Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Samut Prakan

For one person, living is cheaper in Samut Prakan: $886 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Samut Prakan
Learn more

Samut Prakan Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Samut Prakan

🇹🇭 Thailand

$886

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Samut Prakan

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 Samut Prakan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $886 in Samut Prakan.

Mexico City $1,548
Samut Prakan $886

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $1,378 in Samut Prakan.

Mexico City $2,436
Samut Prakan $1,378

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $1,869 in Samut Prakan.

Mexico City $3,323
Samut Prakan $1,869

Living in Mexico City is roughly 75% more expensive than in Samut Prakan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 14% above, Samut Prakan is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$3.30 ฿110

233.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$15.12 ฿505

221.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$7.48 ฿250

45.72%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$1.38 ฿46.13

166.67%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$0.52 ฿17.54

213.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$0.26 ฿8.77

380.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$2.02 ฿67.6

60.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$2.92 ฿97.4

89.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.46 ฿48.92

16.44%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$0.98 ฿32.62

208.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$0.88 ฿29.34

118.18%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$1.84 ฿61.5

48.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$12.31 ฿411

-4.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$2.49 ฿83.1

282.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$10.20 ฿341

41.27%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.84 ฿61.5

64.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$0.77 ฿25.67

145.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$1.31 ฿43.68

51.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$1.21 ฿40.59

80.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$1.52 ฿50.7

26.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$0.77 ฿25.78

142.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$0.78 ฿25.99

84.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$0.45 ฿15.01

182.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$4.50 ฿151

16.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$9.10 ฿304

77.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$1.03 ฿34.32

84.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$1.89 ฿63.2

123.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$0.51 ฿16.95

-33.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$1.74 ฿58.1

14.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$1.61 ฿53.7

-67.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$5.85 ฿196

-8.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.07 ฿35.84

42.06%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$12.1K ฿405.1K

82.11%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$24.3K ฿811.4K

0.95%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$83.1 ฿2,776

-26.48%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$9.40 ฿314

204.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$16.35 ฿547

110.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$47.72 ฿1,595

18.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

$15.06 ฿503

65.21%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$6.41 ฿214

3.90%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$148 ฿4,933

189.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$5,950 ฿198.9K

95.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$15.09 ฿504

349.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$35.66 ฿1,192

45.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$70.9 ฿2,369

49.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$120 ฿4,004

-6.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$478 ฿16.0K

114.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$330 ฿11.0K

98.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$1,147 ฿38.3K

101.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$691 ฿23.1K

79.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

$1,726 ฿57.7K

109.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

$1,607 ฿53.7K

20.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

$671 ฿22.4K

43.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

276.67%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Samut Prakan: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Samut Prakan

$330 37.2% 49.6% $325

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Samut Prakan

$182 20.5% 42.8% $136

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Samut Prakan

$84 9.5% 58.6% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Samut Prakan

$109 12.3% 28.6% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Samut Prakan

$109 12.3% 12.3% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Samut Prakan

$61 6.8% 13.1% $9.1

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Samut Prakan

$12 * 1.3% 54% $14

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 $1,025 in Mexico City and $478 in Samut Prakan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 44% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $15.00 in Samut Prakan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $182 per month, with Samut Prakan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇹🇭 Samut Prakan

🕒 Local time

06:43 6:43 AM

19:43 7:43 PM

13 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

50,843

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Samut Prakan 15,750 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Samut Prakan

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 Samut Prakan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Samut Prakan differ by about 75% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $886 including rent). Samut Prakan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 44% higher in Mexico City, 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: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $478 in Samut Prakan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $148 in Samut Prakan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Samut Prakan – a meal for two runs $15.00 versus $49.00 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $886 in Samut Prakan versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Samut Prakan but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Samut Prakan 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, Mexico City and Samut Prakan 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 Samut Prakan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 75% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.