Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Surat Thani

For one person, living is cheaper in Surat Thani: $775 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Surat Thani
Learn more

Surat Thani Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Surat Thani

🇹🇭 Thailand

$775

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Surat Thani

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 Surat Thani actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $775 in Surat Thani.

Mexico City $1,548
Surat Thani $775

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $1,414 in Surat Thani.

Mexico City $2,436
Surat Thani $1,414

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $2,053 in Surat Thani.

Mexico City $3,323
Surat Thani $2,053

Living in Mexico City is roughly 100% more expensive than in Surat Thani, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 14% above, Surat Thani is 43% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$1.89 ฿63.0

483.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$17.87 ฿597

172.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$4.51 ฿151

141.69%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$1.50 ฿50.2

145.33%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$0.50 ฿16.68

226.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$0.29 ฿9.66

331.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$2.56 ฿85.4

26.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$3.69 ฿123

49.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.66 ฿55.4

2.41%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.19 ฿39.89

153.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$1.17 ฿39.13

64.10%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$1.87 ฿62.4

45.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$19.18 ฿641

-38.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$3.33 ฿111

186.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$7.44 ฿249

93.68%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$2.91 ฿97.2

3.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$1.68 ฿56.3

12.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$1.76 ฿58.7

13.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$2.05 ฿68.4

6.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$1.30 ฿43.57

47.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$1.37 ฿45.90

36.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$1.11 ฿37.24

29.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$0.41 ฿13.66

209.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$3.07 ฿103

70.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$18.86 ฿630

-14.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$1.54 ฿51.6

23.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$1.82 ฿60.7

131.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$1.02 ฿34.00

-66.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

$20.95 ฿700

-6.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$1.18 ฿39.50

69.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$0.63 ฿21.05

-17.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$3.49 ฿117

53.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.16 ฿38.93

31.03%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$26.6K ฿890.1K

-17.11%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$27.3K ฿911.7K

-10.15%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$72.9 ฿2,437

-16.25%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$11.12 ฿372

157.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$17.32 ฿579

99.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$48.24 ฿1,612

16.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

$11.52 ฿385

115.97%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$4.53 ฿151

47.02%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$549 ฿18.3K

-22.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$11.6K ฿386.5K

0.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$61.9 ฿2,070

9.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$29.16 ฿974

78.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$97.3 ฿3,252

8.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$86.5 ฿2,892

30.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$237 ฿7,910

332.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$149 ฿4,985

338.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$1,150 ฿38.4K

100.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$709 ฿23.7K

75.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

$2,226 ฿74.4K

62.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

$1,404 ฿46.9K

37.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

5.57

102.87%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Surat Thani: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Surat Thani

$149 19.3% 77.2% $505

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Surat Thani

$244 31.5% 23.2% $74

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Surat Thani

$70 9% 65.7% $134

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Surat Thani

$124 16% 18.7% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Surat Thani

$101 13.1% 18.3% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Surat Thani

$57 7.4% 17.8% $12

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Surat Thani

$29 3.8% 14.5% $3.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,025 in Mexico City and $237 in Surat Thani. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $18.00 in Surat Thani for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $244 per month, with Surat Thani cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇹🇭 Surat Thani

🕒 Local time

04:28 4:28 AM

17:28 5:28 PM

13 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

132,040

💱 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

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Between locations

Mexico City Surat Thani 16,250 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Surat Thani

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 Surat Thani: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Surat Thani differ by about 100% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $775 including rent). Surat Thani is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,322 in Mexico City and $1,163 in Surat Thani 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: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $237 in Surat Thani. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Surat Thani runs roughly 7% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $549 in Surat Thani. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $775 in Surat Thani versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Surat Thani but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Surat Thani 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 Surat Thani 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 Surat Thani gentler on the wallet – expenses run 100% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.