Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zug and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $925 a month against $4,837 in Zug, rent and utilities included – about $46,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

236

Cost of Living Index in Zug
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Zug Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Zug

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$4,837

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $4,837 per month in Zug vs $925 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Zug $4,837
Chiang Mai $925

A couple spends around $7,605 per month in Zug vs $1,414 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Zug $7,605
Chiang Mai $1,414

A family of three spends $10.4K per month in Zug vs $1,903 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Zug $10.4K
Chiang Mai $1,903

Zug costs about 423% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Zug sits 257% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 32% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$36.92 CHF 30.52

$2.29 ฿77.3

1512.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$178 CHF 147

$19.64 ฿664

808.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$23.76 CHF 19.64

$5.61 ฿190

323.53%

Cappuccino

$7.12 CHF 5.89

$1.66 ฿56.2

328.92%

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

$6.16 CHF 5.09

$0.70 ฿23.65

780.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.03 CHF 4.99

$0.31 ฿10.35

1845.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.45 CHF 7.81

$2.41 ฿81.3

292.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.71 CHF 6.37

$3.71 ฿126

107.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.19 CHF 1.81

$1.95 ฿66.0

12.31%

White Bread (500g)

$4.00 CHF 3.31

$1.41 ฿47.55

183.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.14 CHF 3.42

$1.31 ฿44.10

216.03%

Eggs

$7.88 CHF 6.51

$2.18 ฿73.7

261.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$27.44 CHF 22.68

$16.65 ฿563

64.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$31.40 CHF 25.96

$2.76 ฿93.2

1037.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$41.61 CHF 34.39

$9.11 ฿308

356.75%

Apples (1kg)

$3.72 CHF 3.08

$2.39 ฿80.9

55.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 CHF 1.61

$1.03 ฿34.64

89.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.83 CHF 2.34

$1.63 ฿55.0

73.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.35 CHF 4.42

$1.50 ฿50.6

256.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 CHF 1.69

$1.29 ฿43.61

58.14%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 CHF 1.82

$1.11 ฿37.44

99.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.40 CHF 1.98

$0.72 ฿24.35

233.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 CHF 1.10

$0.53 ฿17.79

150.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.94 CHF 9.05

$4.31 ฿146

153.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.81 CHF 14.72

$17.95 ฿606

-0.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.95 CHF 2.44

$1.58 ฿53.5

86.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.88 CHF 3.21

$2.84 ฿96.1

36.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.88 CHF 4.03

$0.86 ฿29.18

467.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$161 CHF 133

$53.3 ฿1,800

201.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.84 CHF 7.31

$1.21 ฿40.73

630.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$6.17 CHF 5.10

$0.57 ฿19.20

982.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$36.93 CHF 30.53

$2.35 ฿79.5

1471.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.23 CHF 1.84

$1.44 ฿48.49

54.86%

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

$38.5K CHF 31.8K

$20.7K ฿700.5K

85.52%

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

$39.7K CHF 32.8K

$26.8K ฿905.6K

48.05%

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

$276 CHF 229

$62.3 ฿2,106

343.59%

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

$38.12 CHF 31.52

$12.11 ฿409

214.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$61.7 CHF 51.0

$19.94 ฿674

209.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$121 CHF 99.7

$37.07 ฿1,252

225.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$32.40 CHF 26.78

$3.78 ฿128

757.14%

Cinema Ticket

$23.71 CHF 19.60

$6.50 ฿220

264.77%

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

$4,240 CHF 3,505

$793 ฿26.8K

434.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.1K CHF 29.0K

$14.8K ฿500.3K

136.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$168 CHF 138

$53.7 ฿1,816

211.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$67.5 CHF 55.8

$24.62 ฿832

174.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$154 CHF 127

$90.9 ฿3,070

69.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$272 CHF 224

$71.1 ฿2,404

281.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,874 CHF 3,202

$455 ฿15.4K

750.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,575 CHF 2,128

$298 ฿10.1K

764.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$6,833 CHF 5,648

$908 ฿30.7K

652.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,953 CHF 4,094

$554 ฿18.7K

794.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$31.1K CHF 25.7K

$1,931 ฿65.2K

1508.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$21.2K CHF 17.5K

$1,445 ฿48.8K

1364.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$7,434 CHF 6,145

$591 ฿20.0K

1158.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.9

5.57

-65.89%

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

Last update for Zug: 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

Zug

$2.6K 53.2%

Chiang Mai

$298 32.2% 88.4% $2.3K

Groceries & Markets

Zug

$637 13.2%

Chiang Mai

$235 25.5% 63% $401

Eating Out

Zug

$564 11.7%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.5% 86.1% $485

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zug

$376 7.8%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.2% 74.9% $282

Clothing & Footwear

Zug

$297 6.2%

Chiang Mai

$108 11.7% 63.6% $189

Getting Around

Zug

$220 4.5%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 72.3% $159

Sport & Entertainment

Zug

$168 3.5%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 70.2% $118

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $3,874 in Zug 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 in Zug are about 13 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $178 in Zug versus $20 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $637 vs $235 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Zug

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

22:58 10:58 PM

04:58 4:58 AM

6 h ahead of Zug

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

29,251

127,240

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 0.827 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 33.79 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.83 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Zug Chiang Mai 8,520 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Zug
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

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

Zug costs about 423% 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 $7,255 per month in Zug 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 Chiang Mai, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $455 there versus $3,874 in Zug.

Kindergarten costs $4,240 per month in Zug 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 170% more in Zug, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $4,837 in Zug and $925 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $925 versus $4,837 in Zug. 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, Zug makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.