Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cozumel and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Cozumel: $1,163 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

56

Cost of Living Index in Cozumel
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Cozumel Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Cozumel

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,163

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,163 in Cozumel versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Cozumel $1,163
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,813 in Cozumel versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Cozumel $1,813
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,464 in Cozumel versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Cozumel $2,464
Phuket $3,154

Living in Cozumel costs roughly 9% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cozumel 15% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.67 MX$162

$4.47 ฿151

93.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.79 MX$816

$32.41 ฿1,094

35.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.00 MX$149

$8.81 ฿297

-9.19%

Cappuccino

$2.76 MX$51.4

$2.83 ฿95.5

-2.47%

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

$1.06 MX$19.71

$0.87 ฿29.43

21.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 MX$17.56

$0.49 ฿16.67

91.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.58 MX$29.39

$2.56 ฿86.4

-38.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 MX$57.2

$3.68 ฿124

-16.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$27.29

$1.66 ฿56.0

-12.05%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 MX$30.61

$1.46 ฿49.35

12.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.76 MX$32.73

$1.50 ฿50.6

17.33%

Eggs

$1.85 MX$34.46

$2.09 ฿70.5

-11.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.02 MX$187

$19.07 ฿644

-47.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.79 MX$145

$3.30 ฿111

136.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.30 MX$229

$10.91 ฿368

12.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.36 MX$43.96

$2.93 ฿99.0

-19.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.60

$1.69 ฿57.1

-18.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.94

$2.25 ฿75.8

-4.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 MX$28.56

$2.08 ฿70.1

-26.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.20 MX$40.93

$1.51 ฿51.0

45.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.81 MX$33.74

$1.38 ฿46.56

31.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 MX$27.12

$1.07 ฿35.99

35.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 MX$20.45

$0.52 ฿17.52

111.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.42 MX$82.5

$4.20 ฿142

5.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.59 MX$197

$18.79 ฿634

-43.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 MX$27.81

$1.82 ฿61.5

-18.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 MX$46.60

$2.84 ฿95.9

-11.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.59 MX$10.95

$1.45 ฿49.03

-59.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.76 MX$555

$56.7 ฿1,913

-47.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 MX$48.65

$3.02 ฿102

-13.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.89 MX$53.9

$1.02 ฿34.36

183.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.76 MX$163

$3.69 ฿125

137.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 MX$24.63

$1.47 ฿49.81

-10.20%

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

$19.5K MX$363.0K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

-27.27%

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

$23.1K MX$430.7K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-13.44%

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

$57.8 MX$1,077

$96.4 ฿3,254

-40.02%

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

$20.69 MX$386

$11.26 ฿380

83.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.21 MX$395

$16.85 ฿569

25.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.82 MX$705

$67.2 ฿2,270

-43.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.69 MX$367

$10.73 ฿362

83.50%

Cinema Ticket

$5.97 MX$111

$7.50 ฿253

-20.40%

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

$259 MX$4,826

$476 ฿16.1K

-45.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,514 MX$65.5K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

-68.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.1 MX$1,027

$62.4 ฿2,106

-11.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.5 MX$978

$28.41 ฿959

84.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.4 MX$1,853

$94.3 ฿3,184

5.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.6 MX$1,559

$85.8 ฿2,898

-2.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$599 MX$11.2K

$716 ฿24.2K

-16.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$435 MX$8,104

$491 ฿16.6K

-11.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,573 MX$29.3K

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-18.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$741 MX$13.8K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-48.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,899 MX$35.4K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

-54.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,140 MX$21.3K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-62.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$651 MX$12.1K

$502 ฿17.0K

29.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.64

5.57

108.98%

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

Last update for Cozumel: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cozumel

$435 37.4%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 12.9% $56

Groceries & Markets

Cozumel

$250 21.5%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 6.3% $16

Eating Out

Cozumel

$148 12.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 18% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Cozumel

$131 11.2%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 6.8% $8.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cozumel

$100 8.6%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 24.8% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Cozumel

$50 4.3%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 65.3% $32

Getting Around

Cozumel

$49 4.2%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 43.5% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $599 in Cozumel and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cozumel pays 30% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $44 in Cozumel vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $250 vs $266, with Cozumel cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Cozumel

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

00:27 12:27 AM

12:27 12:27 PM

12 h ahead of Cozumel

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

77,236

79,308

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cozumel Phuket 16,810 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Cozumel
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

Cozumel vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,163 in Cozumel and $1,278 in Phuket, so Cozumel is about 9% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 30% higher in Cozumel, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $599 in Cozumel versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 6% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $44 in Cozumel. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Cozumel gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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