Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kalasin

For one person, living is cheaper in Kalasin: $932 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Kalasin
Learn more

Kalasin Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Kalasin

🇹🇭 Thailand

$932

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $932 in Kalasin.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Kalasin $932

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,510 in Kalasin.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kalasin $1,510

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,087 in Kalasin.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Kalasin $2,087

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 29% more expensive than in Kalasin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Kalasin 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$4.91 ฿166

122.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$24.81 ฿838

74.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$4.46 ฿151

164.13%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.01 ฿67.9

89.55%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.58 ฿19.67

120.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.30 ฿10.08

160.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.13 ฿72.1

48.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$2.92 ฿98.6

68.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.81 ฿61.0

-22.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.41 ฿47.75

57.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.31 ฿44.24

8.40%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.99 ฿67.2

26.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$16.89 ฿570

-57.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$2.60 ฿87.9

196.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$9.99 ฿337

27.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.86 ฿96.7

-2.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.00 ฿33.88

37.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$2.14 ฿72.3

19.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.96 ฿66.3

8.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.52 ฿51.2

27.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.10 ฿37.30

71.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.11 ฿37.57

3.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.50 ฿16.77

136.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$4.23 ฿143

1.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$17.99 ฿607

-44.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.68 ฿56.9

-5.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$2.88 ฿97.4

-7.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.86 ฿28.98

-36.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.22 ฿41.08

307.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.18 ฿39.83

182.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$5.97 ฿202

-10.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.41 ฿47.73

2.13%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$26.5K ฿895.3K

-22.05%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$27.2K ฿917.5K

-13.63%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$83.4 ฿2,815

1.73%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$11.77 ฿397

98.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$19.31 ฿652

48.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$47.93 ฿1,619

19.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$13.16 ฿444

119.68%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$6.45 ฿218

-20.31%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$575 ฿19.4K

-64.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$11.0K ฿371.9K

-64.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$51.2 ฿1,727

-15.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$29.44 ฿994

40.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$75.3 ฿2,541

-1.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$77.3 ฿2,609

15.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$431 ฿14.5K

127.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$299 ฿10.1K

27.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,160 ฿39.2K

47.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$704 ฿23.8K

52.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$1,970 ฿66.5K

100.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,434 ฿48.4K

329.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.57

105.57%

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 Kalasin: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Kalasin

$299 32.1% 21.5% $82

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Kalasin

$245 26.3% 3.8% $9.7

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Kalasin

$97 10.4% 52.2% $106

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Kalasin

$114 12.3% 16.4% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Kalasin

$105 11.3% 6.1% $6.8

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Kalasin

$61 6.5% 9.6% $6.5

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kalasin

$11 * 1.1% 79.1% $40

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 $980 in Playa del Carmen and $431 in Kalasin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $25 in Kalasin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $245 per month, with Kalasin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇭 Kalasin

🕒 Local time

18:12 6:12 PM

06:12 6:12 AM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

37,653

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Kalasin 15,730 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kalasin

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 Kalasin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kalasin is about 23% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, transport, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $1,398 in Kalasin 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $431 in Kalasin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $575 in Kalasin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Kalasin – a meal for two runs $25 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.