63 ฿54.4

-22.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.28 RON 6.06

$1.50 ฿50.0

-14.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.78 RON 3.67

$1.29 ฿43.13

-39.53%

Onion (1kg)

$0.52 RON 2.45

$1.11 ฿37.03

-53.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.80 RON 3.80

$0.72 ฿24.08

11.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 RON 3.63

$0.53 ฿17.59

45.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.15 RON 24.37

$4.31 ฿144

19.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 RON 35.09

$17.95 ฿600

-58.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 RON 5.08

$1.58 ฿52.9

-32.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.29 RON 6.12

$2.84 ฿95.0

-54.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.70 RON 3.32

$0.86 ฿28.86

-18.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.32 RON 101

$53.3 ฿1,780

-59.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.88 RON 4.15

$1.21 ฿40.29

-27.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.86 RON 4.05

$0.57 ฿18.99

50.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.45 RON 35.26

$2.35 ฿78.6

217.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 RON 7.16

$1.44 ฿47.96

4.86%

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

$28.5K RON 134.9K

$20.7K ฿692.8K

37.53%

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

$26.0K RON 122.9K

$26.8K ฿895.7K

-3.08%

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

$99.0 RON 468

$62.3 ฿2,083

58.75%

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

$9.28 RON 43.89

$12.11 ฿405

-23.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.00 RON 37.86

$19.94 ฿666

-59.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.82 RON 179

$37.07 ฿1,239

2.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 RON 91.9

$3.78 ฿126

413.49%

Cinema Ticket

$6.24 RON 29.55

$6.50 ฿217

-4.00%

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

$429 RON 2,031

$793 ฿26.5K

-45.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,733 RON 36.6K

$14.8K ฿494.9K

-47.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.43 RON 210

$53.7 ฿1,796

-17.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.26 RON 129

$24.62 ฿823

10.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.9 RON 326

$90.9 ฿3,036

-24.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$76.8 RON 363

$71.1 ฿2,378

7.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$434 RON 2,054

$455 ฿15.2K

-4.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$266 RON 1,258

$298 ฿9,954

-10.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$576 RON 2,727

$908 ฿30.4K

-36.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$424 RON 2,008

$554 ฿18.5K

-23.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,751 RON 8,283

$1,931 ฿64.5K

-9.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,329 RON 6,288

$1,445 ฿48.3K

-7.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$510 RON 2,415

$591 ฿19.7K

-13.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.47

5.57

34.11%

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

Last update for Zărnești: October 18, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Zărnești

$266 29.9%

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2% 12% $32

Groceries & Markets

Zărnești

$182 20.4%

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5% 29.7% $54

Eating Out

Zărnești

$148 16.7%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5% 46.9% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zărnești

$116 13.1%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2% 18.8% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Zărnești

$98 11%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7% 10.6% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Zărnești

$50 5.7%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 0.5% $0.3

Getting Around

Zărnești

$29 3.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 108% $32

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $434 in Zărnești versus $455 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 16% higher in Chiang Mai, 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 $42.00 in Zărnești versus $20.00 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $182 in Zărnești vs $235 in Chiang Mai – so Zărnești wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Zărnești

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

02:25 2:25 AM

06:25 6:25 AM

4 h ahead of Zărnești

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,926

127,240

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Zărnești Chiang Mai 7,270 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Zărnești
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

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

Chiang Mai costs about 4% more than Zărnești, 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 $1,334 per month in Zărnești and $1,388 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Zărnești, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $429 per month in Zărnești and $793 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 30% 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.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Zărnești, where all-in costs run around $889, than in Chiang Mai at $925. In Zărnești it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chiang Mai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Zărnești costs $889 versus $925 in Chiang Mai. 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 Zărnești. 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.