Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Koh Samui

For one person, living is cheaper in Koh Samui: $1,221 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Koh Samui
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Koh Samui Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Koh Samui

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,221

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Koh Samui

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 Koh Samui actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,608 per month in Mexico City vs $1,221 in Koh Samui, rent included.

Mexico City $1,608
Koh Samui $1,221

A couple spends around $2,549 per month in Mexico City vs $2,093 in Koh Samui, rent included.

Mexico City $2,549
Koh Samui $2,093

A family of three spends $3,490 per month in Mexico City vs $2,965 in Koh Samui, rent included.

Mexico City $3,490
Koh Samui $2,965

Mexico City costs about 32% more than Koh Samui, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Mexico City sits 18% above the global median, while Koh Samui is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$4.31 ฿145

146.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$908

$32.28 ฿1,089

49.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$8.55 ฿289

21.05%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.3

$2.75 ฿92.7

34.18%

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

$1.67 MX$31.29

$0.89 ฿30.00

87.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.76

$0.49 ฿16.55

159.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

$2.56 ฿86.3

24.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.6

$3.61 ฿122

47.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.38

$1.66 ฿55.9

3.61%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.46 ฿49.30

108.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.44

$1.58 ฿53.3

22.78%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.2

$2.16 ฿73.0

33.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$19.29 ฿651

-43.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$3.34 ฿113

176.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$10.86 ฿366

39.32%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.2

$2.94 ฿99.2

3.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.45

$1.60 ฿54.1

21.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.02

$2.29 ฿77.1

-11.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.46

$2.05 ฿69.2

12.68%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.21

$1.45 ฿48.79

40.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.79

$1.37 ฿46.13

31.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.77

$1.12 ฿37.67

32.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.80

$0.55 ฿18.62

130.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.6

$4.26 ฿144

24.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$18.41 ฿621

-12.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.23

$1.82 ฿61.4

8.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.8

$2.85 ฿96.2

49.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$1.53 ฿51.7

-79.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$58.1 ฿1,959

-66.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.50

$3.15 ฿106

-41.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.02

$1.07 ฿36.12

-50.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$4.08 ฿138

29.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.36

$1.53 ฿51.7

-1.31%

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

$21.8K MX$408.4K

$27.5K ฿928.8K

-20.98%

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

$24.0K MX$450.3K

$27.7K ฿936.1K

-13.54%

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

$63.0 MX$1,182

$104 ฿3,492

-39.16%

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

$27.39 MX$514

$11.49 ฿388

138.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$18.05 ฿609

97.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,107

$69.9 ฿2,358

-15.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$11.34 ฿383

108.47%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$8.14 ฿275

-21.38%

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

$432 MX$8,103

$509 ฿17.2K

-15.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.5K

$12.4K ฿416.9K

-7.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,281

$62.9 ฿2,120

8.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$997

$29.10 ฿982

82.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,023

$95.8 ฿3,231

12.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,202

$87.2 ฿2,942

34.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$607 ฿20.5K

83.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$420 ฿14.2K

69.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$1,653 ฿55.8K

56.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$1,221 ฿41.2K

15.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$3,583 ฿120.9K

1.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$2,588 ฿87.3K

-17.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$405 ฿13.7K

133.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

5.57

103.77%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Koh Samui: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Koh Samui

$420 34.4% 40.9% $290

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Koh Samui

$267 21.9% 16.5% $53

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Koh Samui

$119 9.7% 40.3% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Koh Samui

$124 10.1% 20.6% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Koh Samui

$133 10.9% 5.6% $7

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Koh Samui

$86 7.1% 20.1% $14

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Koh Samui

$73 6% 186% $47

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,113 in Mexico City versus $607 in Koh Samui. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Mexico City are about 2.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48 in Mexico City versus $32 in Koh Samui. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $320 vs $267 – making Koh Samui the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇹🇭 Koh Samui

🕒 Local time

16:08 4:08 PM

05:08 5:08 AM

13 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

62,110

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 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 October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Koh Samui 16,180 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Koh Samui

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 Koh Samui: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City, $1,221 in Koh Samui – Koh Samui comes out roughly 24% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,412 per month in Mexico City and $1,832 in Koh Samui. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Koh Samui, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $607 there versus $1,113 in Mexico City.

Groceries cost about 20% more in Mexico City, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48 in Mexico City and $32 in Koh Samui. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,221 in Koh Samui, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Koh Samui costs $1,221 versus $1,608 in Mexico City. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Koh Samui. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Mexico City makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.