Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chaiyaphum and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Chaiyaphum: $915 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Chaiyaphum
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Chaiyaphum Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Chaiyaphum

🇹🇭 Thailand

$915

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chaiyaphum and in Playa del Carmen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $915 in Chaiyaphum versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Chaiyaphum $915
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,550 in Chaiyaphum versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Chaiyaphum $1,550
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,185 in Chaiyaphum versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Chaiyaphum $2,185
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Chaiyaphum costs roughly 24% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Chaiyaphum 32% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.21 ฿40.48

$10.76 MX$199

-88.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.12 ฿1,207

$43.03 MX$795

-16.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.79 ฿227

$11.79 MX$218

-42.41%

Cappuccino

$1.22 ฿40.66

$3.87 MX$71.4

-68.48%

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

$0.50 ฿16.83

$1.37 MX$25.29

-63.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 ฿12.16

$0.84 MX$15.44

-57.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.63 ฿87.9

$3.10 MX$57.3

-15.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 ฿153

$5.07 MX$93.6

-9.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 ฿63.3

$1.44 MX$26.55

31.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.10

$2.23 MX$41.23

-35.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.41 ฿47.13

$1.47 MX$27.17

-4.08%

Eggs

$1.54 ฿51.6

$2.53 MX$46.71

-39.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.53 ฿586

$7.30 MX$135

140.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.69 ฿123

$7.86 MX$145

-53.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.19 ฿441

$12.79 MX$236

3.13%

Apples (1kg)

$3.79 ฿127

$2.90 MX$53.6

30.69%

Banana (1kg)

$0.60 ฿20.08

$1.44 MX$26.53

-58.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 ฿94.1

$2.55 MX$47.07

10.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.89 ฿63.3

$2.06 MX$38.03

-8.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.74 ฿58.0

$2.00 MX$36.97

-13.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 ฿49.52

$2.01 MX$37.07

-26.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 ฿41.49

$1.19 MX$22.02

4.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.52

$1.26 MX$23.23

-75.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.72 ฿158

$4.40 MX$81.4

7.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.90 ฿498

$9.59 MX$177

55.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 ฿61.2

$1.59 MX$29.41

15.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 ฿109

$2.81 MX$51.9

16.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ฿30.95

$0.57 MX$10.47

63.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.06 ฿35.43

$4.98 MX$92.1

-78.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.22 ฿40.91

$3.50 MX$64.6

-65.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.07 ฿203

$5.40 MX$99.8

12.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 ฿35.08

$1.47 MX$27.08

-28.57%

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

$31.7K ฿1.1M

$21.0K MX$387.8K

51.09%

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

$27.6K ฿922.3K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

15.43%

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

$43.17 ฿1,443

$84.2 MX$1,556

-48.74%

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

$11.22 ฿375

$23.99 MX$443

-53.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.99 ฿401

$29.02 MX$536

-58.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.25 ฿1,579

$63.0 MX$1,164

-24.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.22 ฿475

$29.14 MX$539

-51.20%

Cinema Ticket

$7.53 ฿252

$4.94 MX$91.3

52.43%

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

$572 ฿19.1K

$204 MX$3,763

180.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K ฿561.3K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

326.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.4 ฿2,319

$43.60 MX$806

59.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.28 ฿1,413

$43.12 MX$797

-1.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.2 ฿3,181

$75.8 MX$1,400

25.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 ฿3,676

$88.6 MX$1,637

24.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$437 ฿14.6K

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-56.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$301 ฿10.1K

$374 MX$6,911

-19.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,382 ฿46.2K

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-19.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.1K

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-34.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,921 ฿64.2K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-51.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,604 ฿53.6K

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-74.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$445 ฿14.9K

$754 MX$13.9K

-41.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

11.45

-54.15%

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

Last update for Chaiyaphum: October 10, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chaiyaphum

$301 32.9%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 24.3% $73

Groceries & Markets

Chaiyaphum

$261 28.6%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 1.1% $3

Clothing & Footwear

Chaiyaphum

$143 15.6%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 20.8% $30

Eating Out

Chaiyaphum

$70 7.7%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 187% $132

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chaiyaphum

$66 7.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 107% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Chaiyaphum

$62 6.8%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 17% $11

Getting Around

Chaiyaphum

$11 * 1.2%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 383% $42

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 $437 in Chaiyaphum and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 70% 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: $36.00 in Chaiyaphum vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $261 vs $258, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chaiyaphum

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

03:14 3:14 AM

15:14 3:14 PM

12 h behind Chaiyaphum

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

42,436

149,923

💱 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chaiyaphum Playa del Carmen 15,840 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Chaiyaphum
Playa del Carmen

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

Chaiyaphum vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chaiyaphum is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, leisure, and utilities. The 32% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 70% lower in Playa del Carmen. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $437 in Chaiyaphum versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $572 in Chaiyaphum versus $204 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Chaiyaphum – a meal for two runs $36.00 versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $915 in Chaiyaphum versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Chaiyaphum but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Chaiyaphum the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Chaiyaphum and Playa del Carmen 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 Chaiyaphum gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.