Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ensenada and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Ensenada: $1,067 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

51

Cost of Living Index in Ensenada
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Ensenada Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Ensenada

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,067

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,067 in Ensenada versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Ensenada $1,067
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,704 in Ensenada versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Ensenada $1,704
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,340 in Ensenada versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Ensenada $2,340
Phuket $3,154

Living in Ensenada costs roughly 16% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ensenada 22% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 MX$224

$4.47 ฿151

168.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.29 MX$620

$32.41 ฿1,092

2.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.07 MX$132

$8.81 ฿297

-19.75%

Cappuccino

$2.99 MX$55.7

$2.83 ฿95.3

5.65%

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

$1.19 MX$22.22

$0.87 ฿29.37

36.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.70 MX$13.09

$0.49 ฿16.64

42.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.72 MX$50.6

$2.56 ฿86.2

6.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.08 MX$76.1

$3.68 ฿124

10.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 MX$33.44

$1.66 ฿55.9

7.83%

White Bread (500g)

$2.64 MX$49.16

$1.46 ฿49.25

80.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 MX$30.50

$1.50 ฿50.4

9.33%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$47.18

$2.09 ฿70.4

21.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.12 MX$151

$19.07 ฿642

-57.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.72 MX$125

$3.30 ฿111

103.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.16 MX$189

$10.91 ฿368

-6.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 MX$40.48

$2.93 ฿98.7

-25.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 MX$28.95

$1.69 ฿56.9

-8.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.78 MX$33.10

$2.25 ฿75.7

-20.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.59 MX$29.66

$2.08 ฿70.0

-23.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.31 MX$24.47

$1.51 ฿50.9

-13.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 MX$33.24

$1.38 ฿46.47

28.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.76

$1.07 ฿35.91

34.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 MX$19.60

$0.52 ฿17.49

101.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.93 MX$73.3

$4.20 ฿142

-6.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.15 MX$245

$18.79 ฿633

-30.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 MX$32.66

$1.82 ฿61.4

-3.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.64 MX$49.20

$2.84 ฿95.7

-7.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.84 MX$15.73

$1.45 ฿48.93

-42.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.37 MX$789

$56.7 ฿1,909

-25.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.78 MX$51.8

$3.02 ฿102

-7.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.91 MX$35.61

$1.02 ฿34.29

87.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.18 MX$357

$3.69 ฿124

419.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 MX$25.89

$1.47 ฿49.70

-5.44%

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

$24.6K MX$457.9K

$26.8K ฿902.4K

-8.21%

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

$23.3K MX$434.3K

$26.7K ฿899.5K

-12.65%

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

$46.42 MX$865

$96.4 ฿3,247

-51.82%

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

$31.55 MX$588

$11.26 ฿380

180.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.24 MX$470

$16.85 ฿568

49.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.30 MX$509

$67.2 ฿2,266

-59.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.72 MX$200

$10.73 ฿361

-0.09%

Cinema Ticket

$4.49 MX$83.7

$7.50 ฿253

-40.13%

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

$190 MX$3,548

$476 ฿16.0K

-59.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,838 MX$90.1K

$11.3K ฿379.6K

-57.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.2 MX$990

$62.4 ฿2,102

-14.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.89 MX$780

$28.41 ฿957

47.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 MX$1,908

$94.3 ฿3,178

8.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.5 MX$1,071

$85.8 ฿2,892

-32.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$518 MX$9,650

$716 ฿24.1K

-27.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$322 MX$5,991

$491 ฿16.5K

-34.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$977 MX$18.2K

$1,927 ฿64.9K

-49.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$641 MX$11.9K

$1,431 ฿48.2K

-55.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,346 MX$25.1K

$4,175 ฿140.7K

-67.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$666 MX$12.4K

$3,045 ฿102.6K

-78.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$650 MX$12.1K

$502 ฿16.9K

29.46%

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 Ensenada: 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

Ensenada

$322 30.1%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 52.6% $169

Groceries & Markets

Ensenada

$251 23.5%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 6.1% $15

Eating Out

Ensenada

$182 17.1%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 33.3% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Ensenada

$115 10.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 6.2% $7.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ensenada

$103 9.7%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 20.6% $21

Getting Around

Ensenada

$58 5.4%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 21.5% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Ensenada

$36 3.4%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 127% $46

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $518 in Ensenada and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ensenada pays 29% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $33 in Ensenada vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $251 vs $266, with Ensenada cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Ensenada

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

21:01 9:01 PM

11:01 11:01 AM

14 h ahead of Ensenada

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

330,652

79,308

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.67 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 = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Ensenada Phuket 14,240 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Ensenada
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

Ensenada vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,067 in Ensenada and $1,278 in Phuket, so Ensenada is about 16% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 29% higher in Ensenada, 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: $518 in Ensenada versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,067 per month in Ensenada versus $1,278 in Phuket – Ensenada is about 16% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Ensenada runs roughly 25% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Ensenada 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, Ensenada and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.