Cost of living comparison

Nairobi, Kenya

compared to

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chiang Mai vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Chiang Mai is 30.5% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 18.9% less in Chiang Mai
Groceries: pay 23.9% more in Chiang Mai
Transportation: pay 14.5% less in Chiang Mai
Housing: pay 24.1% more in Chiang Mai
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in Chiang Mai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.5% less in Chiang Mai
Clothing: pay 79.4% more in Chiang Mai

The cost of childcare, clothing, housing, and groceries in Chiang Mai are more expensive than in Nairobi. Expenses including restaurants, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Chiang Mai. Notably, childcare and clothing are significantly more expensive in Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chiang Mai instead of Nairobi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 18.9% less for restaurants

	Nairobi	Chiang Mai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.85 KES497.96	$1.75 THB58.50	-54.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.17 KES796.74	$7.28 THB243.76	+18.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.66 KES85.64	$0.65 THB21.86	-1.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 KES68.81	$0.33 THB11.10	-37.7%
Average			-18.9%

Nairobi vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 23.9% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Chiang Mai
Bread 1 loaf	$0.56 KES72.12	$1.47 THB49.08	+162.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.59 KES722.36	$7.16 THB239.62	+28.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.35 KES433.12	$5.98 THB200.28	+78.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 KES220.04	$2.02 THB67.59	+18.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.71 KES350.15	$1.25 THB41.81	-53.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 KES163.31	$1.19 THB39.69	-6.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 KES64.57	$0.52 THB17.29	+3.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.87 KES112.91	$0.57 THB19.07	-34.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES59.07	$0.68 THB22.85	+49.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 KES62.35	$0.60 THB20.18	+24.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.56 KES71.89	$0.51 THB17.14	-8.0%
Average			+23.9%

Nairobi vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.5% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Chiang Mai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.17 KES797.91	$4.46 THB149.40	-27.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.83 KES3,983.71	$23.30 THB780.03	-24.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,266.80 KES2,489,819.27	$21,118.56 THB706,901.38	+9.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.87 KES1,792.67	$11.72 THB392.45	-15.5%
Average			-14.5%

Nairobi vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of transportation

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pay 24.1% more for housing

	Nairobi	Chiang Mai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.39 KES5,090.66	$18.20 THB609.15	-53.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$428.53 KES55,378.03	$388.93 THB13,018.78	-9.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$166.44 KES21,508.21	$233.89 THB7,828.97	+40.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$22.39 KES2,893.75	$49.06 THB1,642.27	+119.1%
Average			+24.1%

Nairobi vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	Nairobi	Chiang Mai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$166.67 KES21,539.12	$461.21 THB15,438.08	+176.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,008.06 KES1,034,868.96	$13,232.91 THB442,945.10	+65.2%
Average			+120.9%

Nairobi vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Chiang Mai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 KES298.78	$2.26 THB75.57	-2.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.24 KES289.59	$1.79 THB59.79	-20.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.08 KES398.37	$4.37 THB146.26	+41.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.12 KES5,701.18	$34.96 THB1,170.29	-20.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.17 KES796.74	$5.83 THB195.01	-5.5%
Average			-1.5%

Nairobi vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 79.4% more for clothing

	Nairobi	Chiang Mai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$16.84 KES2,176.58	$55.83 THB1,868.82	+231.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.95 KES2,965.65	$30.29 THB1,014.04	+32.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$61.84 KES7,991.13	$81.56 THB2,730.10	+31.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$52.50 KES6,784.72	$64.08 THB2,145.08	+22.1%
Average			+79.4%

Nairobi vs. Chiang Mai - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: April 2025

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