Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Cha-am

For one person, living is cheaper in Cha-am: $871 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Cha-am
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Cha-am Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Cha-am

🇹🇭 Thailand

$871

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Cha-am

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Mexico City and in Cha-am actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $871 in Cha-am.

Mexico City $1,608
Cha-am $871

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,405 in Cha-am.

Mexico City $2,549
Cha-am $1,405

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,940 in Cha-am.

Mexico City $3,490
Cha-am $1,940

Living in Mexico City is roughly 85% more expensive than in Cha-am, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Cha-am is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$2.98 ฿101

256.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$22.18 ฿748

117.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$7.35 ฿248

40.82%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$2.01 ฿68.0

83.58%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$0.69 ฿23.33

142.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$0.35 ฿11.68

262.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$2.44 ฿82.3

30.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$2.93 ฿98.9

81.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$1.74 ฿58.6

-1.15%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.47 ฿49.73

106.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.33 ฿44.92

45.86%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$1.87 ฿63.2

54.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$12.37 ฿418

-11.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$2.53 ฿85.2

265.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$9.97 ฿336

51.76%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$3.37 ฿114

-9.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.21 ฿40.99

60.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$1.90 ฿64.0

6.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$1.81 ฿61.1

27.62%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$1.74 ฿58.7

17.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$1.08 ฿36.60

66.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$1.20 ฿40.51

23.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$0.44 ฿14.80

188.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$4.26 ฿144

24.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$17.95 ฿606

-10.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$1.67 ฿56.4

18.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$2.86 ฿96.5

48.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.91 ฿30.60

-65.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$22.60 ฿763

-12.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$1.34 ฿45.26

37.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

$1.08 ฿36.47

-50.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

$3.61 ฿122

46.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$1.37 ฿46.38

10.22%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

$16.3K ฿551.3K

33.18%

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$26.5K ฿892.8K

-9.33%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$80.9 ฿2,731

-22.16%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$11.74 ฿396

133.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$23.19 ฿783

53.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$23.97 ฿809

145.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$5.88 ฿198

302.04%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$6.70 ฿226

-4.48%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$615 ฿20.8K

-29.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

$10.6K ฿358.6K

7.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$51.0 ฿1,721

33.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$28.67 ฿968

85.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$72.2 ฿2,437

49.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$53.1 ฿1,790

121.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$368 ฿12.4K

202.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$267 ฿9,015

165.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$752 ฿25.4K

244.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$651 ฿22.0K

116.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$362 ฿12.2K

161.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

5.96

90.44%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Cha-am: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Cha-am

$267 30.7% 62.4% $443

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Cha-am

$233 26.7% 27.2% $87

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Cha-am

$92 10.6% 53.5% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Cha-am

$92 10.6% 40.8% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Cha-am

$116 13.3% 8.1% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Cha-am

$37 4.3% 47.9% $34

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Cha-am

$33 3.8% 29.5% $7.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $368 in Cha-am. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 2.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $22 in Cha-am for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $233 per month, with Cha-am cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇹🇭 Cha-am

🕒 Local time

21:22 9:22 PM

10:22 10:22 AM

13 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

31,354

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Cha-am 15,870 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Cha-am

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

Mexico City vs Cha-am: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $871 in Cha-am, so Cha-am is about 46% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 2.6 times higher, 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $368 in Cha-am. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,608 per month in Mexico City versus $871 in Cha-am – Cha-am is about 46% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 13% less than in Cha-am. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $871 in Cha-am versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Cha-am but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Cha-am 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.

It comes down to priorities – Cha-am wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.