Tools · Budget calculator

Can you afford it?

Tell us what lands in your account each month. We will set it against the four costs our city guides can actually source, rent, a desk, weekday lunches and getting around, and show you what is left for everything else.

Chiang Mai, a month

£388 to £596 for the basics.

Add your take-home pay above to see what is left.

RentFurnished one-bed, Santitham up to Nimman, asking. THB 12,000 to 20,000
£268 to £447
A deskCoworking hot desk. THB 2,800 to 4,000
£63 to £89
Weekday lunchesKhao soi or pad krapao, THB 55 to 60 each, 22 working days
£27 to £30
Getting aroundRed truck at THB 30, two rides each working day. THB 1,320
£30

Thailand's Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) tests savings, not income: about £11,190 in the bank. Check your own case

The Chiang Mai guideCompare every city

What is counted. Four costs, and only four, because they are the ones every guide can source: rent, a desk, a lunch on each of 22 working days, and getting around. Food shopping, bills, a phone, insurance, tax and evenings out are not in it, which is why the answer is what is left for everything else, not what is left to save.

Where the figures come from. Each city's guide, checked against official statistics, the operators' own price pages and dated listings. Each line says what it is. Where a guide only publishes rent per square metre, the line says what size flat it assumes. Last copied from the guides on 3 October 2026.

The exchange rates. The same daily feed as the visa checker, from ExchangeRate-API, last updated 20 October 2026. Pesos are converted at the official rate.