Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Puerto Penasco and Phuket

For one person, living costs are similar in Puerto Penasco and in Phuket: $1,205 and $1,208 a month, rent and utilities included.

58

Cost of Living Index in Puerto Penasco
Learn more

Puerto Penasco Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Puerto Penasco

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,205

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Puerto Penasco and in Phuket

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,205 in Puerto Penasco versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Puerto Penasco $1,205
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,921 in Puerto Penasco versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Puerto Penasco $1,921
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,638 in Puerto Penasco versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Puerto Penasco $2,638
Phuket $2,845

Monthly costs are close between Puerto Penasco and Phuket; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Puerto Penasco 11% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.28 MX$227

$4.40 ฿147

179.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.08 MX$814

$32.26 ฿1,078

36.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.65 MX$160

$8.76 ฿293

-1.26%

Cappuccino

$4.66 MX$86.2

$2.83 ฿94.5

64.66%

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

$1.41 MX$26.04

$0.90 ฿30.14

56.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.09

$0.47 ฿15.56

119.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.50 MX$46.15

$2.55 ฿85.2

-1.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.92 MX$72.5

$3.83 ฿128

2.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 MX$28.93

$1.73 ฿57.7

-9.25%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 MX$55.6

$1.47 ฿49.11

104.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 MX$31.83

$1.51 ฿50.6

13.91%

Eggs

$3.02 MX$55.8

$2.17 ฿72.7

39.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.78 MX$88.4

$19.70 ฿658

-75.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.73 MX$198

$3.34 ฿112

221.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.46 MX$175

$11.16 ฿373

-15.23%

Apples (1kg)

$4.32 MX$79.9

$2.85 ฿95.1

51.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 MX$35.29

$1.70 ฿56.9

12.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.07 MX$56.7

$2.19 ฿73.3

40.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 MX$38.82

$2.05 ฿68.4

2.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.60

$1.45 ฿48.57

33.10%

Onion (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.38 ฿46.16

44.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 MX$27.00

$1.07 ฿35.69

36.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 MX$28.58

$0.51 ฿16.91

203.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.39 MX$81.1

$4.26 ฿142

3.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.62 MX$252

$18.58 ฿621

-26.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 MX$28.84

$1.78 ฿59.7

-12.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.50 MX$27.65

$2.85 ฿95.2

-47.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 MX$11.72

$2.26 ฿75.6

-72.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.10 ฿738

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 MX$39.60

$3.01 ฿101

-28.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.96 MX$54.7

$1.06 ฿35.34

179.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.94 MX$202

$3.86 ฿129

183.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 MX$25.79

$1.45 ฿48.45

-3.45%

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

$20.9K MX$386.8K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

-20.50%

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

$24.4K MX$451.5K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

-9.31%

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

$70.4 MX$1,302

$96.4 ฿3,221

-26.92%

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

$12.65 MX$234

$11.04 ฿369

14.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.57 MX$787

$17.14 ฿573

148.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.27 MX$615

$52.2 ฿1,744

-36.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.79 MX$366

$11.16 ฿373

77.33%

Cinema Ticket

$5.32 MX$98.3

$7.81 ฿261

-31.88%

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

$223 MX$4,112

$556 ฿18.6K

-59.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,550 MX$84.1K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

-60.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.1 MX$1,000

$64.2 ฿2,146

-15.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.03 MX$758

$28.69 ฿959

43.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 MX$1,852

$95.4 ฿3,187

5.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.5 MX$1,673

$88.0 ฿2,940

2.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$527 MX$9,747

$737 ฿24.6K

-28.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$388 MX$7,161

$462 ฿15.5K

-16.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$916 MX$16.9K

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-56.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$757 MX$14.0K

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-36.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,900 MX$35.1K

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-45.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,149 MX$21.2K

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-54.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$583 MX$10.8K

$501 ฿16.7K

16.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.55

5.57

89.41%

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

Last update for Puerto Penasco: October 17, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Puerto Penasco

$388 32.2%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 19.3% $75

Groceries & Markets

Puerto Penasco

$289 24%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 7.1% $21

Eating Out

Puerto Penasco

$210 17.5%

Phuket

$121 10% 42.3% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Puerto Penasco

$129 10.7%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 3.4% $4.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Puerto Penasco

$126 10.4%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 0.9% $1.1

Sport & Entertainment

Puerto Penasco

$44 3.6%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 54.4% $24

Getting Around

Puerto Penasco

$19 * 1.6%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 103% $20

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $527 in Puerto Penasco and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Puerto Penasco pays 16% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44.00 in Puerto Penasco vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $289 vs $269 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Puerto Penasco

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

07:24 7:24 AM

21:24 9:24 PM

14 h ahead of Puerto Penasco

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

56,756

79,308

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Puerto Penasco Phuket 14,490 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Puerto Penasco
Phuket

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

Puerto Penasco vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay runs 16% higher in Puerto Penasco, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $527 in Puerto Penasco versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Puerto Penasco – 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.

Childcare runs $223 in Puerto Penasco versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,205 in Puerto Penasco versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Puerto Penasco but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Puerto Penasco the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Puerto Penasco is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phuket, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Puerto Penasco and Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

It comes down to priorities – Puerto Penasco wins on affordability, Phuket on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.