Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kampong Thom

For one person, living is cheaper in Kampong Thom: $627 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Kampong Thom
Learn more

Kampong Thom Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Kampong Thom

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$627

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $627 in Kampong Thom, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Kampong Thom $627

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,019 in Kampong Thom, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kampong Thom $1,019

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,410 in Kampong Thom, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Kampong Thom $1,410

Playa del Carmen costs about 92% more than Kampong Thom, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Kampong Thom are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Kampong Thom 54% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$4.44 ៛18.1K

145.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$810

$40.53 ៛165.1K

7.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$6.84 ៛27.9K

72.22%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.2

$2.82 ៛11.5K

35.11%

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

$1.28 MX$23.96

$1.71 ៛6,965

-25.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.63

$0.61 ៛2,485

27.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.2

$0.99 ៛4,014

220.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.2

$3.05 ៛12.4K

61.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.28

$2.18 ៛8,898

-35.32%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.43

$1.66 ៛6,756

33.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.48

$1.08 ៛4,393

31.48%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.14

$1.80 ៛7,318

40.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$14.53 ៛59.2K

-50.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$4.53 ៛18.5K

69.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$9.46 ៛38.5K

34.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.0

$4.20 ៛17.1K

-33.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.56

$1.70 ៛6,907

-19.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.66

$4.65 ៛18.9K

-45.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.67

$1.99 ៛8,098

6.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.22

$1.79 ៛7,296

8.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.24

$1.22 ៛4,985

54.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.42

$1.32 ៛5,383

-12.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.03

$0.77 ៛3,120

53.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.3

$1.86 ៛7,569

131.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$11.17 ៛45.5K

-10.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.59

$1.00 ៛4,085

58.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.91

$1.72 ៛7,001

55.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.34

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$497

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.9

$1.09 ៛4,453

355.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.2

$0.97 ៛3,963

243.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$4.91 ៛20.0K

9.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.98

$1.37 ៛5,597

5.11%

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

$20.7K MX$386.2K

$35.7K ៛145.3M

-42.07%

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

$23.5K MX$438.5K

$43.8K ៛178.6M

-46.48%

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

$84.8 MX$1,584

$119 ៛486.8K

-29.03%

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

$23.41 MX$437

$7.48 ៛30.5K

212.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$535

$25.05 ៛102.1K

14.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,066

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$540

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.0

$4.97 ៛20.3K

3.42%

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

$207 MX$3,860

$597 ៛2.4M

-65.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.4K

$10.9K ៛44.5M

-64.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$810

$27.52 ៛112.1K

57.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$774

$23.75 ៛96.7K

74.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,386

$91.7 ៛373.8K

-19.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,668

$60.0 ៛244.5K

48.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,116

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.94

44.21%

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 Thom: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Kampong Thom

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Kampong Thom

$257 41.1% 1% $2.6

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Kampong Thom

$110 17.6% 45.5% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Kampong Thom

$152 24.3% 11.1% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Kampong Thom

$91 14.6% 18.2% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Kampong Thom

$10 * 1.6% 85.2% $57

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kampong Thom

$6 * 1% 88.2% $44

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $41 in Kampong Thom. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $257 in Kampong Thom – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇭 Kampong Thom

🕒 Local time

06:19 6:19 AM

18:19 6:19 PM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

19,951

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.45 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.21 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4,074 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.45 USD). 1 EUR = 4,534 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.21 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Kampong Thom 16,080 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kampong Thom

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 Thom: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 92%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $940 in Kampong Thom. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $41 in Kampong Thom. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $597 in Kampong Thom. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Kampong Thom, where all-in costs run around $627, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Kampong Thom it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $627 in Kampong Thom to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.