Chiang Mai vs Sendai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Chiang Mai	Sendai
🚶 Cost of living one person	$691	$1055
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1891	$2676
🏠 One person rent	$291	$435
🏘️ Family rent	$597	$823
🍽️ Food expenses	$237	$380
🚐 Transport expenses	$89	$123
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$680	$1888
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	3 km	15 km
🎓 Higher education	56	72
😀 Quality of life	64	90
🏙️ Population	1.2M	1.06M

The cost of living in Chiang Mai is 34% less expensive than in Sendai. Cities ranked 6939th and 5132nd ($691 vs $1055) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 19th and 324th in Thailand and Japan, respectively. Check Thailand vs Japan comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1 months in Chiang Mai compared to 1.8 months in Sendai. Chiang Mai ranked 3rd best city to live in Thailand vs Sendai ranked 7th in Japan, while ranked 4535th and 156th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Chiang Mai vs Sendai infographic

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

Prices in Chiang Mai vs Sendai

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

	Chiang Mai	Sendai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$1.78	$6.36
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$17.7	$33.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$7.11	$4.66
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.15	$3.32
☕ Cappuccino	$1.84	$3.87
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.7	$1.57
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$362	$394
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$203	$285
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$759	$805
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$461	$606
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$38.2	$96.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$59	$146
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$17.3	$31.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	4.98%	3.01%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2045	$2230
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1110	$1285
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.88	$1.65
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$23.5	$46.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$12.1	$15.9
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.2	$1.09
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.61	$1.38
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.52	$1.35
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.21	$3.13
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.02	$1.77
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.5	$9.14
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.98	$7.31
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.1	$11.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.73	$5.26
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.19	$2.17
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.31	$4.84
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.41	$3.54
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.38	$2.48
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.2	$1.96
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.32	$0.57
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.37	$1.31
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$17.7	$8.05
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.82	$2.04
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4.46	$4.73
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$1.21	$10.4
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.36	$4.73
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.25	$1.33
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.46	$1.34
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$37.8	$52.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$5.63	$12.7
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$19	$66.4
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.48	$14.4
👖 Brand Jeans	$56.4	$60.2
👟 Brand Sneakers	$83.2	$52.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$294	$303
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$14196	$5986

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Chiang Mai

Distance	City	Cost of living
86 km or 53 mi	Pai	$633
153 km or 95 mi	Chiang Rai	$584
255 km or 158 mi	Hpa-an	$610
258 km or 160 mi	Phitsanulok	$537
294 km or 183 mi	Mawlamyine	$569
306 km or 190 mi	Taunggyi	$660
308 km or 191 mi	Bago	$650
317 km or 197 mi	Naypyidaw	$701
353 km or 219 mi	Luang Prabang	$1253
363 km or 226 mi	Nakhon Sawan	$654
365 km or 227 mi	Vang Vieng	$1183
373 km or 232 mi	Yangon	$705
392 km or 244 mi	Vientiane	$1163
404 km or 251 mi	Jinghong	$604
426 km or 265 mi	Udon Thani	$543
466 km or 289 mi	Mandalay	$710
485 km or 301 mi	Khon Kaen	$568
489 km or 304 mi	Pu'er	$625
503 km or 313 mi	Pathein	$778
537 km or 334 mi	Nakhon Ratchasima	$588
545 km or 339 mi	Monywa	$661
551 km or 342 mi	Tha Khlong	$641
561 km or 349 mi	Rangsit	$595
564 km or 351 mi	Nakhon Pathom	$548
566 km or 352 mi	Pak Kret	$715
571 km or 355 mi	Nonthaburi	$717
578 km or 359 mi	Lincang	$628
584 km or 363 mi	Bangkok	$941
597 km or 371 mi	Pu Chao Saming Phrai	$748
597 km or 371 mi	Lat Luang	$753
634 km or 394 mi	Thakhek	$1161
641 km or 398 mi	Sa Pa	$553
656 km or 407 mi	Sittwe	$678
666 km or 414 mi	Chaophraya Surasak	$739
667 km or 415 mi	Laem Chabang	$743
681 km or 423 mi	Pattaya	$781
685 km or 426 mi	Nong Prue	$752
699 km or 435 mi	Hua Hin	$656
704 km or 438 mi	Baoshan	$632
707 km or 439 mi	Vinh	$579

Cities near Sendai

Distance	City	Cost of living
11 km or 6.8 mi	Natori	$986
12 km or 7.2 mi	Rifu	$984
12 km or 7.5 mi	Tagajo	$984
14 km or 8.7 mi	Tomiya	$984
14 km or 8.9 mi	Shiogama	$985
18 km or 11 mi	Iwanuma	$988
20 km or 12 mi	Taiwa	$990
25 km or 16 mi	Shibata	$988
26 km or 16 mi	Watari	$991
27 km or 17 mi	Ogawara	$986
33 km or 21 mi	Kakuda	$992
34 km or 21 mi	Kami	$1001
35 km or 21 mi	Higashimatsushima	$1002
35 km or 22 mi	Misato	$1002
35 km or 22 mi	Osaki	$1002
37 km or 23 mi	Shiroishi	$984
42 km or 26 mi	Ishinomaki	$1013
44 km or 27 mi	Tendo	$973
45 km or 28 mi	Higashine	$983
47 km or 29 mi	Yamagata	$978
49 km or 30 mi	Murayama	$988
53 km or 33 mi	Soma	$1009
53 km or 33 mi	Kurihara	$1018
53 km or 33 mi	Sagae	$980
54 km or 34 mi	Kaminoyama	$969
55 km or 34 mi	Tome	$1021
57 km or 35 mi	Date	$985
66 km or 41 mi	Fukushima	$1008
66 km or 41 mi	Takahata	$987
67 km or 42 mi	Nan'yo	$986
70 km or 44 mi	Minamisoma	$1024
74 km or 46 mi	Shinjo	$1022
75 km or 46 mi	Nagai	$997
77 km or 48 mi	Yonezawa	$1002
77 km or 48 mi	Ichinoseki	$1028
85 km or 53 mi	Nihonmatsu	$1003
94 km or 58 mi	Kesennuma	$1035
94 km or 58 mi	Motomiya	$1016
96 km or 59 mi	Tamura	$1029
100 km or 62 mi	Oshu	$1034