Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chanthaburi and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Chanthaburi: $980 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Chanthaburi
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Chanthaburi Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Chanthaburi

🇹🇭 Thailand

$980

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chanthaburi 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 Chanthaburi and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $980 in Chanthaburi versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Chanthaburi $980
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,577 in Chanthaburi versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Chanthaburi $1,577
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,174 in Chanthaburi versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Chanthaburi $2,174
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Chanthaburi costs roughly 19% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Chanthaburi 28% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.21 ฿40.53

$10.67 MX$199

-88.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.94 ฿1,274

$43.80 MX$815

-13.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.29 ฿245

$11.79 MX$219

-38.17%

Cappuccino

$1.52 ฿51.1

$3.79 MX$70.5

-59.89%

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

$0.55 ฿18.48

$1.30 MX$24.14

-57.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ฿9.69

$0.83 MX$15.51

-65.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.67 ฿56.1

$3.15 MX$58.6

-46.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 ฿153

$4.93 MX$91.8

-7.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿50.2

$1.41 MX$26.22

5.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.52 ฿51.0

$2.20 MX$40.86

-30.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.91 ฿30.47

$1.47 MX$27.40

-38.10%

Eggs

$2.15 ฿72.2

$2.50 MX$46.46

-14.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.14 ฿576

$7.29 MX$136

135.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.88 ฿130

$7.95 MX$148

-51.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.74 ฿428

$12.86 MX$239

-0.93%

Apples (1kg)

$3.74 ฿126

$2.90 MX$53.9

28.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 ฿57.3

$1.38 MX$25.74

23.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.80 ฿93.9

$2.49 MX$46.35

12.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.90 ฿63.7

$2.03 MX$37.77

-6.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.19 ฿40.05

$2.02 MX$37.68

-41.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 ฿49.98

$1.90 MX$35.42

-21.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 ฿41.34

$1.14 MX$21.30

7.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.48 ฿16.08

$1.24 MX$23.05

-61.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.69 ฿158

$4.27 MX$79.5

9.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.57 ฿490

$9.81 MX$183

48.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 ฿56.8

$1.59 MX$29.51

6.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 ฿111

$2.75 MX$51.1

20.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.84 ฿28.09

$0.51 MX$9.58

64.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$88.7 ฿2,978

$27.39 MX$510

223.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.02 ฿34.20

$4.76 MX$88.6

-78.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ฿35.64

$3.25 MX$60.5

-67.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.86 ฿197

$5.39 MX$100

8.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 ฿39.78

$1.53 MX$28.44

-22.88%

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

$31.7K ฿1.1M

$21.2K MX$394.8K

49.31%

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

$23.3K ฿783.2K

$23.3K MX$432.9K

0.23%

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

$99.2 ฿3,331

$83.5 MX$1,554

18.77%

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

$3.57 ฿120

$23.19 MX$431

-84.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.52 ฿353

$27.61 MX$514

-61.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.62 ฿1,667

$56.4 MX$1,050

-12.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.05 ฿438

$28.19 MX$525

-53.71%

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ฿183

$5.00 MX$93.1

9.20%

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

$816 ฿27.4K

$207 MX$3,854

294.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.5K ฿520.6K

$5,231 MX$97.3K

196.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$7.28 ฿245

$43.45 MX$809

-83.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.11 ฿1,213

$42.54 MX$792

-15.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.0 ฿2,250

$72.8 MX$1,354

-7.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$20.53 ฿690

$88.4 MX$1,645

-76.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$437 ฿14.7K

$995 MX$18.5K

-56.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$315 ฿10.6K

$382 MX$7,116

-17.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,088 ฿36.5K

$1,674 MX$31.2K

-35.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$670 ฿22.5K

$1,081 MX$20.1K

-38.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,184 ฿73.4K

$3,909 MX$72.7K

-44.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,860 ฿62.5K

$6,138 MX$114.2K

-69.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

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 Chanthaburi: November 2, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chanthaburi

$315 32.2%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 21.2% $67

Groceries & Markets

Chanthaburi

$262 26.8%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 1.9% $5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chanthaburi

$113 11.6%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 18.6% $21

Getting Around

Chanthaburi

$98 10%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 48.7% $48

Eating Out

Chanthaburi

$71 7.2%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 184% $130

Sport & Entertainment

Chanthaburi

$61 6.2%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 9.7% $5.9

Clothing & Footwear

Chanthaburi

$59 6%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 88.8% $52

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $437 in Chanthaburi and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $38 in Chanthaburi vs $44 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $262 vs $257, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chanthaburi

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

15:54 3:54 PM

03:54 3:54 AM

12 h behind Chanthaburi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

27,602

149,923

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.98 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 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 November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.59 THB (100 THB = 2.98 USD). 1 EUR = 37.75 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chanthaburi Playa del Carmen 16,190 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Chanthaburi
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $980 in Chanthaburi and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, so Chanthaburi is about 19% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,469 in Chanthaburi and $1,804 in Playa del Carmen 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: $437 in Chanthaburi versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 69% less than in Chanthaburi. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $980 per month in Chanthaburi versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen – Chanthaburi is about 19% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $980 in Chanthaburi versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Chanthaburi but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Chanthaburi 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.