Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Los Cabos and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,433 in Los Cabos, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. The total is higher in Los Cabos despite lower rent and utilities.

69

Cost of Living Index in Los Cabos
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Los Cabos Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Los Cabos

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,433

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,433 in Los Cabos versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Los Cabos $1,433
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,236 in Los Cabos versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Los Cabos $2,236
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,039 in Los Cabos versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Los Cabos $3,039
Phuket $3,154

Living in Los Cabos is roughly 12% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Los Cabos is 5% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.25 MX$413

$4.47 ฿151

397.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.10 MX$801

$32.41 ฿1,092

32.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.63 MX$253

$8.81 ฿297

54.71%

Cappuccino

$5.17 MX$96.1

$2.83 ฿95.3

82.69%

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

$2.35 MX$43.72

$0.87 ฿29.37

170.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.76

$0.49 ฿16.64

304.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.07 MX$94.2

$2.56 ฿86.2

98.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.23 MX$153

$3.68 ฿124

123.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 MX$28.88

$1.66 ฿55.9

-6.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 MX$51.9

$1.46 ฿49.25

91.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.27 MX$42.15

$1.50 ฿50.4

51.33%

Eggs

$2.37 MX$44.06

$2.09 ฿70.4

13.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.29 MX$173

$19.07 ฿642

-51.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.62 MX$179

$3.30 ฿111

191.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.21 MX$320

$10.91 ฿368

57.75%

Apples (1kg)

$4.00 MX$74.3

$2.93 ฿98.7

36.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 MX$31.33

$1.69 ฿56.9

Oranges (1kg)

$2.88 MX$53.5

$2.25 ฿75.7

28.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.40 MX$44.51

$2.08 ฿70.0

15.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.30 MX$42.64

$1.51 ฿50.9

52.32%

Onion (1kg)

$2.54 MX$47.25

$1.38 ฿46.47

84.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 MX$23.81

$1.07 ฿35.91

19.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 MX$14.64

$0.52 ฿17.49

51.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 MX$82.3

$4.20 ฿142

5.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.36 MX$192

$18.79 ฿633

-44.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 MX$28.28

$1.82 ฿61.4

-16.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 MX$57.3

$2.84 ฿95.7

8.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 MX$25.45

$1.45 ฿48.93

-5.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.56 MX$549

$56.7 ฿1,909

-47.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.48 MX$46.13

$3.02 ฿102

-17.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.97 MX$36.58

$1.02 ฿34.29

93.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.11 MX$188

$3.69 ฿124

173.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 MX$24.96

$1.47 ฿49.70

-8.84%

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

$23.4K MX$434.7K

$26.8K ฿902.4K

-12.58%

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

$23.3K MX$433.1K

$26.7K ฿899.5K

-12.63%

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

$56.6 MX$1,050

$96.4 ฿3,247

-41.31%

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

$27.37 MX$508

$11.26 ฿380

143.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.83 MX$443

$16.85 ฿568

41.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.66 MX$607

$67.2 ฿2,266

-51.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.67 MX$365

$10.73 ฿361

83.32%

Cinema Ticket

$4.21 MX$78.1

$7.50 ฿253

-43.87%

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

$214 MX$3,967

$476 ฿16.0K

-55.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,525 MX$84.0K

$11.3K ฿379.6K

-59.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.5 MX$1,699

$62.4 ฿2,102

46.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.53 MX$734

$28.41 ฿957

39.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$123 MX$2,290

$94.3 ฿3,178

30.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.9 MX$1,650

$85.8 ฿2,892

3.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$597 MX$11.1K

$716 ฿24.1K

-16.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$438 MX$8,132

$491 ฿16.5K

-10.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 MX$18.7K

$1,927 ฿64.9K

-47.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$741 MX$13.8K

$1,431 ฿48.2K

-48.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,854 MX$34.4K

$4,175 ฿140.7K

-55.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,114 MX$20.7K

$3,045 ฿102.6K

-63.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$794 MX$14.7K

$502 ฿16.9K

58.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.31

5.57

103.05%

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

Last update for Los Cabos: October 27, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Los Cabos

$438 30.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 12.1% $53

Eating Out

Los Cabos

$340 23.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 64.2% $218

Groceries & Markets

Los Cabos

$304 21.2%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 12.5% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Los Cabos

$154 10.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 21.1% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Los Cabos

$108 7.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 15.5% $17

Getting Around

Los Cabos

$47 3.3%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 49% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Los Cabos

$41 2.9%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 100% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $597 in Los Cabos and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Los Cabos pays 58% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Los Cabos vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $304 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Los Cabos

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

00:25 12:25 AM

14:25 2:25 PM

14 h ahead of Los Cabos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

202,694

79,308

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 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 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.73 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Los Cabos Phuket 15,410 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Los Cabos
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

Los Cabos vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 11% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 58% higher in Los Cabos, 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: $597 in Los Cabos versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $43 in Los Cabos. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,433 per month in Los Cabos versus $1,278 in Phuket – Phuket is about 11% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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 – Phuket wins on affordability, Los Cabos on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.