Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Puerto Vallarta and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,602 in Puerto Vallarta, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Puerto Vallarta
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Puerto Vallarta Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Puerto Vallarta

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,602

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Puerto Vallarta 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 Vallarta and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,602 in Puerto Vallarta versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Puerto Vallarta $1,602
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,430 in Puerto Vallarta versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Puerto Vallarta $2,430
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,259 in Puerto Vallarta versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Puerto Vallarta $3,259
Phuket $2,867

Living in Puerto Vallarta is roughly 33% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Puerto Vallarta is 19% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.62 MX$252

$4.58 ฿153

197.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.3 MX$1,076

$32.48 ฿1,086

79.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.17 MX$206

$8.55 ฿286

30.64%

Cappuccino

$4.23 MX$78.2

$2.72 ฿91.0

55.51%

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

$1.86 MX$34.43

$0.94 ฿31.25

97.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 MX$25.59

$0.49 ฿16.39

181.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.93 MX$54.1

$2.59 ฿86.6

13.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.24 MX$78.3

$3.83 ฿128

10.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 MX$33.17

$1.74 ฿58.1

2.87%

White Bread (500g)

$3.51 MX$64.9

$1.43 ฿47.82

145.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.53 ฿51.0

30.72%

Eggs

$2.20 MX$40.72

$2.17 ฿72.7

1.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.04 MX$185

$19.15 ฿640

-47.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.99 MX$203

$3.30 ฿110

233.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.33 MX$302

$11.14 ฿372

46.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 MX$54.2

$2.95 ฿98.5

-0.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 MX$27.99

$1.68 ฿56.1

-10.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.88

$2.30 ฿76.8

-15.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 MX$39.43

$2.13 ฿71.3

Potato (1kg)

$2.40 MX$44.26

$1.53 ฿51.1

56.86%

Onion (1kg)

$3.17 MX$58.5

$1.36 ฿45.55

133.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.39 MX$25.73

$1.12 ฿37.44

24.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 MX$20.97

$0.55 ฿18.24

105.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$79.5

$4.26 ฿142

0.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.13 MX$206

$18.19 ฿608

-38.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.87 MX$34.64

$1.74 ฿58.2

7.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 MX$47.63

$2.79 ฿93.3

-7.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.62 MX$11.54

$2.22 ฿74.1

-72.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.79 MX$403

$22.06 ฿737

-1.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.78 MX$88.4

$2.91 ฿97.3

64.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.08 MX$56.9

$1.01 ฿33.79

204.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.26 MX$78.8

$3.83 ฿128

11.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 MX$28.63

$1.49 ฿49.85

4.03%

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

$21.5K MX$396.7K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

-19.54%

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

$24.0K MX$443.2K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

-10.21%

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

$85.7 MX$1,583

$99.4 ฿3,321

-13.78%

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

$25.48 MX$471

$11.28 ฿377

125.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.81 MX$588

$17.36 ฿580

83.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.74 MX$679

$52.3 ฿1,747

-29.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.96 MX$276

$10.85 ฿362

37.88%

Cinema Ticket

$8.74 MX$161

$7.57 ฿253

15.46%

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

$335 MX$6,187

$558 ฿18.7K

-40.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,188 MX$114.3K

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-46.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.6 MX$1,008

$62.9 ฿2,102

-13.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.55 MX$638

$28.58 ฿955

20.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 MX$1,893

$96.1 ฿3,213

6.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.0 MX$1,755

$88.1 ฿2,943

7.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,311 MX$24.2K

$729 ฿24.4K

79.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$687 MX$12.7K

$460 ฿15.4K

49.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,068 MX$38.2K

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-1.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,105 MX$20.4K

$1,222 ฿40.8K

-9.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,117 MX$94.6K

$3,459 ฿115.6K

47.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,541 MX$47.0K

$2,489 ฿83.2K

2.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$910 MX$16.8K

$493 ฿16.5K

84.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.7

5.57

110.05%

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

Last update for Puerto Vallarta: October 10, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Puerto Vallarta

$687 42.9%

Phuket

$460 38.1% 33% $227

Groceries & Markets

Puerto Vallarta

$316 19.7%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 15.2% $48

Eating Out

Puerto Vallarta

$229 14.3%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 47.1% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Puerto Vallarta

$143 8.9%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 10.5% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Puerto Vallarta

$129 8.1%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 3.8% $4.9

Sport & Entertainment

Puerto Vallarta

$54 3.4%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 24.3% $13

Getting Around

Puerto Vallarta

$44 2.8%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 12.5% $5.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,311 in Puerto Vallarta and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Puerto Vallarta pays 84% 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: $58.0 in Puerto Vallarta vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $316 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Puerto Vallarta

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:34 5:34 PM

06:34 6:34 AM

13 h ahead of Puerto Vallarta

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

224,166

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 17, 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 17, 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

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Between locations

Puerto Vallarta Phuket 15,930 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 33% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 84% higher in Puerto Vallarta, 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: $1,311 in Puerto Vallarta versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $335 in Puerto Vallarta versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Puerto Vallarta. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,602 in Puerto Vallarta, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Puerto Vallarta. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Puerto Vallarta 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.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Puerto Vallarta. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.