Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Lopburi

For one person, living is cheaper in Lopburi: $782 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Lopburi
Learn more

Lopburi Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Lopburi

🇹🇭 Thailand

$782

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $782 in Lopburi.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Lopburi $782

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,317 in Lopburi.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Lopburi $1,317

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,853 in Lopburi.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Lopburi $1,853

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 54% more expensive than in Lopburi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Lopburi 42% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$1.31 ฿44.34

714.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$12.02 ฿405

264.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$4.39 ฿148

168.56%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$1.17 ฿39.63

223.93%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.75 ฿25.14

73.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.31 ฿10.55

167.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$2.12 ฿71.5

48.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$3.01 ฿101

63.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.20 ฿40.53

17.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.34 ฿45.06

64.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.28 ฿43.07

14.84%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$1.83 ฿61.6

36.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$12.38 ฿418

-41.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$2.51 ฿84.8

216.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$10.79 ฿364

19.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.31 ฿44.35

121.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$0.93 ฿31.32

48.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$1.22 ฿41.14

104.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$1.57 ฿52.9

29.30%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$1.75 ฿58.9

15.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.93 ฿31.21

104.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.82 ฿27.55

39.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.45 ฿15.18

175.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$4.55 ฿154

-6.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$14.31 ฿483

-31.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.68 ฿56.5

-5.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.79 ฿60.3

53.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.94 ฿31.60

-45.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$1.21 ฿40.72

293.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$1.59 ฿53.6

104.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$4.98 ฿168

8.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.51 ฿51.1

1.32%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$16.2K ฿545.6K

31.19%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$27.2K ฿917.0K

-14.40%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$83.1 ฿2,804

0.47%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$9.01 ฿304

157.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$8.94 ฿302

208.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$44.92 ฿1,515

25.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$12.33 ฿416

128.63%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$6.38 ฿215

-21.63%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$716 ฿24.1K

-71.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$6,000 ฿202.4K

-12.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$5.96 ฿201

629.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$35.45 ฿1,196

20.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$71.9 ฿2,425

1.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$54.0 ฿1,823

63.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$389 ฿13.1K

155.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$275 ฿9,281

39.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$1,238 ฿41.8K

35.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$800 ฿27.0K

35.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$1,982 ฿66.9K

97.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$1,880 ฿63.4K

226.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.3

81.75%

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 Lopburi: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Lopburi

$275 35.2% 28.1% $107

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Lopburi

$201 25.7% 21.9% $56

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Lopburi

$59 7.5% 70.7% $142

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Lopburi

$101 12.9% 24.7% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Lopburi

$75 9.6% 32.3% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Lopburi

$58 7.4% 13.2% $8.8

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Lopburi

$13 * 1.7% 74.4% $38

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $389 in Lopburi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $12 in Lopburi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $201 per month, with Lopburi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇭 Lopburi

🕒 Local time

16:15 4:15 PM

04:15 4:15 AM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

26,500

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.73 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Lopburi 15,990 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Lopburi

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 Lopburi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lopburi is about 35% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $1,173 in Lopburi 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $389 in Lopburi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $716 in Lopburi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Lopburi – a meal for two runs $12 versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $782 in Lopburi versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Lopburi but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Lopburi 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.