Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Isla Mujeres and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Isla Mujeres: $1,103 a month against $1,208 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

54

Cost of Living Index in Isla Mujeres
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Isla Mujeres Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Isla Mujeres

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,103

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,103 in Isla Mujeres versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Isla Mujeres $1,103
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,760 in Isla Mujeres versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Isla Mujeres $1,760
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,416 in Isla Mujeres versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Isla Mujeres $2,416
Phuket $2,845

Living in Isla Mujeres costs roughly 9% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Isla Mujeres 19% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$196

$4.40 ฿147

140.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.10 MX$722

$32.26 ฿1,078

21.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.70 MX$142

$8.76 ฿293

-12.10%

Cappuccino

$3.26 MX$60.2

$2.83 ฿94.5

15.19%

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

$1.24 MX$22.93

$0.90 ฿30.14

37.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 MX$18.04

$0.47 ฿15.56

108.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.17 MX$40.08

$2.55 ฿85.2

-14.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.00 MX$73.9

$3.83 ฿128

4.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.58

$1.73 ฿57.7

-16.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.52 MX$46.64

$1.47 ฿49.11

71.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 MX$28.75

$1.51 ฿50.6

3.31%

Eggs

$2.33 MX$43.08

$2.17 ฿72.7

7.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.97 MX$147

$19.70 ฿658

-59.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.02 MX$148

$3.34 ฿112

140.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.38 MX$192

$11.16 ฿373

-6.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 MX$48.09

$2.85 ฿95.1

-8.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 MX$26.02

$1.70 ฿56.9

-17.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.71 MX$31.68

$2.19 ฿73.3

-21.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.70 MX$31.45

$2.05 ฿68.4

-17.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.19

$1.45 ฿48.57

31.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.63

$1.38 ฿46.16

39.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 MX$23.35

$1.07 ฿35.69

17.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 MX$18.14

$0.51 ฿16.91

92.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 MX$77.7

$4.26 ฿142

-1.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.00 MX$203

$18.58 ฿621

-40.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 MX$29.54

$1.78 ฿59.7

-10.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 MX$51.1

$2.85 ฿95.2

-2.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.62 MX$11.45

$2.26 ฿75.6

-72.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.54 MX$46.85

$3.01 ฿101

-15.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.59 MX$29.42

$1.06 ฿35.34

50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 MX$157

$3.86 ฿129

119.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 MX$23.31

$1.45 ฿48.45

-13.10%

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

$21.4K MX$396.2K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

-18.57%

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

$22.1K MX$408.2K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

-18.01%

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

$56.3 MX$1,041

$96.4 ฿3,221

-41.55%

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

$22.23 MX$411

$11.04 ฿369

101.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.99 MX$517

$17.14 ฿573

63.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.29 MX$671

$52.2 ฿1,744

-30.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.00 MX$296

$11.16 ฿373

43.37%

Cinema Ticket

$4.64 MX$85.8

$7.81 ฿261

-40.59%

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

$210 MX$3,888

$556 ฿18.6K

-62.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,607 MX$66.6K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

-68.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.0 MX$961

$64.2 ฿2,146

-18.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.19 MX$743

$28.69 ฿959

40.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.8 MX$1,678

$95.4 ฿3,187

-4.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.7 MX$1,492

$88.0 ฿2,940

-8.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$505 MX$9,338

$737 ฿24.6K

-31.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$395 MX$7,304

$462 ฿15.5K

-14.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$919 MX$17.0K

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-56.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$770 MX$14.2K

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-35.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,779 MX$32.9K

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-48.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,176 MX$21.7K

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-53.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.48

5.57

106.10%

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

Last update for Isla Mujeres: October 19, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Isla Mujeres

$395 35.9%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 17% $67

Groceries & Markets

Isla Mujeres

$249 22.6%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 7.9% $20

Eating Out

Isla Mujeres

$175 15.8%

Phuket

$121 10% 30.6% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Isla Mujeres

$119 10.8%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 4.7% $5.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Isla Mujeres

$107 9.7%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 16.9% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Isla Mujeres

$46 4.1%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 48.8% $22

Getting Around

Isla Mujeres

$13 * 1.2%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 204% $26

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $505 in Isla Mujeres and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $39.00 in Isla Mujeres vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $249 vs $269, with Isla Mujeres cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Isla Mujeres

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

00:22 12:22 AM

12:22 12:22 PM

12 h ahead of Isla Mujeres

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,174

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 23, 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 23, 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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Highest

Between locations

Isla Mujeres Phuket 16,730 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Isla Mujeres
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

Isla Mujeres vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Isla Mujeres and Phuket differ by about 10% in total monthly costs ($1,103 vs $1,208 including rent). Isla Mujeres is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,654 in Isla Mujeres and $1,813 in Phuket to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $505 in Isla Mujeres versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 8% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,103 per month in Isla Mujeres versus $1,208 in Phuket – a 10% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,103 in Isla Mujeres versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Isla Mujeres but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Isla Mujeres 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, Isla Mujeres and Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Isla Mujeres gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.