Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Koh Chang

For one person, living is cheaper in Koh Chang: $1,021 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Koh Chang
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Koh Chang Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Koh Chang

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,021

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Koh Chang

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,021 in Koh Chang, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Koh Chang $1,021

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,720 in Koh Chang, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Koh Chang $1,720

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,418 in Koh Chang, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Koh Chang $2,418

Playa del Carmen costs about 18% more than Koh Chang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Koh Chang are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Koh Chang 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$3.47 ฿117

214.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$26.30 ฿888

64.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$7.04 ฿238

67.33%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.18 ฿73.5

74.77%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.75 ฿25.33

70.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.37 ฿12.35

110.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$2.00 ฿67.7

58.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$3.00 ฿101

64.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.48 ฿50.0

-4.73%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.25 ฿42.31

77.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.37 ฿46.39

3.65%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$1.89 ฿63.7

33.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$17.29 ฿584

-58.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$3.05 ฿103

152.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$10.19 ฿344

24.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.68 ฿90.6

3.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.53 ฿51.7

-10.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.95 ฿65.9

30.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.85 ฿62.4

14.59%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.29 ฿43.65

50.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.24 ฿41.72

52.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.01 ฿34.04

13.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.49 ฿16.67

140.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$3.77 ฿127

14.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$16.75 ฿565

-40.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.56 ฿52.7

1.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$2.46 ฿83.0

8.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$1.21 ฿40.91

-54.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$38.34 ฿1,294

-30.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$2.43 ฿81.9

104.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.85 ฿28.77

291.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$2.93 ฿98.9

82.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.14 ฿38.48

26.32%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$21.7K ฿733.1K

-4.86%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$20.9K ฿707.0K

12.02%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$94.6 ฿3,191

-10.33%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$10.67 ฿360

119.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$16.02 ฿541

78.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$58.0 ฿1,957

-1.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$9.00 ฿304

221.22%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$6.49 ฿219

-20.80%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$422 ฿14.3K

-51.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$10.2K ฿343.5K

-61.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$60.3 ฿2,036

-28.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$26.66 ฿900

55.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$89.3 ฿3,015

-16.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$81.5 ฿2,751

9.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$469 ฿15.8K

109.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$327 ฿11.0K

16.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,292 ฿43.6K

32.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$917 ฿31.0K

17.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$2,704 ฿91.2K

45.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,904 ฿64.3K

223.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

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 Koh Chang: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Koh Chang

$327 32% 14.1% $54

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Koh Chang

$240 23.5% 5.7% $14

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Koh Chang

$95 9.4% 52.8% $107

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Koh Chang

$121 11.9% 11.4% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Koh Chang

$116 11.4% 3.9% $4.3

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Koh Chang

$71 7% 5.4% $3.7

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Koh Chang

$50 4.9% 1.1% $0.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $469 in Koh Chang. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $26 in Koh Chang. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $240 – making Koh Chang the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇭 Koh Chang

🕒 Local time

05:42 5:42 AM

17:42 5:42 PM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

8,500

💱 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 = 2.66 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 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 = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Koh Chang 16,240 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Koh Chang

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 Koh Chang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $1,021 in Koh Chang – Koh Chang comes out roughly 15% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,531 in Koh Chang. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Koh Chang, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $469 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Groceries cost about 6% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $26 in Koh Chang. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,021 in Koh Chang, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,021 in Koh Chang to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.