Chiang Mai vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Chiang Mai	Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person	$691	$1097
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1891	$3454
🏠 One person rent	$291	$577
🏘️ Family rent	$597	$1404
🍽️ Food expenses	$237	$287
🚐 Transport expenses	$89	$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$680	$1644
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	3 km	13 km
🎓 Higher education	56	100
😀 Quality of life	64	78
🏙️ Population	1.2M	24.9M

The cost of living in Chiang Mai is 37% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 6939th and 4858th ($691 vs $1097) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 19th and 6th in Thailand and China, respectively. Check Thailand vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1 months in Chiang Mai compared to 1.5 months in Shanghai. Chiang Mai ranked 3rd best city to live in Thailand vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 4535th and 675th 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 Shanghai infographic

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Prices in Chiang Mai vs Shanghai

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

	Chiang Mai	Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$1.78	$4.55
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$17.7	$39.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$7.11	$5.4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.15	$1.45
☕ Cappuccino	$1.84	$3.93
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.7	$0.52
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$362	$823
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$203	$455
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$759	$2226
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$461	$1115
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$38.2	$33.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$59	$51.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$17.3	$14.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	4.98%	3.83%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2045	$14361
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1110	$8086
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.88	$0.55
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$23.5	$34.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$12.1	$5.85
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.2	$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.61	$2.2
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.52	$1.95
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.21	$1.35
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.02	$1.84
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.5	$15.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.98	$3.29
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.1	$10.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.73	$2.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.19	$1.64
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.31	$1.81
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.41	$1.54
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.38	$0.86
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.2	$1.12
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.32	$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.37	$1.26
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$17.7	$12.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.82	$0.84
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4.46	$3.39
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$1.21	$6.38
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.36	$6.95
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.25	$1.68
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.46	$2.27
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$37.8	$55.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$5.63	$8.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$19	$87.9
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.48	$11.1
👖 Brand Jeans	$56.4	$60.7
👟 Brand Sneakers	$83.2	$75.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$294	$1181
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$14196	$30174

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

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 Shanghai

Distance	City	Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi	Pudong	$984
47 km or 29 mi	Taicang	$665
53 km or 33 mi	Kunshan	$700
74 km or 46 mi	Qidong	$701
82 km or 51 mi	Suzhou	$868
82 km or 51 mi	Jiaxing	$573
85 km or 53 mi	Haimen	$631
88 km or 55 mi	Changshu	$645
106 km or 66 mi	Nantong	$602
117 km or 73 mi	Zhangjiagang	$640
121 km or 75 mi	Wuxi	$670
135 km or 84 mi	Huzhou	$670
141 km or 87 mi	Jiangyin	$657
142 km or 88 mi	Zhoushan	$590
144 km or 89 mi	Ningbo	$708
148 km or 92 mi	Jingjiang	$643
155 km or 96 mi	Shaoxing	$716
158 km or 98 mi	Yixing	$695
159 km or 99 mi	Changzhou	$702
160 km or 100 mi	Rugao	$644
161 km or 100 mi	Hangzhou	$805
177 km or 110 mi	Taixing	$636
179 km or 111 mi	Hai'an	$643
191 km or 119 mi	Liyang	$654
197 km or 122 mi	Yangzhong	$603
198 km or 123 mi	Guangde	$650
201 km or 125 mi	Danyang	$607
208 km or 129 mi	Taizhou	$644
217 km or 135 mi	Dongtai	$665
223 km or 139 mi	Zhenjiang	$522
235 km or 146 mi	Yangzhou	$620
236 km or 146 mi	Jurong	$621
244 km or 152 mi	Ningguo	$642
246 km or 153 mi	Yiwu	$677
250 km or 155 mi	Xinghua	$665
250 km or 156 mi	Yizheng	$592
259 km or 161 mi	Linhai	$661
260 km or 161 mi	Xuancheng	$672
262 km or 163 mi	Gaoyou	$621
274 km or 170 mi	Nanjing	$746