Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Koh Phi Phi

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,062 in Koh Phi Phi, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
99

Cost of Living Index in Koh Phi Phi
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Koh Phi Phi Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Koh Phi Phi

🇹🇭 Thailand

$2,062

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,062 in Koh Phi Phi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Koh Phi Phi $2,062

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,686 in Koh Phi Phi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Koh Phi Phi $3,686

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $5,310 in Koh Phi Phi, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Koh Phi Phi $5,310

Playa del Carmen is about 42% cheaper than Koh Phi Phi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Koh Phi Phi is 53% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$6.56 ฿221

62.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$48.53 ฿1,632

-9.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$13.05 ฿439

-9.66%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$4.24 ฿143

-10.61%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$1.42 ฿47.62

-8.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.76 ฿25.57

9.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$3.67 ฿124

-14.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$5.70 ฿192

-13.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$2.05 ฿68.9

-31.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.74 ฿58.4

26.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.90 ฿64.0

-22.63%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.47

$2.53 ฿85.2

-1.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$23.28 ฿783

-68.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$3.95 ฿133

101.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$13.40 ฿451

-4.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$3.53 ฿119

-17.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.95 ฿65.4

-29.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.36

$2.68 ฿90.0

-7.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.78

$2.48 ฿83.3

-18.15%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.69

$1.79 ฿60.3

12.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$1.64 ฿55.2

15.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$1.35 ฿45.35

-15.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.06

$0.63 ฿21.06

96.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$5.12 ฿172

-16.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$22.54 ฿758

-56.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$2.21 ฿74.4

-28.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$3.41 ฿115

-19.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$2.03 ฿68.1

-74.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$78.5 ฿2,640

-65.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$2.06 ฿69.2

131.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$1.06 ฿35.68

206.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$5.33 ฿179

1.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$2.06 ฿69.4

-25.73%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$37.4K ฿1.3M

-43.30%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$36.7K ฿1.2M

-36.62%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$107 ฿3,608

-22.20%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$12.35 ฿415

87.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$18.80 ฿632

46.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$79.2 ฿2,663

-28.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$13.05 ฿439

116.02%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$9.00 ฿303

-44.44%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$629 ฿21.2K

-67.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.4K

$22.7K ฿762.0K

-76.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$65.2 ฿2,193

-33.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$30.28 ฿1,018

40.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$100 ฿3,369

-27.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$91.1 ฿3,061

-2.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$1,576 ฿53.0K

-36.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$1,100 ฿37.0K

-65.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$4,325 ฿145.4K

-61.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$3,154 ฿106.0K

-65.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$9,241 ฿310.7K

-57.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$7,228 ฿243.0K

-15.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

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: November 2, 2026

Last update for Koh Phi Phi: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Koh Phi Phi

$1.1K 53.4% 188% $718

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Koh Phi Phi

$322 15.6% 25.2% $65

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Koh Phi Phi

$181 8.8% 9.6% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Koh Phi Phi

$138 6.7% 3.1% $4.2

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Koh Phi Phi

$129 6.3% 16% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Koh Phi Phi

$97 4.7% 46.3% $31

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Koh Phi Phi

$94 4.6% 86.3% $44

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,576 in Koh Phi Phi. 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 $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $49 in Koh Phi Phi. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $322 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇭 Koh Phi Phi

🕒 Local time

08:38 8:38 AM

20:38 8:38 PM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

2,500

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.79 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.86 MXN (100 MXN = 4.79 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.69 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Koh Phi Phi 16,800 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Koh Phi Phi

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 Phi Phi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, $2,062 in Koh Phi Phi – Playa del Carmen comes out roughly 42% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $3,093 in Koh Phi Phi. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $995 there versus $1,576 in Koh Phi Phi.

Public transport costs about 65% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $629 in Koh Phi Phi. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,202, than in Koh Phi Phi at $2,062. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Koh Phi Phi it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

For expats, Playa del Carmen is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 42% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.