Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Cha-am Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Cha-am

😐 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 59.3% more expensive than Cha-am without rent, and 35.2% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 57.6% more expensive than Cha-am without rent, and 60.7% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.85 MX$205

$3.12 ฿98.1

279.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.16 MX$730

$21.19 ฿666

98.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.75 MX$186

$8.69 ฿273

23.71%

Cappuccino

$3.47 MX$60.2

$2.10 ฿66.1

65.24%

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

$1.45 MX$25.17

$0.64 ฿20.27

126.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 MX$15.64

$0.45 ฿14.00

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 MX$52.9

$2.42 ฿76.2

26.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 MX$76.5

$3.60 ฿113

22.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 MX$23.72

$1.74 ฿54.7

-21.26%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 MX$32.43

$1.36 ฿42.82

37.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 MX$26.74

$1.33 ฿41.72

15.79%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$43.36

$1.92 ฿60.4

30.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.61 MX$149

$13.44 ฿422

-35.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.63 MX$150

$3.40 ฿107

153.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.02 MX$191

$10.81 ฿340

1.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 MX$47.62

$3.05 ฿95.9

-9.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$24.73

$1.33 ฿41.93

7.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 MX$32.44

$1.82 ฿57.2

2.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 MX$37.54

$1.50 ฿47.14

44.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.88 MX$32.61

$1.62 ฿51.1

16.05%

Onion (1kg)

$2.25 MX$38.91

$1.22 ฿38.48

84.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MX$18.49

$1.25 ฿39.20

-14.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 MX$18.59

$0.46 ฿14.36

132.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.15 MX$72.0

$4.60 ฿145

-9.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.34 MX$179

$15.98 ฿502

-35.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 MX$29.08

$1.81 ฿56.9

-7.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 MX$43.02

$3.48 ฿109

-28.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$9.61

$0.90 ฿28.24

-38.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.53 MX$459

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.22 MX$55.7

$1.06 ฿33.22

203.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.48 MX$42.98

$0.72 ฿22.54

244.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 MX$53.9

$3.36 ฿106

-7.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 MX$21.75

$1.29 ฿40.69

-2.33%

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

$30.7K MX$531.0K

$19.9K ฿627.1K

53.72%

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

$24.0K MX$416.4K

$21.3K ฿668.8K

13.00%

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

$82.5 MX$1,429

$73.4 ฿2,308

12.34%

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

$22.29 MX$386

$13.19 ฿415

68.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.02 MX$520

$18.32 ฿576

63.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 MX$891

$24.44 ฿768

110.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.29 MX$317

$12.32 ฿387

48.46%

Cinema Ticket

$4.98 MX$86.3

$7.74 ฿243

-35.66%

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

$200 MX$3,464

$136 ฿4,271

47.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,304 MX$91.9K

$9,160 ฿288.0K

-42.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.71 MX$618

$29.47 ฿926

21.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.56 MX$685

$19.75 ฿621

100.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.6 MX$1,395

$62.1 ฿1,953

29.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.3 MX$1,530

$43.85 ฿1,379

101.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$969 MX$16.8K

$455 ฿14.3K

113.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$482 MX$8,352

$372 ฿11.7K

29.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,595 MX$27.6K

$762 ฿24.0K

109.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 MX$20.5K

$679 ฿21.4K

74.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$70.1K

$2,318 ฿72.9K

74.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,522 MX$113.0K

$1,683 ฿52.9K

287.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$756 MX$13.1K

$380 ฿11.9K

99.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

5.45

109.54%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: March 3, 2026

Last update for Cha-am: March 2, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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