Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Mexico City

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 Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,548 in Mexico City.

Phuket $1,208
Mexico City $1,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $2,436 in Mexico City.

Phuket $2,027
Mexico City $2,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $3,323 in Mexico City.

Phuket $2,845
Mexico City $3,323

Living in Phuket costs roughly 22% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 11% below, Mexico City is 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$11.02 MX$204

-60.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$48.68 MX$900

-33.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$10.90 MX$201

-19.63%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$3.68 MX$68.1

-23.10%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$1.63 MX$30.18

-44.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$1.25 MX$23.07

-62.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$3.25 MX$60.1

-21.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$5.53 MX$102

-30.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.70 MX$31.50

1.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$3.02 MX$55.8

-51.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$1.92 MX$35.53

-21.35%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.7

$2.73 MX$50.5

-20.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.70 ฿658

$11.77 MX$218

67.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ฿112

$9.53 MX$176

-64.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$14.41 MX$266

-22.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$3.02 MX$55.8

-5.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.89 MX$35.01

-10.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$1.99 MX$36.70

10.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$2.19 MX$40.38

-6.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$1.92 MX$35.43

-24.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$1.87 MX$34.49

-26.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$1.44 MX$26.62

-25.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$1.27 MX$23.39

-59.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$5.22 MX$96.4

-18.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$16.17 MX$299

14.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$1.90 MX$35.03

-6.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$4.22 MX$78.0

-32.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$0.34 MX$6.30

564.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$19.65 MX$363

12.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$2.00 MX$36.90

50.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$0.52 MX$9.67

103.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$5.34 MX$98.7

-27.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.52 MX$28.13

-4.61%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$22.1K MX$408.0K

19.26%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$24.5K MX$452.9K

9.93%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$61.1 MX$1,129

57.82%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$28.58 MX$528

-61.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$34.47 MX$637

-50.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$56.4 MX$1,042

-7.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$24.88 MX$460

-55.14%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$6.66 MX$123

17.27%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$427 MX$7,891

30.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$11.6K MX$215.0K

-0.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$67.8 MX$1,253

-5.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$52.0 MX$960

-44.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$106 MX$1,959

-10.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$113 MX$2,080

-21.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$1,025 MX$18.9K

-28.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$654 MX$12.1K

-29.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$2,308 MX$42.7K

-9.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$1,242 MX$22.9K

-3.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$3,613 MX$66.8K

-3.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$1,936 MX$35.8K

30.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$964 MX$17.8K

-48.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.3

-50.71%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 41.5% $192

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 18.4% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Mexico City

$124 8% 0.4% $0.4

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 22.5% $28

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 68.1% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 2.8% $1.9

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 35% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 93% 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: $32.00 in Phuket vs $49.00 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $318 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

21:20 9:20 PM

08:20 8:20 AM

13 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

9,209,944 Capital

💱 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 21, 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 21, 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 Mexico City 16,420 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Mexico City

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 Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket and Mexico City differ by about 28% in total monthly costs ($1,208 vs $1,548 including rent). Phuket is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 93% lower in Mexico City. 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: $737 in Phuket versus $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Phuket runs roughly 12% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $427 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket 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 Mexico City 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 Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.