Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Colima and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Colima: $941 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Colima
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Colima Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Colima

🇲🇽 Mexico

$941

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Colima 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 Colima and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $941 in Colima versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Colima $941
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,533 in Colima versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Colima $1,533
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,125 in Colima versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Colima $2,125
Phuket $3,154

Living in Colima costs roughly 26% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Colima 31% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.36 MX$138

$4.47 ฿151

64.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.08 MX$602

$32.41 ฿1,093

-1.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.15 MX$134

$8.81 ฿297

-18.84%

Cappuccino

$2.09 MX$39.23

$2.83 ฿95.4

-26.15%

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

$0.97 MX$18.25

$0.87 ฿29.41

11.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.52

$0.49 ฿16.65

69.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.20 MX$41.26

$2.56 ฿86.3

-14.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 MX$46.62

$3.68 ฿124

-32.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.33

$1.66 ฿55.9

-9.04%

White Bread (500g)

$2.54 MX$47.64

$1.46 ฿49.31

73.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.14 MX$21.37

$1.50 ฿50.5

-24.00%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$52.0

$2.09 ฿70.5

32.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.19 MX$154

$19.07 ฿643

-57.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.31 MX$156

$3.30 ฿111

151.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.69 MX$182

$10.91 ฿368

-11.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 MX$52.6

$2.93 ฿98.9

-4.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 MX$25.42

$1.69 ฿57.0

-20.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 MX$31.65

$2.25 ฿75.8

-24.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.79

$2.08 ฿70.0

1.92%

Potato (1kg)

$2.29 MX$43.04

$1.51 ฿51.0

51.66%

Onion (1kg)

$2.27 MX$42.59

$1.38 ฿46.52

64.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 MX$27.52

$1.07 ฿35.96

37.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 MX$20.89

$0.52 ฿17.51

113.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.73 MX$70.1

$4.20 ฿142

-11.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.36 MX$119

$18.79 ฿634

-66.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 MX$27.96

$1.82 ฿61.5

-18.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 MX$32.53

$2.84 ฿95.8

-39.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 MX$12.70

$1.45 ฿48.98

-53.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.57 MX$367

$56.7 ฿1,912

-65.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.49 MX$46.74

$3.02 ฿102

-17.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.77 MX$52.0

$1.02 ฿34.33

171.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.16 MX$172

$3.69 ฿125

148.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 MX$25.95

$1.47 ฿49.76

-6.12%

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

$22.1K MX$415.8K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

-17.28%

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

$22.0K MX$412.4K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

-17.70%

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

$65.5 MX$1,229

$96.4 ฿3,251

-32.06%

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

$19.85 MX$373

$11.26 ฿380

76.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.60 MX$537

$16.85 ฿568

69.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.63 MX$650

$67.2 ฿2,268

-48.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.43 MX$402

$10.73 ฿362

99.72%

Cinema Ticket

$4.68 MX$88.0

$7.50 ฿253

-37.60%

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

$141 MX$2,652

$476 ฿16.1K

-70.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,527 MX$47.4K

$11.3K ฿380.0K

-77.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.57 MX$837

$62.4 ฿2,104

-28.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.99 MX$469

$28.41 ฿958

-12.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.3 MX$1,376

$94.3 ฿3,181

-22.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.0 MX$1,840

$85.8 ฿2,895

14.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$257 MX$4,825

$716 ฿24.2K

-64.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$263 MX$4,931

$491 ฿16.6K

-46.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$369 MX$6,926

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-80.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$574 MX$10.8K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-59.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$280 MX$5,261

$502 ฿16.9K

-44.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

5.57

102.87%

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

Last update for Colima: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Colima

$263 27.9%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 86.9% $228

Groceries & Markets

Colima

$245 26%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 8.7% $21

Eating Out

Colima

$129 13.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 5.3% $6.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Colima

$114 12.1%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 9.3% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Colima

$108 11.5%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 12.4% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Colima

$44 4.7%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 86.9% $38

Getting Around

Colima

$39 4.1%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 82.8% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $257 in Colima and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 79% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Colima vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $245 vs $266 per month, with Colima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Colima

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

14:17 2:17 PM

03:17 3:17 AM

13 h ahead of Colima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

146,965

79,308

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Colima Phuket 16,150 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Colima
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

Colima vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $941 in Colima and $1,278 in Phuket, so Colima is about 26% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 44% lower in Colima. 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: $257 in Colima versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $141 in Colima versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

A monthly transit pass in Colima runs roughly 65% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $941 in Colima versus $1,278 in Phuket, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Colima but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Colima 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.

Safety-wise, Colima and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Colima wins on affordability, Phuket on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.