City comparison
Cost of living in Chiang Mai vs Lisbon
One person needs about €705 a month in Chiang Mai and €1,874 in Lisbon, rent included — Chiang Mai is 166% 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 Lisbon the way you live in Chiang Mai on €3,000, you need
€7,974/ month net
166% more than today (+€4,974)
- Chiang Mai today
- Basket €705 · left over €2,295 (77%)
- Lisbon at the matched salary
- Basket €1,874 · left over €6,100 (76%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 128% over in Lisbon (tight) 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
🇵🇹 Lisbon
Visa-friendly and well connected, but local salaries lag far behind expat-driven rents.
Monthly budget: €1,874
Sources: Statistics Portugal (INE) + Eurostat, HICP & house-rent statistics (2025) · 331 community reports
Should you move to Chiang Mai or Lisbon?
On salary, Lisbon pays more for tech roles (€2,400 versus €1,200 a month), so the money left over after costs is €526 in Lisbon at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €380 in Chiang Mai against €1,300 in Lisbon. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Chiang Mai at 78 and Lisbon at 83 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.