Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surat Thani and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Surat Thani: $775 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Surat Thani
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Surat Thani Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Surat Thani

🇹🇭 Thailand

$775

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Surat Thani and in Mexico City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $775 in Surat Thani versus $1,548 in Mexico City.

Surat Thani $775
Mexico City $1,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,414 in Surat Thani versus $2,436 in Mexico City.

Surat Thani $1,414
Mexico City $2,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,053 in Surat Thani versus $3,323 in Mexico City.

Surat Thani $2,053
Mexico City $3,323

Living in Surat Thani costs roughly 50% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Surat Thani is 43% below, Mexico City is 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.89 ฿63.0

$11.02 MX$204

-82.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$17.87 ฿597

$48.68 MX$900

-63.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.51 ฿151

$10.90 MX$201

-58.62%

Cappuccino

$1.50 ฿50.2

$3.68 MX$68.1

-59.24%

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

$0.50 ฿16.68

$1.63 MX$30.18

-69.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ฿9.66

$1.25 MX$23.07

-76.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿85.4

$3.25 MX$60.1

-21.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 ฿123

$5.53 MX$102

-33.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.4

$1.70 MX$31.50

-2.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 ฿39.89

$3.02 MX$55.8

-60.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.17 ฿39.13

$1.92 MX$35.53

-39.06%

Eggs

$1.87 ฿62.4

$2.73 MX$50.5

-31.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.18 ฿641

$11.77 MX$218

62.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ฿111

$9.53 MX$176

-65.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.44 ฿249

$14.41 MX$266

-48.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 ฿97.2

$3.02 MX$55.8

-3.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.3

$1.89 MX$35.01

-11.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 ฿58.7

$1.99 MX$36.70

-11.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$2.19 MX$40.38

-6.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.30 ฿43.57

$1.92 MX$35.43

-32.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.90

$1.87 MX$34.49

-26.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 ฿37.24

$1.44 MX$26.62

-22.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.41 ฿13.66

$1.27 MX$23.39

-67.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.07 ฿103

$5.22 MX$96.4

-41.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.86 ฿630

$16.17 MX$299

16.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 ฿51.6

$1.90 MX$35.03

-18.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿60.7

$4.22 MX$78.0

-56.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.02 ฿34.00

$0.34 MX$6.30

200.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.95 ฿700

$19.65 MX$363

6.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ฿39.50

$2.00 MX$36.90

-41.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.63 ฿21.05

$0.52 MX$9.67

21.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.49 ฿117

$5.34 MX$98.7

-34.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.16 ฿38.93

$1.52 MX$28.13

-23.68%

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

$26.6K ฿890.1K

$22.1K MX$408.0K

20.64%

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

$27.3K ฿911.7K

$24.5K MX$452.9K

11.30%

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

$72.9 ฿2,437

$61.1 MX$1,129

19.40%

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

$11.12 ฿372

$28.58 MX$528

-61.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.32 ฿579

$34.47 MX$637

-49.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.24 ฿1,612

$56.4 MX$1,042

-14.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.52 ฿385

$24.88 MX$460

-53.70%

Cinema Ticket

$4.53 ฿151

$6.66 MX$123

-31.98%

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

$549 ฿18.3K

$427 MX$7,891

28.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K ฿386.5K

$11.6K MX$215.0K

-0.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.9 ฿2,070

$67.8 MX$1,253

-8.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.16 ฿974

$52.0 MX$960

-43.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.3 ฿3,252

$106 MX$1,959

-8.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.5 ฿2,892

$113 MX$2,080

-23.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$237 ฿7,910

$1,025 MX$18.9K

-76.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$149 ฿4,985

$654 MX$12.1K

-77.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,150 ฿38.4K

$2,308 MX$42.7K

-50.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$709 ฿23.7K

$1,242 MX$22.9K

-42.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,226 ฿74.4K

$3,613 MX$66.8K

-38.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,404 ฿46.9K

$1,936 MX$35.8K

-27.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.3

-50.71%

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

Last update for Surat Thani: October 19, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Surat Thani

$244 31.5%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 30.3% $74

Accommodation & Living

Surat Thani

$149 19.3%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 339% $505

Clothing & Footwear

Surat Thani

$124 16%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 23.1% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Surat Thani

$101 13.1%

Mexico City

$124 8% 22.5% $23

Eating Out

Surat Thani

$70 9%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 192% $134

Sport & Entertainment

Surat Thani

$57 7.4%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 21.6% $12

Getting Around

Surat Thani

$29 3.8%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 12.7% $3.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $237 in Surat Thani and $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $18.00 in Surat Thani vs $49.00 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $244 vs $318 per month, with Surat Thani cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Surat Thani

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

18:40 6:40 PM

05:40 5:40 AM

13 h behind Surat Thani

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

132,040

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

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).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Surat Thani Mexico City 16,250 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Surat Thani
Mexico City

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

Surat Thani vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Surat Thani and Mexico City differ by about 100% in total monthly costs ($775 vs $1,548 including rent). Surat Thani is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,163 in Surat Thani and $2,322 in Mexico City 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: $237 in Surat Thani versus $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Surat Thani runs roughly 7% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $549 in Surat Thani versus $427 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $775 in Surat Thani versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Surat Thani but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Surat Thani the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Surat Thani and Mexico City 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 Surat Thani gentler on the wallet – expenses run 100% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.