Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Koh Tao and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Koh Tao: $1,045 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Koh Tao
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Koh Tao Living Index
59

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

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Koh Tao

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,045

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,045 in Koh Tao versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Koh Tao $1,045
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,724 in Koh Tao versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Koh Tao $1,724
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,404 in Koh Tao versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Koh Tao $2,404
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Koh Tao costs roughly 13% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Koh Tao 23% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.89 ฿130

$10.86 MX$201

-64.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.00 ฿902

$44.21 MX$817

-38.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.49 ฿250

$11.76 MX$217

-36.31%

Cappuccino

$2.39 ฿79.8

$3.68 MX$68.0

-35.05%

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

$0.76 ฿25.49

$1.34 MX$24.79

-43.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.42 ฿14.04

$0.82 MX$15.24

-48.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.12 ฿71.0

$3.06 MX$56.6

-30.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.23 ฿108

$4.94 MX$91.2

-34.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ฿52.6

$1.47 MX$27.17

6.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 ฿46.03

$2.22 MX$40.95

-37.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.45 ฿48.38

$1.48 MX$27.32

-2.03%

Eggs

$2.08 ฿69.6

$2.49 MX$45.99

-16.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.21 ฿609

$7.52 MX$139

142.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.27 ฿109

$7.96 MX$147

-58.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.34 ฿346

$12.57 MX$232

-17.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 ฿93.5

$2.78 MX$51.3

0.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 ฿52.1

$1.43 MX$26.37

9.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.1

$2.62 MX$48.37

-16.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.4

$2.14 MX$39.49

-4.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.40 ฿46.78

$2.02 MX$37.38

-30.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ฿42.08

$1.99 MX$36.74

-36.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.05 ฿35.10

$1.14 MX$21.01

-7.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.31

$1.20 MX$22.18

-59.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.05 ฿135

$4.26 MX$78.7

-4.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.60 ฿588

$10.02 MX$185

75.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 ฿56.0

$1.54 MX$28.41

9.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 ฿88.0

$2.66 MX$49.17

-1.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.02 ฿67.5

$0.53 MX$9.73

281.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.76 ฿92.2

$4.90 MX$90.6

-43.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ฿32.79

$3.43 MX$63.5

-71.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.37 ฿113

$5.38 MX$99.4

-37.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 ฿42.56

$1.45 MX$26.76

-12.41%

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

$24.6K ฿821.9K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

16.24%

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

$23.8K ฿796.1K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

3.49%

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

$96.6 ฿3,229

$85.4 MX$1,577

13.18%

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

$11.21 ฿375

$23.46 MX$434

-52.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.15 ฿573

$28.43 MX$525

-39.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.6 ฿1,858

$62.2 MX$1,149

-10.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.50 ฿384

$28.68 MX$530

-59.90%

Cinema Ticket

$7.82 ฿261

$5.10 MX$94.3

53.33%

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

$566 ฿18.9K

$201 MX$3,715

181.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K ฿389.6K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

195.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.2 ฿2,112

$44.39 MX$820

42.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.21 ฿943

$41.35 MX$764

-31.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.4 ฿3,222

$72.7 MX$1,344

32.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.8 ฿2,968

$89.6 MX$1,656

-0.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$550 ฿18.4K

$979 MX$18.1K

-43.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$351 ฿11.7K

$373 MX$6,887

-5.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,583 ฿52.9K

$1,681 MX$31.1K

-5.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$893 ฿29.8K

$1,095 MX$20.2K

-18.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,685 ฿89.7K

$3,949 MX$73.0K

-32.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,889 ฿63.1K

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-69.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.45

-51.35%

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

Last update for Koh Tao: October 19, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Koh Tao

$351 33.6%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 6.2% $22

Groceries & Markets

Koh Tao

$254 24.3%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 1.9% $4.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Koh Tao

$125 12%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 9.8% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Koh Tao

$124 11.9%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 10.3% $13

Eating Out

Koh Tao

$104 10%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 92.4% $96

Sport & Entertainment

Koh Tao

$71 6.8%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 1.6% $1.2

Getting Around

Koh Tao

$16 * 1.5%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 228% $36

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 $550 in Koh Tao and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $27.00 in Koh Tao vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $254 vs $258 per month, with Koh Tao cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Koh Tao

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

17:52 5:52 PM

05:52 5:52 AM

12 h behind Koh Tao

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,382

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 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Koh Tao Playa del Carmen 16,520 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Koh Tao
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

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

Koh Tao is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 15% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,567 in Koh Tao and $1,806 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: $550 in Koh Tao versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $566 in Koh Tao versus $201 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 Koh Tao – a meal for two runs $27.00 versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,045 in Koh Tao versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Koh Tao but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Koh Tao the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Koh Tao 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, Koh Tao 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 Koh Tao gentler on the wallet – expenses run 15% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.