Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Can Tho

For one person, living is cheaper in Can Tho: $724 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Can Tho
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Can Tho Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Can Tho

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$724

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Can Tho

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $724 in Can Tho, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Can Tho $724

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,227 in Can Tho, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Can Tho $1,227

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,729 in Can Tho, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Can Tho $1,729

Playa del Carmen costs about 66% more than Can Tho, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Can Tho are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Can Tho 46% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$1.40 ₫36.0K

662.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$23.71 ₫610.8K

84.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$3.78 ₫97.5K

211.90%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$1.51 ₫39.0K

150.99%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$0.53 ₫13.6K

145.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$0.29 ₫7,591

186.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$1.07 ₫27.6K

194.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$1.13 ₫29.1K

336.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$1.32 ₫34.0K

6.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$1.18 ₫30.3K

86.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$0.80 ₫20.7K

83.75%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$1.42 ₫36.6K

76.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$12.18 ₫313.7K

-40.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$3.57 ₫92.0K

122.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$9.94 ₫256.0K

29.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$3.14 ₫81.0K

-7.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$1.28 ₫33.1K

7.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$1.38 ₫35.4K

80.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$0.80 ₫20.7K

153.75%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$0.75 ₫19.4K

169.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$0.94 ₫24.2K

102.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$0.80 ₫20.5K

42.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$0.56 ₫14.4K

121.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$1.22 ₫31.4K

250.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$7.67 ₫197.7K

27.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$0.95 ₫24.5K

67.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$1.42 ₫36.5K

93.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$0.31 ₫7,882

64.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

$6.30 ₫162.3K

334.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$0.46 ₫11.8K

934.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$0.59 ₫15.2K

450.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$3.04 ₫78.4K

77.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$0.91 ₫23.6K

68.13%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$31.0K ₫799.0M

-31.60%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$28.9K ₫745.6M

-19.62%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$49.32 ₫1.3M

69.28%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$3.89 ₫100.3K

496.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$9.61 ₫247.6K

187.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$20.23 ₫521.3K

178.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

$7.59 ₫195.5K

271.41%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$3.36 ₫86.5K

48.81%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$190 ₫4.9M

8.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$7,044 ₫181.4M

-25.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$19.50 ₫502.4K

122.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$19.70 ₫507.6K

115.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$92.5 ₫2.4M

-21.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$94.4 ₫2.4M

-6.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$432 ₫11.1M

130.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$282 ₫7.3M

35.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$659 ₫17.0M

154.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$697 ₫18.0M

55.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

$2,427 ₫62.5M

61.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

$1,355 ₫34.9M

352.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

$161 ₫4.1M

418.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.64

32.52%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Can Tho: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Can Tho

$282 39% 26.2% $100

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Can Tho

$188 26% 27% $69

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Can Tho

$52 7.1% 74.2% $149

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Can Tho

$63 8.7% 53.2% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Can Tho

$102 14.1% 8.5% $9.5

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Can Tho

$27 3.7% 59.4% $39

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Can Tho

$11 1.5% 78.3% $40

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $432 in Can Tho. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 5.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $24 in Can Tho. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $188 – making Can Tho the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇻🇳 Can Tho

🕒 Local time

10:49 10:49 AM

22:49 10:49 PM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,258,900

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.88 USD

100,000 VND = 3.46 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.1 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 25,761 VND (100,000 VND = 3.88 USD). 1 EUR = 28,880 VND (100,000 VND = 3.46 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Can Tho 16,330 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Can Tho

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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 66%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,086 in Can Tho. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Can Tho, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $432 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Groceries cost about 37% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen and $24 in Can Tho. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Can Tho, where all-in costs run around $724, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Can Tho it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Can Tho – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Can Tho. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.