City comparison
Cost of living in Chiang Mai vs Buenos Aires
One person needs about €705 a month in Chiang Mai and €936 in Buenos Aires, rent included — Chiang Mai is 33% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Buenos Aires the way you live in Chiang Mai on €3,000, you need
€3,983/ month net
33% more than today (+€983)
- Chiang Mai today
- Basket €705 · left over €2,295 (77%)
- Buenos Aires at the matched salary
- Basket €936 · left over €3,047 (77%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 150% over in Buenos Aires (adequate) vs 170% in Chiang Mai. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇹🇭 Chiang Mai
The classic low-burn base — unbeatable food costs, with a smoky burning season each spring.
Monthly budget: €705
Sources: Thailand NSO + Bank of Thailand, CPI & provincial wage survey (2025) · 209 community reports
🇦🇷 Buenos Aires
Very cheap in hard currency, with prices that move week to week.
Monthly budget: €936
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
Should you move to Chiang Mai or Buenos Aires?
On salary, Buenos Aires pays more for tech roles (€1,400 versus €1,200 a month), so the money left over after costs is €495 in Chiang Mai at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €380 in Chiang Mai against €550 in Buenos Aires. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Chiang Mai at 78 and Buenos Aires at 72 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.