Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kampong Cham

For one person, living is cheaper in Kampong Cham: $526 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Kampong Cham
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Kampong Cham Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Kampong Cham

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$526

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Kampong Cham

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $526 in Kampong Cham.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Kampong Cham $526

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $824 in Kampong Cham.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kampong Cham $824

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,122 in Kampong Cham.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Kampong Cham $1,122

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 129% more expensive than in Kampong Cham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Kampong Cham 61% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$2.45 ៛9,997

345.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$19.77 ៛80.5K

119.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$8.02 ៛32.7K

46.88%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$1.46 ៛5,931

160.96%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.49 ៛1,988

161.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.39 ៛1,598

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$0.49 ៛1,992

546.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$1.54 ៛6,257

220.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$2.14 ៛8,724

-34.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.73 ៛7,062

28.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$0.89 ៛3,645

59.55%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$1.74 ៛7,088

44.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$15.51 ៛63.2K

-53.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$2.99 ៛12.2K

157.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$10.02 ៛40.8K

26.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$4.37 ៛17.8K

-36.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.27 ៛5,182

7.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$3.71 ៛15.1K

-31.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.10 ៛4,465

92.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.26 ៛5,147

53.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.12 ៛4,581

68.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.31 ៛5,343

-12.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.75 ៛3,056

57.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$1.40 ៛5,699

207.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$7.70 ៛31.4K

29.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.03 ៛4,194

53.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$2.24 ៛9,131

19.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$2.01 ៛8,199

147.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.98 ៛3,981

239.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$4.86 ៛19.8K

10.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.26 ៛5,124

14.29%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$24.9K ៛101.5M

-17.05%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$22.1K ៛90.1M

6.07%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$103 ៛420.8K

-17.92%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$5.79 ៛23.6K

304.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$15.20 ៛61.9K

88.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$10.19 ៛41.5K

459.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$5.12 ៛20.8K

0.39%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$295 ៛1.2M

-30.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$4,485 ៛18.3M

-12.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$25.88 ៛105.4K

67.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$13.46 ៛54.8K

207.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$68.8 ៛280.3K

7.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$44.64 ៛181.9K

99.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

9.2

24.46%

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 Kampong Cham: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Kampong Cham

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Kampong Cham

$236 44.8% 7.4% $19

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Kampong Cham

$70 13.3% 65.3% $132

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Kampong Cham

$124 23.6% 9.2% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Kampong Cham

$69 13.1% 38.5% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Kampong Cham

$20 3.9% 69.7% $47

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kampong Cham

$6.9 * 1.3% 86.3% $44

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $20 in Kampong Cham for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $236 per month, with Kampong Cham cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇭 Kampong Cham

🕒 Local time

21:35 9:35 PM

09:35 9:35 AM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

118,242

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.45 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KHR, 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).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4,074 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.45 USD). 1 EUR = 4,548 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Kampong Cham 16,140 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kampong Cham

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 Kampong Cham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $526 in Kampong Cham, so Kampong Cham is about 56% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $790 in Kampong Cham 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.

Supermarket bills run roughly 8% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $526 in Kampong Cham – Kampong Cham is about 56% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $526 in Kampong Cham versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Kampong Cham but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Kampong Cham 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.