Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Fernando, Mexico and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in San Fernando: $1,140 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in San Fernando
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San Fernando Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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San Fernando

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,140

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,140 in San Fernando versus $1,278 in Phuket.

San Fernando $1,140
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,826 in San Fernando versus $2,216 in Phuket.

San Fernando $1,826
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,511 in San Fernando versus $3,154 in Phuket.

San Fernando $2,511
Phuket $3,154

Living in San Fernando costs roughly 11% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: San Fernando 16% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.16 MX$172

$4.47 ฿151

104.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.49 MX$703

$32.41 ฿1,093

15.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.41 MX$158

$8.81 ฿297

-4.54%

Cappuccino

$3.99 MX$74.7

$2.83 ฿95.4

40.99%

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

$1.32 MX$24.71

$0.87 ฿29.40

51.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 MX$18.75

$0.49 ฿16.65

104.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.24 MX$42.02

$2.56 ฿86.3

-12.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 MX$70.1

$3.68 ฿124

1.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 MX$32.36

$1.66 ฿55.9

4.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.78

$1.46 ฿49.29

52.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.52

$1.50 ฿50.5

26.67%

Eggs

$2.56 MX$47.91

$2.09 ฿70.5

22.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.94 MX$130

$19.07 ฿643

-63.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.85 MX$147

$3.30 ฿111

137.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.96 MX$224

$10.91 ฿368

9.62%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 MX$56.4

$2.93 ฿98.8

2.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 MX$32.16

$1.69 ฿57.0

1.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.11 MX$39.49

$2.25 ฿75.7

-6.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 MX$28.77

$2.08 ฿70.0

-25.96%

Potato (1kg)

$2.18 MX$40.87

$1.51 ฿51.0

44.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 MX$34.28

$1.38 ฿46.51

32.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.52

$1.07 ฿35.95

42.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 MX$20.19

$0.52 ฿17.50

107.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 MX$78.8

$4.20 ฿142

0.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.40 MX$176

$18.79 ฿634

-49.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 MX$35.28

$1.82 ฿61.4

3.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 MX$61.3

$2.84 ฿95.8

15.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 MX$13.56

$1.45 ฿48.97

-50.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.05 MX$563

$56.7 ฿1,911

-46.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 MX$47.37

$3.02 ฿102

-16.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.71 MX$32.07

$1.02 ฿34.32

67.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.21 MX$229

$3.69 ฿124

230.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.37

$1.47 ฿49.75

-4.08%

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

$22.8K MX$426.9K

$26.8K ฿903.2K

-14.92%

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

$21.8K MX$409.3K

$26.7K ฿900.3K

-18.18%

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

$61.8 MX$1,157

$96.4 ฿3,250

-35.91%

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

$25.25 MX$473

$11.26 ฿380

124.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.39 MX$495

$16.85 ฿568

56.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.84 MX$578

$67.2 ฿2,268

-54.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.41 MX$383

$10.73 ฿362

90.21%

Cinema Ticket

$5.02 MX$94.1

$7.50 ฿253

-33.07%

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

$218 MX$4,086

$476 ฿16.1K

-54.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,259 MX$79.8K

$11.3K ฿379.9K

-62.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.2 MX$998

$62.4 ฿2,103

-14.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.76 MX$764

$28.41 ฿958

43.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 MX$1,921

$94.3 ฿3,180

8.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.1 MX$1,801

$85.8 ฿2,894

12.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$668 MX$12.5K

$716 ฿24.1K

-6.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$377 MX$7,064

$491 ฿16.6K

-23.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.6K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-48.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$755 MX$14.2K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-47.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,008 MX$37.6K

$4,175 ฿140.8K

-51.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,178 MX$22.1K

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-61.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.31

5.57

103.05%

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

Last update for San Fernando: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Fernando

$377 33.1%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 30.2% $114

Groceries & Markets

San Fernando

$259 22.7%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 2.9% $7.4

Eating Out

San Fernando

$174 15.3%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 30.2% $53

Clothing & Footwear

San Fernando

$132 11.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 7.4% $9.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Fernando

$113 10%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 9.8% $11

Getting Around

San Fernando

$44 3.9%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 60.3% $27

Sport & Entertainment

San Fernando

$41 3.6%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 101% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $668 in San Fernando and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $37 in San Fernando vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $259 vs $266, with San Fernando cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 San Fernando

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

16:58 4:58 PM

05:58 5:58 AM

13 h ahead of San Fernando

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,867

79,308

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 21 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Fernando Phuket 16,980 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

San Fernando
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

San Fernando vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Fernando is about 11% cheaper overall, especially in leisure, transport, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,710 in San Fernando and $1,917 in Phuket to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $668 in San Fernando versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $218 in San Fernando versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though San Fernando gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.