Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Zacapoaxtla

For one person, living is cheaper in Zacapoaxtla: $1,055 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Zacapoaxtla
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Zacapoaxtla Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Zacapoaxtla

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,055

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Zacapoaxtla

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,055 in Zacapoaxtla.

Phuket $1,278
Zacapoaxtla $1,055

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,651 in Zacapoaxtla.

Phuket $2,216
Zacapoaxtla $1,651

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,246 in Zacapoaxtla.

Phuket $3,154
Zacapoaxtla $2,246

Living in Phuket is roughly 21% more expensive than in Zacapoaxtla, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Zacapoaxtla 22% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$4.67 MX$87.0

-4.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$48.73 MX$908

-33.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$5.50 MX$103

60.18%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.5

$1.92 MX$35.71

47.40%

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

$0.87 ฿29.43

$0.95 MX$17.79

-8.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.67

$1.22 MX$22.68

-59.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.4

$1.20 MX$22.39

113.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$2.14 MX$39.86

71.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.25 MX$23.35

32.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.35

$1.12 MX$20.83

30.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.6

$1.06 MX$19.84

41.51%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.65 MX$30.82

26.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿644

$11.41 MX$213

67.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$4.56 MX$85.0

-27.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$4.96 MX$92.5

119.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿99.0

$1.59 MX$29.62

84.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.1

$1.26 MX$23.58

34.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$0.52 MX$9.66

332.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$0.72 MX$13.41

188.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$0.77 MX$14.36

96.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.56

$1.05 MX$19.58

31.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.99

$0.92 MX$17.22

16.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.52

$0.96 MX$17.89

-45.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$4.19 MX$78.1

0.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$13.02 MX$243

44.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.11 MX$20.73

63.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$4.44 MX$82.7

-36.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.03

$0.62 MX$11.62

133.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

$30.07 MX$561

88.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.07 MX$19.85

182.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.36

$0.53 MX$9.90

92.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$5.48 MX$102

-32.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.81

$1.41 MX$26.30

4.26%

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

$26.8K ฿904.3K

$13.8K MX$257.3K

94.01%

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

$26.7K ฿901.3K

$24.3K MX$452.2K

10.03%

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

$96.4 ฿3,254

$43.05 MX$802

123.81%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$26.42 MX$493

-57.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$31.94 MX$595

-47.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,270

$30.23 MX$564

122.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$17.11 MX$319

-37.29%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$6.33 MX$118

18.48%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$439 MX$8,192

8.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.4K

$4,535 MX$84.5K

148.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,106

$68.5 MX$1,276

-8.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$52.9 MX$985

-46.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,184

$106 MX$1,970

-10.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,898

$114 MX$2,134

-25.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$607 MX$11.3K

17.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$437 MX$8,150

12.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.1K

$1,014 MX$18.9K

90.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$752 MX$14.0K

90.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿141.0K

$1,853 MX$34.5K

125.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$1,018 MX$19.0K

198.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

$597 MX$11.1K

-15.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.35

-50.93%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Zacapoaxtla: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Zacapoaxtla

$437 41.4% 10.9% $54

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Zacapoaxtla

$188 17.8% 29.5% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Zacapoaxtla

$101 9.6% 18.5% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Zacapoaxtla

$154 14.6% 26.1% $32

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Zacapoaxtla

$96 9.1% 21.3% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Zacapoaxtla

$43 4.1% 47.8% $39

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Zacapoaxtla

$36 3.4% 48.6% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $607 in Zacapoaxtla. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zacapoaxtla pays 19% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $49 in Zacapoaxtla. Groceries flip the comparison at $266 vs $188, with Zacapoaxtla cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇲🇽 Zacapoaxtla

🕒 Local time

20:56 8:56 PM

07:56 7:56 AM

13 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

8,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Zacapoaxtla 16,470 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Zacapoaxtla

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 Zacapoaxtla: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zacapoaxtla is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and transport. The 21% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 16% lower in Phuket. 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: $716 in Phuket versus $607 in Zacapoaxtla. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $439 in Zacapoaxtla. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Zacapoaxtla is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.