Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zawiya and Chiang Mai

Name: Chiang Mai
Address: Chiang Mai, TH

For one person, living is cheaper in Zawiya: $441 a month against $936 in Chiang Mai, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

21

Cost of Living Index in Zawiya
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Zawiya Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
Learn more

Chiang Mai Living Index

Jump to prices

Zawiya

🇱🇾 Libya

$441

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $441 per month in Zawiya vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Zawiya $441
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $686 per month in Zawiya vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Zawiya $686
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $930 per month in Zawiya vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Zawiya $930
Chiang Mai $1,979

Zawiya is about 53% cheaper than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Zawiya and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Zawiya 68% lower, Chiang Mai 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.30 LYD 14.74

$2.24 ฿75.7

2.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.47 LYD 99.2

$19.00 ฿642

-18.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.71 LYD 17.39

$5.55 ฿188

-51.17%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.45 LYD 2.87

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 LYD 4.14

Cappuccino

$0.44 LYD 2.82

$1.67 ฿56.6

-73.65%

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

$0.44 LYD 2.84

$0.64 ฿21.56

-31.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.11 LYD 0.71

$0.31 ฿10.32

-64.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

Milk (1 liter)

$0.91 LYD 5.82

$1.95 ฿65.8

-53.33%

White Bread (500g)

$0.20 LYD 1.28

$1.44 ฿48.51

-86.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 LYD 6.50

$1.33 ฿45.07

-24.06%

Eggs

$1.35 LYD 8.66

$2.28 ฿77.1

-40.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.74 LYD 30.38

$16.45 ฿556

-71.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.57 LYD 22.88

$2.78 ฿94.0

28.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.86 LYD 56.8

$9.31 ฿314

-4.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 LYD 12.92

$2.35 ฿79.5

-14.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.47 LYD 9.44

$0.97 ฿32.82

51.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.70 LYD 4.49

$1.60 ฿53.9

-56.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 LYD 3.27

$1.50 ฿50.7

-66.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.58 LYD 3.72

$1.28 ฿43.15

-54.69%

Onion (1kg)

$0.26 LYD 1.64

$1.10 ฿37.22

-76.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.30 LYD 1.91

$0.71 ฿23.84

-57.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.16 LYD 1.05

$0.49 ฿16.38

-67.35%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.79 LYD 5.07

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 LYD 4.59

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 LYD 4.83

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.67 LYD 10.71

$4.14 ฿140

-59.66%

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)

$0.74 LYD 4.76

$0.87 ฿29.33

-14.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.22 LYD 251

$54.1 ฿1,827

-27.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.75 LYD 4.79

$1.16 ฿39.08

-35.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.45 LYD 2.87

$0.53 ฿17.82

-15.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.31 LYD 14.80

$2.42 ฿81.8

-4.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.02 LYD 0.12

$1.45 ฿48.93

-98.62%

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

$15.5K LYD 99.4K

$21.1K ฿711.2K

-26.37%

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

$16.8K LYD 107.4K

$26.9K ฿909.8K

-37.77%

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

$94.4 LYD 605

$62.2 ฿2,100

51.81%

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

$5.57 LYD 35.69

$12.17 ฿411

-54.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.25 LYD 78.5

$20.12 ฿680

-39.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.31 LYD 111

$37.31 ฿1,260

-53.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.01 LYD 25.70

$3.77 ฿127

6.37%

Cinema Ticket

$3.92 LYD 25.15

$6.49 ฿219

-39.60%

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

$51.5 LYD 330

$736 ฿24.9K

-93.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$897 LYD 5,749

$14.8K ฿498.6K

-93.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$20.81 LYD 133

$53.4 ฿1,802

-61.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.19 LYD 283

$24.64 ฿832

79.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$30.99 LYD 199

$91.5 ฿3,089

-66.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$31.62 LYD 203

$71.9 ฿2,429

-56.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$88.9 LYD 570

$482 ฿16.3K

-81.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$58.4 LYD 375

$309 ฿10.4K

-81.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$164 LYD 1,049

$1,006 ฿34.0K

-83.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$121 LYD 772

$633 ฿21.4K

-80.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$347 LYD 2,227

$2,363 ฿79.8K

-85.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$98.1 LYD 629

$1,589 ฿53.7K

-93.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$251 LYD 1,609

$590 ฿19.9K

-57.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

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

Last update for Zawiya: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zawiya

$112 25.4%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 15.8% $18

Groceries & Markets

Zawiya

$109 24.7%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 115% $125

Accommodation & Living

Zawiya

$58 13.2%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 429% $250

Clothing & Footwear

Zawiya

$57 13%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 89.2% $51

Getting Around

Zawiya

$45 10.2%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 35.8% $16

Eating Out

Zawiya

$34 7.7%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 128% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Zawiya

$25 5.7%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 99.9% $25

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $89 in Zawiya 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 2.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $15 in Zawiya versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $109 vs $234 – making Zawiya the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇱🇾 Zawiya

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

23:22 11:22 PM

04:22 4:22 AM

5 h ahead of Zawiya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

318,726

127,240

💱 Currency

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.14 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to LYD – Libyan Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇾 Libyan Dinar (ل.د)

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.41 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.13 LYD (1 LYD = 0.14 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to LYD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Zawiya Chiang Mai 8,550 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Zawiya
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

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

Chiang Mai costs about 112% more than Zawiya, 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 $662 per month in Zawiya 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 Zawiya, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $89 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

Kindergarten costs $51 per month in Zawiya 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 115% more in Chiang Mai, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Zawiya, where all-in costs run around $441, than in Chiang Mai at $936. In Zawiya it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chiang Mai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Zawiya – 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 Zawiya. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Chiang Mai makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.