Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Acapulco and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Acapulco: $859 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

42

Cost of Living Index in Acapulco
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Acapulco Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Acapulco

🇲🇽 Mexico

$859

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Acapulco and in Phuket

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Acapulco and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $859 per month in Acapulco vs $1,207 in Phuket, rent included.

Acapulco $859
Phuket $1,207

A couple spends around $1,435 per month in Acapulco vs $2,037 in Phuket, rent included.

Acapulco $1,435
Phuket $2,037

A family of three spends $2,012 per month in Acapulco vs $2,867 in Phuket, rent included.

Acapulco $2,012
Phuket $2,867

Acapulco is about 29% cheaper than Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Acapulco and Phuket are more affordable than the global median – Acapulco 36% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.48 MX$175

$4.58 ฿153

106.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.64 MX$696

$32.48 ฿1,086

15.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.97 MX$221

$8.55 ฿286

40.00%

Cappuccino

$3.76 MX$69.5

$2.72 ฿91.0

38.24%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 MX$30.10

$0.94 ฿31.25

73.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 MX$30.65

$0.49 ฿16.39

238.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.00 MX$55.4

$2.59 ฿86.6

15.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.79 MX$88.4

$3.83 ฿128

25.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 MX$29.36

$1.74 ฿58.1

-8.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.89 MX$53.5

$1.43 ฿47.82

102.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 MX$31.11

$1.53 ฿51.0

9.80%

Eggs

$1.79 MX$33.06

$2.17 ฿72.7

-17.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.64 MX$123

$19.15 ฿640

-65.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 MX$149

$3.30 ฿110

143.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.78 MX$199

$11.14 ฿372

-3.23%

Apples (1kg)

$4.58 MX$84.7

$2.95 ฿98.5

55.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 MX$30.46

$1.68 ฿56.1

-1.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.38 MX$62.5

$2.30 ฿76.8

46.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.13 MX$57.9

$2.13 ฿71.3

46.95%

Potato (1kg)

$3.47 MX$64.2

$1.53 ฿51.1

126.80%

Onion (1kg)

$2.96 MX$54.7

$1.36 ฿45.55

117.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.31 MX$24.12

$1.12 ฿37.44

16.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.46

$0.55 ฿18.24

41.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.16 MX$151

$4.26 ฿142

91.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.66 MX$123

$18.19 ฿608

-63.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 MX$20.74

$1.74 ฿58.2

-35.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 MX$49.94

$2.79 ฿93.3

-3.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 MX$16.27

$2.22 ฿74.1

-60.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.85 MX$89.6

$2.91 ฿97.3

66.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.16

$1.49 ฿49.85

-1.34%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$21.1K MX$389.7K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

-20.95%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$24.8K MX$458.4K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-7.14%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$39.89 MX$737

$99.4 ฿3,321

-59.86%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$14.81 MX$274

$11.28 ฿377

31.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.72 MX$401

$17.36 ฿580

25.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.02 MX$351

$52.3 ฿1,747

-63.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.85 MX$256

$10.85 ฿362

27.65%

Cinema Ticket

$3.87 MX$71.6

$7.57 ฿253

-48.88%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$162 MX$2,994

$558 ฿18.7K

-70.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.4 MX$1,191

$62.9 ฿2,102

2.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.58 MX$824

$28.58 ฿955

55.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 MX$1,985

$96.1 ฿3,213

11.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.2 MX$1,538

$88.1 ฿2,943

-5.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$519 MX$9,593

$729 ฿24.4K

-28.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$150 MX$2,763

$460 ฿15.4K

-67.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$956 MX$17.7K

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-54.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$331 MX$6,118

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-72.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$449 MX$8,293

$493 ฿16.5K

-8.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.6

5.57

108.26%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Acapulco: October 11, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Acapulco

$269 31.3%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 0.4% $0.9

Eating Out

Acapulco

$195 22.7%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 37.7% $73

Accommodation & Living

Acapulco

$150 17.4%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 208% $310

Clothing & Footwear

Acapulco

$135 15.7%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 8% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Acapulco

$76 8.9%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 67.5% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Acapulco

$27 3.1%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 152% $41

Getting Around

Acapulco

$8.4 * 1%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 365% $31

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $519 in Acapulco versus $729 in Phuket. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 10% higher in Phuket, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38.00 in Acapulco versus $32.00 in Phuket. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $269 vs $268 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Acapulco

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

16:36 4:36 PM

05:36 5:36 AM

13 h ahead of Acapulco

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

658,609

79,308

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Acapulco Phuket 16,610 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Acapulco
Phuket

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Acapulco vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket costs about 41% more than Acapulco, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,288 per month in Acapulco and $1,811 in Phuket. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Acapulco, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $859 in Acapulco and $1,207 in Phuket. That's a gap of about 41%.

Kindergarten costs $162 per month in Acapulco and $558 in Phuket. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Acapulco, where all-in costs run around $859, than in Phuket at $1,207. In Acapulco it covers expenses comfortably, while in Phuket it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Acapulco costs $859 versus $1,207 in Phuket. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Acapulco. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Phuket makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.