Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Lampang

For one person, living is cheaper in Lampang: $849 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Lampang
Learn more

Lampang Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Lampang

🇹🇭 Thailand

$849

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $849 in Lampang, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Lampang $849

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,421 in Lampang, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Lampang $1,421

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,993 in Lampang, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Lampang $1,993

Playa del Carmen costs about 42% more than Lampang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Lampang are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Lampang 37% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$2.09 ฿70.6

410.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$18.56 ฿626

135.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$5.37 ฿181

119.55%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$1.21 ฿40.75

213.22%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$0.38 ฿12.69

242.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$0.33 ฿11.28

151.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$1.51 ฿51.1

108.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$3.76 ฿127

31.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$1.98 ฿66.8

-28.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$1.48 ฿49.97

48.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$1.33 ฿44.89

10.53%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$2.33 ฿78.7

7.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$16.95 ฿572

-56.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$2.78 ฿93.8

185.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$9.12 ฿308

41.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$2.40 ฿81.1

20.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$1.08 ฿36.44

27.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$1.59 ฿53.8

56.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$1.63 ฿55.0

24.54%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$1.28 ฿43.18

57.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$1.08 ฿36.45

75.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$0.71 ฿23.88

60.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$0.55 ฿18.43

125.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$4.15 ฿140

2.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$17.71 ฿597

-44.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$1.56 ฿52.7

1.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$2.81 ฿94.9

-2.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$0.88 ฿29.53

-42.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$1.17 ฿39.42

306.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$0.19 ฿6.51

1610.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$1.75 ฿58.9

208.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$1.01 ฿34.08

51.49%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$20.6K ฿693.7K

3.14%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$26.7K ฿899.5K

-12.76%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$30.08 ฿1,015

177.56%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$11.86 ฿400

95.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$17.58 ฿593

57.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$48.94 ฿1,651

15.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

$11.92 ฿402

136.49%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$5.27 ฿178

-5.12%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$735 ฿24.8K

-71.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$16.5K ฿555.3K

-68.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$53.6 ฿1,808

-18.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$24.87 ฿839

71.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$91.2 ฿3,075

-20.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$72.0 ฿2,430

22.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$442 ฿14.9K

124.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$311 ฿10.5K

22.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$1,186 ฿40.0K

41.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$783 ฿26.4K

38.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

$1,944 ฿65.6K

101.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

$1,585 ฿53.4K

287.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

$590 ฿19.9K

41.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

281.67%

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 Lampang: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Lampang

$311 36.7% 18.6% $71

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Lampang

$239 28.1% 7.3% $19

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Lampang

$65 7.7% 67.4% $135

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Lampang

$60 7% 55.7% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Lampang

$109 12.8% 2.2% $2.4

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Lampang

$59 7% 10.5% $7

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Lampang

$5.6 * 0.7% 88.8% $45

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $442 in Lampang. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 41% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $19 in Lampang. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $239 – making Lampang the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇭 Lampang

🕒 Local time

01:42 1:42 AM

13:42 1:42 PM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

52,124

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.75 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 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 = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.05 MXN (100 MXN = 4.75 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 33.73 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.72 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Lampang 15,630 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Lampang

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 Lampang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 42%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,273 in Lampang. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Lampang, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $442 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen and $19 in Lampang. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 8% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Lampang, where all-in costs run around $849, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Lampang 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 $849 in Lampang to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Lampang. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.