Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Ciudad del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Ciudad del Carmen: $1,206 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Ciudad del Carmen
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Ciudad del Carmen Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Ciudad del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,206

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Ciudad del Carmen

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 Ciudad del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,206 in Ciudad del Carmen.

Phuket $1,294
Ciudad del Carmen $1,206

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $1,876 in Ciudad del Carmen.

Phuket $2,204
Ciudad del Carmen $1,876

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $2,546 in Ciudad del Carmen.

Phuket $3,115
Ciudad del Carmen $2,546

Living in Phuket is roughly 7% more expensive than in Ciudad del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 4% lower, Ciudad del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

$10.92 MX$205

-59.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,080

$43.18 MX$811

-25.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿291

$8.49 MX$159

2.47%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿91.1

$3.41 MX$64.1

-20.23%

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

$0.93 ฿31.11

$1.32 MX$24.87

-29.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.70

$1.05 MX$19.73

-52.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿84.6

$2.39 MX$44.93

5.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿121

$4.01 MX$75.3

-9.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.2

$1.62 MX$30.37

7.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.51

$2.63 MX$49.34

-44.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.2

$1.68 MX$31.47

-10.71%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.6

$2.47 MX$46.46

-12.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿638

$8.06 MX$151

136.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿114

$8.30 MX$156

-59.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿364

$11.23 MX$211

-2.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.3

$2.66 MX$49.87

10.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.6

$1.51 MX$28.34

11.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.4

$1.90 MX$35.75

15.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿71.0

$1.84 MX$34.53

15.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.77

$2.03 MX$38.10

-28.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.74

$1.82 MX$34.09

-24.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿35.98

$1.40 MX$26.22

-22.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.24

$1.06 MX$19.86

-48.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿148

$4.42 MX$83.1

0.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿610

$10.31 MX$194

77.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.3

$1.73 MX$32.46

2.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.3

$3.19 MX$60.0

-9.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.40

$0.62 MX$11.60

133.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,835

$30.63 MX$575

79.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$2.59 MX$48.69

-41.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿25.94

$1.91 MX$35.85

-59.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿128

$10.56 MX$198

-63.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.74

$1.42 MX$26.75

4.93%

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

$26.9K ฿898.9K

$24.1K MX$452.0K

11.70%

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

$26.3K ฿881.0K

$23.4K MX$439.6K

12.54%

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

$97.8 ฿3,271

$56.0 MX$1,052

74.63%

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

$11.29 ฿378

$22.36 MX$420

-49.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿575

$28.71 MX$539

-40.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,285

$32.39 MX$608

110.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿365

$20.12 MX$378

-45.73%

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿248

$5.03 MX$94.4

47.71%

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

$530 ฿17.7K

$217 MX$4,079

144.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿628.1K

$4,449 MX$83.5K

322.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,062

$53.1 MX$997

16.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿945

$39.89 MX$749

-29.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,210

$98.8 MX$1,856

-2.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,903

$87.9 MX$1,652

-1.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.1K

$589 MX$11.1K

22.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.0K

$441 MX$8,285

15.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.2K

$1,027 MX$19.3K

89.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.7K

$754 MX$14.2K

85.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿140.2K

$1,863 MX$35.0K

125.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.3K

$1,106 MX$20.8K

198.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.31

-50.75%

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

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Ciudad del Carmen: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Ciudad del Carmen

$441 36.6% 13.3% $68

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Ciudad del Carmen

$261 21.7% 2.1% $5.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Ciudad del Carmen

$107 8.9% 15.2% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Ciudad del Carmen

$126 10.4% 2.6% $3.2

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Ciudad del Carmen

$183 15.2% 53.3% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Ciudad del Carmen

$42 3.5% 49% $41

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Ciudad del Carmen

$45 3.8% 31.5% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $589 in Ciudad del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $43 in Ciudad del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $267 vs $261, with Ciudad del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇲🇽 Ciudad del Carmen

🕒 Local time

22:44 10:44 PM

09:44 9:44 AM

13 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

191,238

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 33.44 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.56 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.09 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Ciudad del Carmen 16,860 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Ciudad del Carmen

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 Ciudad del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,294 in Phuket and $1,206 in Ciudad del Carmen, so Ciudad del Carmen is about 7% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,940 in Phuket and $1,809 in Ciudad del Carmen 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: $721 in Phuket versus $589 in Ciudad del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Ciudad del Carmen runs roughly 44% less than in Phuket. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $1,294 per month in Phuket versus $1,206 in Ciudad del Carmen – Ciudad del Carmen is about 7% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Ciudad del Carmen gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.