Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cha-am and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Cha-am: $871 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Cha-am
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Cha-am Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Cha-am

🇹🇭 Thailand

$871

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cha-am and in Mexico City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $871 in Cha-am versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Cha-am $871
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,405 in Cha-am versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Cha-am $1,405
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,940 in Cha-am versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Cha-am $1,940
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Cha-am costs roughly 46% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cha-am is 36% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.98 ฿101

$10.62 MX$200

-71.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.18 ฿748

$48.35 MX$909

-54.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.35 ฿248

$10.35 MX$194

-28.99%

Cappuccino

$2.01 ฿68.0

$3.69 MX$69.4

-45.53%

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

$0.69 ฿23.33

$1.67 MX$31.32

-58.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.35 ฿11.68

$1.27 MX$23.78

-72.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 ฿82.3

$3.19 MX$60.0

-23.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$5.31 MX$99.7

-44.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.6

$1.72 MX$32.41

1.16%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.73

$3.04 MX$57.1

-51.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿44.92

$1.94 MX$36.48

-31.44%

Eggs

$1.87 ฿63.2

$2.89 MX$54.3

-35.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.37 ฿418

$10.97 MX$206

12.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.53 ฿85.2

$9.25 MX$174

-72.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.97 ฿336

$15.13 MX$284

-34.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.37 ฿114

$3.05 MX$57.3

10.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.21 ฿40.99

$1.94 MX$36.48

-37.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.90 ฿64.0

$2.03 MX$38.06

-6.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.81 ฿61.1

$2.31 MX$43.50

-21.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.74 ฿58.7

$2.04 MX$38.25

-14.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.08 ฿36.60

$1.80 MX$33.83

-40.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 ฿40.51

$1.48 MX$27.80

-18.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 ฿14.80

$1.27 MX$23.82

-65.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿144

$5.30 MX$99.7

-19.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.95 ฿606

$16.10 MX$303

11.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.67 ฿56.4

$1.98 MX$37.27

-15.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 ฿96.5

$4.25 MX$79.9

-32.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.91 ฿30.60

$0.31 MX$5.73

193.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.60 ฿763

$19.73 MX$371

14.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.34 ฿45.26

$1.84 MX$34.53

-27.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.08 ฿36.47

$0.53 MX$10.03

103.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.61 ฿122

$5.30 MX$99.5

-31.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 ฿46.38

$1.51 MX$28.39

-9.27%

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

$16.3K ฿551.3K

$21.8K MX$408.8K

-24.92%

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

$26.5K ฿892.8K

$24.0K MX$450.8K

10.29%

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

$80.9 ฿2,731

$63.0 MX$1,184

28.47%

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

$11.74 ฿396

$27.39 MX$515

-57.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.19 ฿783

$35.67 MX$670

-34.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.97 ฿809

$58.9 MX$1,108

-59.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.88 ฿198

$23.64 MX$444

-75.13%

Cinema Ticket

$6.70 ฿226

$6.40 MX$120

4.69%

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

$615 ฿20.8K

$432 MX$8,111

42.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.6K ฿358.6K

$11.4K MX$214.7K

-6.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.0 ฿1,721

$68.2 MX$1,282

-25.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.67 ฿968

$53.1 MX$999

-46.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.2 ฿2,437

$108 MX$2,026

-33.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$53.1 ฿1,790

$117 MX$2,204

-54.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$368 ฿12.4K

$1,113 MX$20.9K

-66.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$267 ฿9,015

$710 MX$13.4K

-62.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$752 ฿25.4K

$2,588 MX$48.6K

-70.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 ฿22.0K

$1,406 MX$26.4K

-53.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$362 ฿12.2K

$946 MX$17.8K

-61.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.96

11.35

-47.49%

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

Last update for Cha-am: October 27, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cha-am

$267 30.7%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 166% $443

Groceries & Markets

Cha-am

$233 26.7%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 37.3% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cha-am

$116 13.3%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 8.8% $10

Eating Out

Cha-am

$92 10.6%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 115% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Cha-am

$92 10.6%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 69% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Cha-am

$37 4.3%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 91.9% $34

Getting Around

Cha-am

$33 3.8%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 22.8% $7.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $368 in Cha-am and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 2.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $22 in Cha-am vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $233 vs $320 per month, with Cha-am cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Cha-am

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

09:36 9:36 AM

20:36 8:36 PM

13 h behind Cha-am

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

31,354

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cha-am Mexico City 15,870 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Cha-am
Mexico City

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

Cha-am vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $871 in Cha-am and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Cha-am is about 46% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 62% lower in Cha-am. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $368 in Cha-am versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $871 per month in Cha-am versus $1,608 in Mexico City – Cha-am is about 46% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 13% less than in Cha-am. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $871 in Cha-am versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Cha-am but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Cha-am the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Cha-am wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.