Auckland vs Chiang Mai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Auckland	Chiang Mai
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2156	$780
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4802	$2112
🏠 One person rent	$1242	$353
🏘️ Family rent	$1967	$618
🍽️ Food expenses	$543	$263
🚐 Transport expenses	$242	$81.5
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3398	$577
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	15 km	3 km
🎓 Higher education	32	56
😀 Quality of life	89	65
🏙️ Population	1.47M	1.2M

The cost of living in Auckland is 176% more expensive than in Chiang Mai. Cities ranked 1604th and 6841st ($2156 vs $780) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 20th in New Zealand and Thailand, respectively. Check New Zealand vs Thailand comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Auckland compared to 0.7 months in Chiang Mai. Auckland ranked 1st best city to live in New Zealand vs Chiang Mai ranked 2nd in Thailand, while ranked 240th and 5309th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/auckland/chiang-mai.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Auckland vs Chiang Mai infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/auckland/chiang-mai" target="_blank">Auckland vs Chiang Mai - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Auckland vs Chiang Mai

Prices for goods and services in Auckland and Chiang Mai are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Auckland	Chiang Mai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$13.5	$2.24
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$71.5	$20.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$9.86	$8.07
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$7.14	$2.26
☕ Cappuccino	$3.63	$1.99
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.35	$0.81
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1205	$444
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1071	$253
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2099	$808
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1689	$465
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$94.7	$42.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$147	$65.2
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$49.2	$19.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.07%	5.79%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$7507	$2110
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5316	$1564
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.91	$0.98
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$131	$21.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$18.4	$10.1
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.63	$1.3
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.75	$1.98
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.03	$1.78
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.77	$1.27
🥚 Eggs, x12	$6.66	$2.28
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.91	$17.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.8	$3.38
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.6	$11.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.05	$2.62
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.11	$1.09
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.3	$1.72
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.81	$1.7
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.8	$1.48
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.53	$1.24
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.79	$0.36
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.36	$1.36
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$11.4	$19.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.9	$1.84
🚬 Cigarette pack	$26.3	$4.69
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$11.7	$1.29
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.16	$3.52
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.55	$1.31
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.45	$1.55
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$36.7	$40.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$13.2	$5.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$41.1	$19.8
💇 Haircut, simple	$19.3	$4.42
👖 Brand Jeans	$75.6	$60
👟 Brand Sneakers	$107	$103
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$988	$743
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$15607	$16138

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Auckland

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 8.4 mi	Waitakere	$1778
17 km or 11 mi	Manukau	$1646
28 km or 18 mi	Hibiscus Coast	$1782
40 km or 25 mi	Pukekohe	$1527
113 km or 70 mi	Hamilton	$1474
132 km or 82 mi	Whangarei	$1261
154 km or 96 mi	Tauranga	$1740
193 km or 120 mi	Rotorua	$1393
234 km or 146 mi	Taupo	$1523
253 km or 157 mi	New Plymouth	$1304
344 km or 214 mi	Whanganui	$1528
347 km or 216 mi	Napier	$1605
348 km or 217 mi	Gisborne	$1696
359 km or 223 mi	Hastings	$1518
396 km or 246 mi	Palmerston North	$1458
453 km or 281 mi	Paraparaumu	$1741
464 km or 288 mi	Masterton	$1359
476 km or 296 mi	Porirua	$1788
477 km or 296 mi	Upper Hutt	$1803
486 km or 302 mi	Lower Hutt	$1920
494 km or 307 mi	Wellington	$2037
512 km or 318 mi	Nelson	$1533
524 km or 326 mi	Blenheim	$1325
765 km or 475 mi	Christchurch	$1787
891 km or 553 mi	Timaru	$1894
995 km or 618 mi	Wanaka	$1623
1044 km or 649 mi	Queenstown	$2303
1064 km or 661 mi	Dunedin	$1579
1190 km or 740 mi	Invercargill	$1318
1809 km or 1124 mi	Noumea	$1928
1821 km or 1131 mi	Dumbea	$1865
1826 km or 1135 mi	Paita	$1865
1997 km or 1241 mi	Mua	$1033
1997 km or 1241 mi	Nukualofa	$1035
2097 km or 1303 mi	Port Macquarie	$1796
2112 km or 1312 mi	Suva	$879
2120 km or 1317 mi	Nasinu	$857
2129 km or 1323 mi	Coffs Harbour	$2172
2134 km or 1326 mi	Nadi	$1039
2140 km or 1330 mi	Newcastle	$1997

Cities near Chiang Mai

Distance	City	Cost of living
86 km or 53 mi	Pai	$709
153 km or 95 mi	Chiang Rai	$626
255 km or 158 mi	Hpa-an	$593
258 km or 160 mi	Phitsanulok	$585
294 km or 183 mi	Mawlamyine	$571
306 km or 190 mi	Taunggyi	$546
308 km or 191 mi	Bago	$592
317 km or 197 mi	Naypyidaw	$614
353 km or 219 mi	Luang Prabang	$1269
363 km or 226 mi	Nakhon Sawan	$730
365 km or 227 mi	Vang Vieng	$1082
373 km or 232 mi	Yangon	$629
392 km or 244 mi	Vientiane	$1056
404 km or 251 mi	Jinghong	$590
426 km or 265 mi	Udon Thani	$581
466 km or 289 mi	Mandalay	$550
485 km or 301 mi	Khon Kaen	$621
489 km or 304 mi	Pu'er	$610
503 km or 313 mi	Pathein	$695
537 km or 334 mi	Nakhon Ratchasima	$610
545 km or 339 mi	Monywa	$528
551 km or 342 mi	Tha Khlong	$710
561 km or 349 mi	Rangsit	$656
564 km or 351 mi	Nakhon Pathom	$658
566 km or 352 mi	Pak Kret	$788
571 km or 355 mi	Nonthaburi	$789
578 km or 359 mi	Lincang	$613
584 km or 363 mi	Bangkok	$1027
597 km or 371 mi	Pu Chao Saming Phrai	$829
597 km or 371 mi	Lat Luang	$833
634 km or 394 mi	Thakhek	$1038
641 km or 398 mi	Sa Pa	$563
656 km or 407 mi	Sittwe	$571
666 km or 414 mi	Chaophraya Surasak	$823
667 km or 415 mi	Laem Chabang	$838
681 km or 423 mi	Pattaya	$874
685 km or 426 mi	Nong Prue	$846
699 km or 435 mi	Hua Hin	$784
704 km or 438 mi	Baoshan	$615
707 km or 439 mi	Vinh	$590