Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Morelia

For one person, living costs are similar in Phuket and in Morelia: $1,208 and $1,151 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Morelia
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Morelia Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Morelia

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,151

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Morelia

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,151 in Morelia.

Phuket $1,208
Morelia $1,151

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Phuket versus $1,859 in Morelia.

Phuket $2,027
Morelia $1,859

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Phuket versus $2,566 in Morelia.

Phuket $2,845
Morelia $2,566

Living in Phuket is roughly 5% more expensive than in Morelia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 11% lower, Morelia 15% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ฿147

$6.87 MX$127

-35.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.26 ฿1,078

$38.64 MX$714

-16.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ฿293

$6.09 MX$112

43.84%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿94.5

$3.51 MX$64.9

-19.37%

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

$0.90 ฿30.14

$1.22 MX$22.60

-26.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ฿15.56

$1.14 MX$21.14

-58.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 ฿85.2

$2.79 MX$51.6

-8.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 ฿128

$3.69 MX$68.1

3.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 ฿57.7

$1.69 MX$31.16

2.37%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ฿49.11

$3.04 MX$56.2

-51.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 ฿50.6

$1.95 MX$36.03

-22.56%

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

$9.71 MX$179

-65.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ฿373

$14.52 MX$268

-23.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ฿95.1

$3.00 MX$55.4

-5.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.9

$1.61 MX$29.73

5.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$1.97 MX$36.49

11.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$2.30 MX$42.59

-10.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.57

$2.03 MX$37.46

-28.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.16

$1.79 MX$33.04

-22.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.69

$1.45 MX$26.72

-26.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿16.91

$1.32 MX$24.37

-61.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 ฿142

$3.78 MX$69.9

12.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.58 ฿621

$14.74 MX$272

26.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ฿59.7

$1.87 MX$34.60

-4.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.2

$3.52 MX$65.1

-19.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ฿75.6

$0.59 MX$10.88

283.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

$24.29 MX$449

-9.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.01 ฿101

$1.38 MX$25.45

118.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.34

$0.52 MX$9.52

103.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ฿129

$5.55 MX$103

-30.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.45

$1.48 MX$27.37

-2.03%

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

$26.3K ฿879.9K

$21.8K MX$403.5K

20.58%

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

$26.9K ฿900.4K

$23.4K MX$433.1K

14.97%

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

$96.4 ฿3,221

$60.0 MX$1,109

60.61%

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

$11.04 ฿369

$28.39 MX$525

-61.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 ฿573

$33.68 MX$622

-49.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.2 ฿1,744

$50.8 MX$938

2.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.16 ฿373

$27.11 MX$501

-58.83%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 ฿261

$4.42 MX$81.7

76.70%

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

$556 ฿18.6K

$213 MX$3,937

160.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿387.0K

$2,841 MX$52.5K

307.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.2 ฿2,146

$55.4 MX$1,024

15.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 ฿959

$37.34 MX$690

-23.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.4 ฿3,187

$106 MX$1,964

-10.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 ฿2,940

$93.2 MX$1,722

-5.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ฿24.6K

$337 MX$6,236

118.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$462 ฿15.5K

$347 MX$6,406

33.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,095 ฿70.0K

$928 MX$17.1K

125.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 ฿40.1K

$714 MX$13.2K

68.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,488 ฿116.6K

$1,654 MX$30.6K

110.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,523 ฿84.3K

$653 MX$12.1K

286.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 ฿16.7K

$660 MX$12.2K

-24.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

10.53

-47.10%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Last update for Morelia: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$462 38.3%

Morelia

$347 30.1% 25% $116

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$269 22.2%

Morelia

$315 27.3% 17.1% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$125 10.3%

Morelia

$122 10.6% 2% $2.5

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$124 10.3%

Morelia

$131 11.4% 5.8% $7.2

Eating Out

Phuket

$121 10%

Morelia

$146 12.7% 20.5% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$68 5.6%

Morelia

$60 5.2% 12.1% $8.2

Getting Around

Phuket

$39 3.3%

Morelia

$31 2.7% 22.4% $8.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $737 in Phuket and $337 in Morelia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Morelia pays 32% 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 $39.00 in Morelia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $315 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇲🇽 Morelia

🕒 Local time

21:53 9:53 PM

08:53 8:53 AM

13 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

743,275

💱 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 22, 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 22, 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 Morelia 16,270 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Morelia

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 Morelia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket and Morelia differ by about 5% in total monthly costs ($1,208 vs $1,151 including rent). Morelia is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 32% lower in Morelia. 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 $337 in Morelia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Morelia runs roughly 10% less than in Phuket. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $556 in Phuket versus $213 in Morelia. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,151 in Morelia versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Morelia but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Morelia 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 Morelia 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 Morelia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Phuket. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.