Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Loei and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Loei: $1,005 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Loei
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Loei Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Loei

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,005

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,005 in Loei versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Loei $1,005
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,612 in Loei versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Loei $1,612
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,220 in Loei versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Loei $2,220
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Loei costs roughly 16% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Loei 26% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.28 ฿111

$10.67 MX$201

-69.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.26 ฿886

$43.80 MX$824

-40.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.02 ฿271

$11.79 MX$222

-31.98%

Cappuccino

$2.15 ฿72.4

$3.79 MX$71.2

-43.27%

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

$0.72 ฿24.40

$1.30 MX$24.41

-44.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 ฿10.75

$0.83 MX$15.69

-61.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.11 ฿71.3

$3.15 MX$59.2

-33.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 ฿98.2

$4.93 MX$92.9

-40.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.93 ฿65.1

$1.41 MX$26.51

36.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.61 ฿54.3

$2.20 MX$41.32

-26.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.49 ฿50.4

$1.47 MX$27.71

1.36%

Eggs

$2.27 ฿76.6

$2.50 MX$46.99

-9.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.80 ฿634

$7.29 MX$137

157.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.28 ฿76.9

$7.95 MX$150

-71.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.98 ฿404

$12.86 MX$242

-6.84%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 ฿101

$2.90 MX$54.5

3.10%

Banana (1kg)

$0.91 ฿30.82

$1.38 MX$26.03

-34.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.21 ฿74.5

$2.49 MX$46.88

-11.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ฿66.7

$2.03 MX$38.20

-2.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 ฿51.1

$2.02 MX$38.11

-24.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ฿42.90

$1.90 MX$35.82

-33.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 ฿33.83

$1.14 MX$21.54

-12.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 ฿15.31

$1.24 MX$23.32

-63.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.80 ฿128

$4.27 MX$80.4

-11.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.74 ฿632

$9.81 MX$185

91.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 ฿55.7

$1.59 MX$29.85

3.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 ฿97.4

$2.75 MX$51.7

5.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 ฿27.47

$0.51 MX$9.69

58.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.35 ฿45.50

$4.76 MX$89.6

-71.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.18 ฿39.69

$3.25 MX$61.1

-63.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.14 ฿140

$5.39 MX$101

-23.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 ฿42.73

$1.53 MX$28.76

-16.99%

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

$29.4K ฿991.2K

$21.2K MX$399.2K

38.53%

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

$27.1K ฿914.0K

$23.3K MX$437.8K

16.48%

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

$92.4 ฿3,117

$83.5 MX$1,571

10.70%

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

$9.86 ฿333

$23.19 MX$436

-57.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.50 ฿590

$27.61 MX$520

-36.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.98 ฿1,686

$56.4 MX$1,062

-11.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.80 ฿465

$28.19 MX$531

-51.05%

Cinema Ticket

$6.29 ฿212

$5.00 MX$94.1

25.80%

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

$697 ฿23.5K

$207 MX$3,897

236.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.3K ฿583.2K

$5,231 MX$98.4K

230.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.3 ฿1,899

$43.45 MX$818

29.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.06 ฿1,048

$42.54 MX$801

-26.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.2 ฿2,605

$72.8 MX$1,369

6.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.7 ฿2,485

$88.4 MX$1,663

-16.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$441 ฿14.9K

$995 MX$18.7K

-55.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$347 ฿11.7K

$382 MX$7,197

-9.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,153 ฿38.9K

$1,674 MX$31.5K

-31.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$784 ฿26.4K

$1,081 MX$20.3K

-27.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,351 ฿79.3K

$3,909 MX$73.6K

-39.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,710 ฿57.7K

$6,138 MX$115.5K

-72.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

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 Loei: November 1, 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

Loei

$347 34.5%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 10.3% $36

Groceries & Markets

Loei

$261 26%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 1.5% $3.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Loei

$120 11.9%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 12.1% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Loei

$107 10.7%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 3.7% $4

Eating Out

Loei

$97 9.6%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 107% $104

Sport & Entertainment

Loei

$63 6.2%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 6.2% $3.9

Getting Around

Loei

$10 * 1%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 381% $40

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 $441 in Loei and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $26 in Loei vs $44 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $261 vs $257, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Loei

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

09:28 9:28 AM

21:28 9:28 PM

12 h behind Loei

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

22,677

149,923

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.75 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.72 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.05 MXN (100 MXN = 4.75 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Loei Playa del Carmen 15,670 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Loei
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,005 in Loei and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, so Loei is about 16% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,507 in Loei 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: $441 in Loei versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $697 in Loei versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $1,005 per month in Loei versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen – Loei is about 16% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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

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.