Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sayulita and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Sayulita: $1,135 a month against $1,294 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Sayulita
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Sayulita Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Sayulita

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,135

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,135 in Sayulita versus $1,294 in Phuket.

Sayulita $1,135
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,806 in Sayulita versus $2,204 in Phuket.

Sayulita $1,806
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,476 in Sayulita versus $3,115 in Phuket.

Sayulita $2,476
Phuket $3,115

Living in Sayulita costs roughly 12% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Sayulita 16% lower, Phuket 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.37 MX$193

$4.39 ฿147

136.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.43 MX$734

$32.31 ฿1,085

22.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.13 MX$151

$8.70 ฿292

-6.55%

Cappuccino

$3.26 MX$60.6

$2.72 ฿91.5

19.85%

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

$1.29 MX$23.98

$0.93 ฿31.25

38.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 MX$17.03

$0.50 ฿16.78

82.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.15 MX$40.01

$2.53 ฿85.0

-15.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.99 MX$74.3

$3.63 ฿122

9.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 MX$26.64

$1.74 ฿58.4

-17.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.63 MX$49.03

$1.45 ฿48.73

81.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 MX$30.35

$1.50 ฿50.5

8.67%

Eggs

$2.34 MX$43.52

$2.17 ฿73.0

7.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.23 MX$153

$19.09 ฿641

-56.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$148

$3.40 ฿114

134.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.64 MX$198

$10.90 ฿366

-2.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 MX$48.64

$2.94 ฿98.8

-11.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 MX$25.99

$1.69 ฿56.8

-17.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.78 MX$33.12

$2.19 ฿73.7

-18.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.69 MX$31.52

$2.12 ฿71.4

-20.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 MX$34.45

$1.46 ฿48.99

26.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.05

$1.37 ฿45.95

41.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 MX$22.68

$1.08 ฿36.14

12.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 MX$18.16

$0.55 ฿18.32

78.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.17 MX$77.5

$4.43 ฿149

-5.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.93 MX$203

$18.25 ฿613

-40.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 MX$29.89

$1.77 ฿59.5

-9.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 MX$53.4

$2.88 ฿96.8

-0.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.66 MX$12.23

$1.45 ฿48.62

-54.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.75 MX$572

$54.9 ฿1,844

-43.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 MX$49.47

$1.51 ฿50.8

76.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.61 MX$29.92

$0.78 ฿26.06

106.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.08 MX$150

$3.84 ฿129

110.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 MX$23.55

$1.49 ฿49.96

-14.77%

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

$21.0K MX$391.2K

$26.9K ฿902.9K

-21.79%

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

$22.0K MX$410.3K

$26.3K ฿884.9K

-16.31%

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

$56.7 MX$1,055

$97.8 ฿3,285

-42.03%

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

$22.35 MX$416

$11.29 ฿379

97.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.37 MX$528

$17.19 ฿577

65.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.51 MX$679

$68.3 ฿2,295

-46.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.17 MX$301

$10.92 ฿367

48.08%

Cinema Ticket

$4.53 MX$84.2

$7.43 ฿250

-39.03%

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

$207 MX$3,861

$530 ฿17.8K

-60.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,622 MX$67.4K

$18.8K ฿630.9K

-80.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 MX$979

$61.7 ฿2,072

-14.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.96 MX$725

$28.25 ฿949

37.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.1 MX$1,715

$96.0 ฿3,225

-4.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.6 MX$1,463

$86.8 ฿2,916

-9.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$513 MX$9,549

$721 ฿24.2K

-28.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$395 MX$7,346

$509 ฿17.1K

-22.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$942 MX$17.5K

$1,950 ฿65.5K

-51.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$762 MX$14.2K

$1,397 ฿46.9K

-45.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,781 MX$33.1K

$4,192 ฿140.8K

-57.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,154 MX$21.5K

$3,298 ฿110.8K

-65.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.48

5.57

106.10%

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

Last update for Sayulita: November 3, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sayulita

$395 34.8%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 28.9% $114

Groceries & Markets

Sayulita

$252 22.2%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 6% $15

Eating Out

Sayulita

$174 15.3%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 31.3% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Sayulita

$118 10.4%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 4% $4.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sayulita

$107 9.5%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 17.6% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Sayulita

$46 4%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 82.6% $38

Getting Around

Sayulita

$44 3.9%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 49.9% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $513 in Sayulita and $721 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $39 in Sayulita vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $252 vs $267, with Sayulita cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Sayulita

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

18:54 6:54 PM

07:54 7:54 AM

13 h ahead of Sayulita

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,000

79,308

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.64 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.59 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.81 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sayulita Phuket 15,890 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Sayulita
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

Sayulita vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sayulita is about 12% 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 $1,703 in Sayulita and $1,940 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: $513 in Sayulita versus $721 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Sayulita versus $530 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 6% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Sayulita gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Sayulita 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, Sayulita and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.