Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Chanthaburi

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.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Chanthaburi
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Chanthaburi Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Chanthaburi

🇹🇭 Thailand

$980

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Chanthaburi

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 Chanthaburi actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

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

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Chanthaburi $980

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

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

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

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

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 23% more expensive than in Chanthaburi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$1.21 ฿40.57

781.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$37.94 ฿1,275

15.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$7.29 ฿245

61.73%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$1.52 ฿51.2

149.34%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.55 ฿18.50

136.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.29 ฿9.70

186.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.67 ฿56.1

88.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$4.57 ฿154

7.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.49 ฿50.2

-5.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.52 ฿51.0

44.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$0.91 ฿30.50

61.54%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.47

$2.15 ฿72.3

16.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$17.14 ฿576

-57.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$3.88 ฿131

104.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$12.74 ฿428

0.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$3.74 ฿126

-22.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.71 ฿57.4

-19.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.36

$2.80 ฿94.0

-11.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.78

$1.90 ฿63.8

6.84%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.69

$1.19 ฿40.08

69.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.49 ฿50.0

27.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.23 ฿41.37

-7.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.06

$0.48 ฿16.09

158.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$4.69 ฿158

-8.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$14.57 ฿490

-32.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.69 ฿56.9

-5.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$3.31 ฿111

-16.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.84 ฿28.12

-39.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$88.7 ฿2,981

-69.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$1.02 ฿34.23

366.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$1.06 ฿35.68

206.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$5.86 ฿197

-8.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.18 ฿39.82

29.66%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$31.7K ฿1.1M

-33.02%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$23.3K ฿783.9K

-0.23%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$99.2 ฿3,334

-15.80%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$3.57 ฿120

549.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$10.52 ฿354

162.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$49.62 ฿1,668

13.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$13.05 ฿439

116.02%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$5.46 ฿184

-8.42%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$816 ฿27.4K

-74.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.4K

$15.5K ฿521.1K

-66.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$7.28 ฿245

496.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$36.11 ฿1,214

17.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$67.0 ฿2,252

8.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$20.53 ฿690

330.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$437 ฿14.7K

127.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$315 ฿10.6K

21.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$1,088 ฿36.6K

53.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$670 ฿22.5K

61.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$2,184 ฿73.4K

78.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,860 ฿62.5K

230.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.25

118.10%

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 Chanthaburi: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Chanthaburi

$315 32.2% 17.5% $67

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Chanthaburi

$262 26.8% 2% $5

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Chanthaburi

$71 7.2% 64.7% $130

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Chanthaburi

$113 11.6% 15.7% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Chanthaburi

$59 6% 47% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Chanthaburi

$61 6.2% 8.9% $5.9

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Chanthaburi

$98 10% 94.9% $48

Cost Breakdown

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

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

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇭 Chanthaburi

🕒 Local time

04:16 4:16 AM

16:16 4:16 PM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

27,602

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

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).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.78 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Playa del Carmen
Chanthaburi

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 Chanthaburi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $1,469 in Chanthaburi 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: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $437 in Chanthaburi. 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 $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $980 in Chanthaburi – 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.