Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Celaya

For one person, living is cheaper in Celaya: $921 a month against $1,207 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Celaya
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Celaya Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Celaya

🇲🇽 Mexico

$921

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Celaya

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Phuket versus $921 in Celaya.

Phuket $1,207
Celaya $921

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,037 in Phuket versus $1,452 in Celaya.

Phuket $2,037
Celaya $1,452

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,867 in Phuket versus $1,982 in Celaya.

Phuket $2,867
Celaya $1,982

Living in Phuket is roughly 31% more expensive than in Celaya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Celaya 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ฿153

$12.49 MX$231

-63.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.48 ฿1,086

$44.05 MX$814

-26.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 ฿286

$7.21 MX$133

18.59%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.0

$3.37 MX$62.3

-19.29%

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

$0.94 ฿31.25

$1.23 MX$22.76

-23.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.39

$1.07 MX$19.84

-54.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿86.6

$2.14 MX$39.49

21.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$3.36 MX$62.1

13.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.44 MX$26.70

20.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ฿47.82

$2.26 MX$41.83

-36.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.0

$1.48 MX$27.29

3.38%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$2.15 MX$39.71

0.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.15 ฿640

$7.93 MX$147

141.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿110

$8.40 MX$155

-60.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.14 ฿372

$11.30 MX$209

-1.42%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ฿98.5

$2.29 MX$42.37

28.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.1

$1.12 MX$20.63

50.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 ฿76.8

$1.54 MX$28.53

49.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ฿71.3

$1.08 MX$19.91

97.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 ฿51.1

$1.56 MX$28.74

-1.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ฿45.55

$1.39 MX$25.67

-2.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.44

$0.98 MX$18.12

14.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$0.80 MX$14.87

-31.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$4.33 MX$80.0

-1.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.19 ฿608

$8.72 MX$161

108.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$1.83 MX$33.89

-4.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$3.40 MX$62.9

-17.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ฿74.1

$0.63 MX$11.61

252.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.06 ฿737

$27.70 MX$512

-20.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 ฿97.3

$1.20 MX$22.14

142.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.79

$1.13 MX$20.95

-10.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 ฿128

$10.77 MX$199

-64.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.85

$1.43 MX$26.33

4.20%

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

$26.7K ฿891.6K

$21.5K MX$398.1K

23.83%

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

$26.7K ฿892.7K

$24.0K MX$444.0K

11.16%

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

$99.4 ฿3,321

$37.60 MX$695

164.28%

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

$11.28 ฿377

$19.37 MX$358

-41.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.36 ฿580

$19.55 MX$361

-11.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.3 ฿1,747

$33.06 MX$611

58.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 ฿362

$27.48 MX$508

-60.52%

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ฿253

$5.13 MX$94.7

47.56%

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

$558 ฿18.7K

$210 MX$3,873

166.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K ฿383.9K

$2,882 MX$53.3K

298.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 ฿2,102

$55.2 MX$1,019

14.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.58 ฿955

$38.02 MX$703

-24.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 ฿3,213

$103 MX$1,897

-6.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ฿2,943

$70.9 MX$1,310

24.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 ฿24.4K

$248 MX$4,588

193.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

$220 MX$4,072

108.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 ฿70.0K

$390 MX$7,208

437.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 ฿40.8K

$283 MX$5,231

331.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,459 ฿115.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,489 ฿83.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$493 ฿16.5K

$817 MX$15.1K

-39.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.2

-50.27%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Last update for Celaya: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Celaya

$220 23.9% 52.1% $240

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$268 22.2%

Celaya

$235 25.6% 12% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$128 10.6%

Celaya

$77 8.3% 40.2% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Celaya

$120 13% 3.2% $4

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10.1%

Celaya

$189 20.5% 55.5% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$67 5.6%

Celaya

$43 4.7% 35.8% $24

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.2%

Celaya

$37 4% 4.7% $1.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Phuket and $248 in Celaya. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Celaya pays 66% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phuket vs $44.00 in Celaya. Groceries flip the comparison at $268 vs $235, with Celaya cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇲🇽 Celaya

🕒 Local time

11:22 11:22 AM

22:22 10:22 PM

13 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

378,143

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Celaya 16,220 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Celaya

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

Phuket vs Celaya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket and Celaya differ by about 31% in total monthly costs ($1,207 vs $921 including rent). Celaya is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 66% lower in Celaya. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $729 in Phuket versus $248 in Celaya. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Celaya – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,207 per month in Phuket versus $921 in Celaya – a 31% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $921 in Celaya versus $1,207 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Celaya but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Celaya 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, Phuket and Celaya 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 Celaya gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.