Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Hua Hin

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Hua Hin: $1,204 and $1,227 a month, rent and utilities included.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Hua Hin
Learn more

Hua Hin Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Hua Hin

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,227

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Hua Hin

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,227 in Hua Hin, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Hua Hin $1,227

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,739 in Hua Hin, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Hua Hin $1,739

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,251 in Hua Hin, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Hua Hin $2,251

Playa del Carmen and Hua Hin have comparable living costs – the differences are in the details.

Both Playa del Carmen and Hua Hin are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Hua Hin 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$3.30 ฿111

230.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$21.80 ฿736

98.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$7.20 ฿243

63.61%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.15 ฿72.4

77.21%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.70 ฿23.75

82.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.35 ฿11.74

122.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$2.04 ฿68.9

55.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.89 ฿97.5

70.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.42 ฿48.07

-0.70%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.30 ฿43.96

70.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.26 ฿42.36

12.70%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$1.94 ฿65.6

29.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$12.51 ฿422

-41.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$2.49 ฿83.9

209.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$15.69 ฿530

-19.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.49 ฿118

-20.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.00 ฿33.65

37.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$2.38 ฿80.4

7.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.56 ฿52.8

35.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.97 ฿66.4

-1.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.03 ฿34.74

83.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.82 ฿27.83

40.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.43 ฿14.58

174.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$4.43 ฿149

-2.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$14.26 ฿481

-30.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.65 ฿55.7

-4.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$1.82 ฿61.3

46.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.42 ฿14.30

30.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$58.1 ฿1,960

-54.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$2.43 ฿82.1

104.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$1.51 ฿50.8

120.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$9.03 ฿305

-40.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.40 ฿47.23

2.86%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$16.4K ฿552.5K

26.24%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$26.9K ฿907.3K

-12.71%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$83.3 ฿2,810

1.85%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$9.06 ฿306

158.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$22.80 ฿770

25.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$43.19 ฿1,458

32.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$23.58 ฿796

22.60%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$6.64 ฿224

-22.59%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$708 ฿23.9K

-70.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$10.9K ฿367.5K

-63.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$5.81 ฿196

646.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$35.99 ฿1,215

15.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$71.3 ฿2,407

4.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$53.4 ฿1,801

67.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$608 ฿20.5K

61.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$582 ฿19.6K

-34.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$2,034 ฿68.7K

-16.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$854 ฿28.8K

25.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$1,822 ฿61.5K

116.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,442 ฿48.7K

327.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$464 ฿15.7K

58.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.3

81.75%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for Hua Hin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Hua Hin

$582 47.4% 52.8% $201

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Hua Hin

$235 19.1% 7.9% $20

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Hua Hin

$94 7.7% 53.6% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Hua Hin

$115 9.4% 15.9% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Hua Hin

$75 6.1% 32.9% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Hua Hin

$56 4.6% 16.1% $11

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Hua Hin

$70 5.7% 38.2% $19

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $608 in Hua Hin. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 58% higher in Playa del Carmen. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $22 in Hua Hin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $235 – making Hua Hin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇭 Hua Hin

🕒 Local time

19:22 7:22 PM

07:22 7:22 AM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

50,169

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Hua Hin 16,240 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Hua Hin

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 Hua Hin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,840 in Hua Hin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Hua Hin, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $608 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Interestingly, groceries are about 8% cheaper in Hua Hin – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $708 in Hua Hin. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,227 in Hua Hin, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,204 versus $1,227 in Hua Hin. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.