Chiang Mai vs Sydney - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Chiang Mai	Sydney
🚶 Cost of living one person	$691	$2539
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1891	$6160
🏠 One person rent	$291	$1496
🏘️ Family rent	$597	$2729
🍽️ Food expenses	$237	$522
🚐 Transport expenses	$89	$374
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$680	$4315
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	3 km	9 km
🎓 Higher education	56	100
😀 Quality of life	64	100
🏙️ Population	1.2M	4.84M

The cost of living in Chiang Mai is 73% less expensive than in Sydney. Cities ranked 6939th and 745th ($691 vs $2539) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 19th and 1st in Thailand and Australia, respectively. Check Thailand vs Australia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1 months in Chiang Mai compared to 1.7 months in Sydney. Chiang Mai ranked 3rd best city to live in Thailand vs Sydney ranked 2nd in Australia, while ranked 4535th and 2nd 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 Sydney infographic

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

Prices in Chiang Mai vs Sydney

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

	Chiang Mai	Sydney
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$1.78	$13.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$17.7	$66
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$7.11	$9.73
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.15	$7.29
☕ Cappuccino	$1.84	$3.32
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.7	$2.55
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$362	$1823
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$203	$1225
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$759	$3607
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$461	$2246
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$38.2	$106
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$59	$165
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$17.3	$45.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	4.98%	6.4%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2045	$13272
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1110	$7795
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.88	$3.19
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$23.5	$133
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$12.1	$26.6
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.2	$1.25
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.61	$1.55
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.52	$2.26
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.21	$2.06
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.02	$4.76
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.5	$10.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.98	$8.32
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.1	$13
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.73	$3.11
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.19	$2.65
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.31	$3.13
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.41	$3.84
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.38	$2.34
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.2	$2.24
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.32	$0.87
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.37	$2.41
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$17.7	$13.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.82	$4.35
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4.46	$28.2
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$1.21	$6.73
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.36	$5.01
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.25	$2.66
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.46	$2.67
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$37.8	$55.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$5.63	$15.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$19	$58.7
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.48	$20.1
👖 Brand Jeans	$56.4	$80.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$83.2	$108
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$294	$1992
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$14196	$17957

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 Sydney

Distance	City	Cost of living
15 km or 9.2 mi	Dee Why	$2099
19 km or 12 mi	Parramatta	$2252
29 km or 18 mi	Kellyville	$1824
29 km or 18 mi	Blacktown	$1584
69 km or 43 mi	Wollongong	$1416
117 km or 73 mi	Newcastle	$1448
158 km or 98 mi	Bathurst	$1538
168 km or 104 mi	Goulburn	$1616
205 km or 127 mi	Orange	$1511
247 km or 154 mi	Canberra	$2023
301 km or 187 mi	Dubbo	$1702
314 km or 195 mi	Port Macquarie	$1681
377 km or 234 mi	Armidale	$1185
378 km or 235 mi	Wagga Wagga	$1457
436 km or 271 mi	Coffs Harbour	$1963
478 km or 297 mi	Griffith	$1619
597 km or 371 mi	Shepparton	$1601
624 km or 388 mi	Byron Bay	$1781
638 km or 396 mi	Traralgon	$1727
683 km or 425 mi	Gold Coast	$2239
689 km or 428 mi	Southport	$2067
695 km or 432 mi	Pakenham	$1654
701 km or 436 mi	Berwick	$1643
706 km or 439 mi	Bendigo	$1291
706 km or 439 mi	Toowoomba	$1504
707 km or 439 mi	Dandenong	$1645
711 km or 442 mi	Ipswich	$1677
711 km or 442 mi	Cranbourne	$1600
713 km or 443 mi	South Yarra	$1620
713 km or 443 mi	Melbourne	$2194
716 km or 445 mi	Sunbury	$1691
724 km or 450 mi	Frankston	$1671
732 km or 455 mi	Melton	$1669
733 km or 455 mi	Brisbane	$2016
735 km or 457 mi	Tarneit	$1625
736 km or 457 mi	Hoppers Crossing	$1635
775 km or 481 mi	Caboolture	$1748
778 km or 484 mi	Geelong	$1981
779 km or 484 mi	Ballarat	$1390
807 km or 502 mi	Caloundra	$1683