Beijing vs Chiang Mai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 10, 2024

	Beijing	Chiang Mai
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1067	$742
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$3071	$2009
🏠 One person rent	$596	$320
🏘️ Family rent	$1354	$613
🍽️ Food expenses	$258	$253
🚐 Transport expenses	$112	$91.2
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$1802	$627
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	13 km	3 km
🎓 Higher education	100	52
😀 Quality of life	77	63
🏙️ Population	21.9M	1.2M

The cost of living in Beijing is 44% more expensive than in Chiang Mai. Cities ranked 5141st and 6705th ($1067 vs $742) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 7th and 18th in China and Thailand, respectively. Check China vs Thailand comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Beijing compared to 0.8 months in Chiang Mai. Beijing ranked 5th best city to live in China vs Chiang Mai ranked 3rd in Thailand, while ranked 763rd and 4766th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Beijing vs Chiang Mai infographic

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Prices in Beijing vs Chiang Mai

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

	Beijing	Chiang Mai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$4.04	$1.85
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$30.4	$19.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.94	$7.71
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.25	$2.29
☕ Cappuccino	$3.75	$1.84
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.53	$0.65
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$851	$388
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$473	$232
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2126	$854
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1079	$458
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$34.1	$36.8
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$53.1	$56.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$13.1	$19.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	4.04%	5.13%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$14636	$2266
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$7425	$1540
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.71	$0.93
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$37.3	$24.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$5.07	$12.3
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.2	$1.24
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.94	$1.74
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.44	$1.61
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.29	$1.25
🥚 Eggs, x12	$1.91	$2.16
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.6	$14.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.37	$2.87
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.6	$11.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.08	$2.97
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.59	$1.23
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.96	$1.59
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.28	$2.1
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.84	$1.46
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.09	$1.29
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.36	$0.36
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.38	$1.38
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$9.28	$18.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$0.91	$1.91
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.57	$4.58
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.63	$1.34
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.6	$3.19
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.37	$1.3
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.02	$2.11
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$61.6	$40.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$8.51	$6.08
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$34.9	$18.9
💇 Haircut, simple	$9.52	$4.76
👖 Brand Jeans	$63.8	$59.2
👟 Brand Sneakers	$85.6	$85.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$782	$488
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$23714	$13977

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Beijing

Distance	City	Cost of living
50 km or 31 mi	Langfang	$734
58 km or 36 mi	Zhuozhou	$769
58 km or 36 mi	Sanhe	$786
78 km or 49 mi	Gaobeidian	$675
87 km or 54 mi	Bazhou	$679
109 km or 68 mi	Tianjin	$710
135 km or 84 mi	Renqiu	$611
137 km or 85 mi	Zunhua	$714
139 km or 87 mi	Baoding	$482
151 km or 94 mi	Binhai	$700
155 km or 97 mi	Tangshan	$742
163 km or 101 mi	Zhangjiakou	$657
164 km or 102 mi	Hejian	$620
176 km or 110 mi	Chengde	$760
182 km or 113 mi	Cangzhou	$720
189 km or 117 mi	Huanghua	$693
189 km or 118 mi	Anguo	$572
196 km or 122 mi	Dingzhou	$614
197 km or 122 mi	Qian'an	$684
198 km or 123 mi	Luanzhou	$677
204 km or 127 mi	Botou	$649
224 km or 139 mi	Shenzhou	$605
228 km or 142 mi	Xinle	$555
229 km or 142 mi	Pingquan	$670
239 km or 148 mi	Jinzhou	$568
241 km or 150 mi	Xinji	$588
249 km or 155 mi	Gaocheng	$547
249 km or 155 mi	Hengshui	$677
252 km or 156 mi	Laoling	$668
263 km or 164 mi	Shijiazhuang	$507
265 km or 165 mi	Datong	$729
272 km or 169 mi	Jizhou	$616
273 km or 169 mi	Qinhuangdao	$720
273 km or 170 mi	Dezhou	$670
281 km or 175 mi	Fengzhen	$637
282 km or 175 mi	Huairen	$648
294 km or 183 mi	Lingyuan	$661
296 km or 184 mi	Nangong	$632
302 km or 187 mi	Ulanqab	$644
314 km or 195 mi	Binzhou	$869

Cities near Chiang Mai

Distance	City	Cost of living
86 km or 53 mi	Pai	$655
153 km or 95 mi	Chiang Rai	$513
255 km or 158 mi	Hpa-an	$612
258 km or 160 mi	Phitsanulok	$559
294 km or 183 mi	Mawlamyine	$564
306 km or 190 mi	Taunggyi	$617
308 km or 191 mi	Bago	$783
317 km or 197 mi	Naypyidaw	$690
353 km or 219 mi	Luang Prabang	$1251
363 km or 226 mi	Nakhon Sawan	$674
365 km or 227 mi	Vang Vieng	$1174
373 km or 232 mi	Yangon	$919
392 km or 244 mi	Vientiane	$1168
404 km or 251 mi	Jinghong	$599
426 km or 265 mi	Udon Thani	$555
466 km or 289 mi	Mandalay	$613
485 km or 301 mi	Khon Kaen	$608
489 km or 304 mi	Pu'er	$626
503 km or 313 mi	Pathein	$792
537 km or 334 mi	Nakhon Ratchasima	$564
545 km or 339 mi	Monywa	$588
551 km or 342 mi	Tha Khlong	$664
561 km or 349 mi	Rangsit	$613
564 km or 351 mi	Nakhon Pathom	$564
566 km or 352 mi	Pak Kret	$739
571 km or 355 mi	Nonthaburi	$759
578 km or 359 mi	Lincang	$623
584 km or 363 mi	Bangkok	$994
597 km or 371 mi	Pu Chao Saming Phrai	$786
597 km or 371 mi	Lat Luang	$787
634 km or 394 mi	Thakhek	$1151
641 km or 398 mi	Sa Pa	$549
656 km or 407 mi	Sittwe	$593
666 km or 414 mi	Chaophraya Surasak	$758
667 km or 415 mi	Laem Chabang	$769
681 km or 423 mi	Pattaya	$800
685 km or 426 mi	Nong Prue	$773
699 km or 435 mi	Hua Hin	$676
704 km or 438 mi	Baoshan	$625
707 km or 439 mi	Vinh	$583