Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Hat Yai

For one person, living is cheaper in Hat Yai: $731 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Hat Yai
Learn more

Hat Yai Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Hat Yai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$731

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Hat Yai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $731 in Hat Yai.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Hat Yai $731

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,300 in Hat Yai.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Hat Yai $1,300

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,870 in Hat Yai.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Hat Yai $1,870

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 66% more expensive than in Hat Yai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Hat Yai 46% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$2.90 ฿96.9

271.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$43.67 ฿1,460

-1.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$3.66 ฿122

222.13%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$2.88 ฿96.3

34.38%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.33 ฿44.34

3.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.56 ฿18.60

50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$1.80 ฿60.1

72.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$3.46 ฿116

46.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.45 ฿48.55

-0.69%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.25 ฿41.68

78.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.24 ฿41.28

18.55%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$2.51 ฿83.9

0.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$22.15 ฿740

-67.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$2.24 ฿74.7

250.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$11.19 ฿374

14.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.54 ฿84.8

14.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.38 ฿46.10

4.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.89 ฿63.3

34.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.80 ฿60.3

14.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.46 ฿48.94

36.99%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.03 ฿34.38

95.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.07 ฿35.74

11.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.41 ฿13.57

207.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$4.36 ฿146

0.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$15.03 ฿502

-36.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.77 ฿59.2

-10.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.99 ฿66.4

41.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.57 ฿18.98

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$1.25 ฿41.71

298.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.13 ฿37.78

209.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$4.94 ฿165

9.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.29 ฿43.15

13.95%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$18.9K ฿630.6K

11.22%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$45.1K ฿1.5M

-47.01%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$84.4 ฿2,819

-0.18%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$11.75 ฿393

104.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$9.65 ฿322

200.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$48.45 ฿1,619

29.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$14.10 ฿471

106.67%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$7.19 ฿240

-31.29%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$562 ฿18.8K

-63.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$10.7K ฿357.3K

-63.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$37.54 ฿1,255

16.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$26.26 ฿878

64.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$70.9 ฿2,369

6.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$97.3 ฿3,250

-8.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$270 ฿9,010

273.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$107 ฿3,576

249.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$729 ฿24.4K

134.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$397 ฿13.3K

178.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$1,915 ฿64.0K

105.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$1,584 ฿52.9K

289.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$452 ฿15.1K

66.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.36

80.03%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Hat Yai: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Hat Yai

$107 14.7% 71.4% $267

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Hat Yai

$249 34.1% 3.6% $9.2

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Hat Yai

$92 12.6% 54.4% $110

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Hat Yai

$106 14.5% 22.9% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Hat Yai

$104 14.3% 7.6% $8.6

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Hat Yai

$63 8.6% 13.8% $10

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Hat Yai

$9.2 * 1.3% 82.6% $43

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 $1,008 in Playa del Carmen and $270 in Hat Yai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 67% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $44.00 in Hat Yai. Groceries flip the comparison at $258 vs $249, with Hat Yai cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇭 Hat Yai

🕒 Local time

17:34 5:34 PM

05:34 5:34 AM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

156,802

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 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 October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Hat Yai 16,830 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Hat Yai

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 Hat Yai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hat Yai wins on cost – living expenses run 66% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Hat Yai the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 67% higher in Playa del Carmen, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $270 in Hat Yai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $204 in Playa del Carmen versus $562 in Hat Yai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Hat Yai – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $731 in Hat Yai versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Hat Yai but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Hat Yai the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Hat Yai delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $731 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Hat Yai hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Hat Yai 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 Hat Yai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.