Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Maha Sarakham

For one person, living is cheaper in Maha Sarakham: $925 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Maha Sarakham
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Maha Sarakham Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Maha Sarakham

🇹🇭 Thailand

$925

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Maha Sarakham

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $925 in Maha Sarakham, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Maha Sarakham $925

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,487 in Maha Sarakham, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Maha Sarakham $1,487

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,049 in Maha Sarakham, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Maha Sarakham $2,049

Playa del Carmen costs about 30% more than Maha Sarakham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Maha Sarakham are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Maha Sarakham 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$3.06 ฿103

256.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$24.12 ฿815

79.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$7.57 ฿256

55.61%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$1.93 ฿65.3

97.41%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.66 ฿22.18

93.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.33 ฿11.03

136.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.11 ฿71.4

50.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$2.96 ฿100

66.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.78 ฿60.0

-20.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.47 ฿49.70

51.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.37 ฿46.27

3.65%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.99 ฿67.0

26.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$16.71 ฿564

-56.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$2.69 ฿90.7

186.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$10.30 ฿348

23.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.91 ฿98.2

-4.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.06 ฿35.81

29.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$2.15 ฿72.6

18.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.89 ฿63.7

12.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.52 ฿51.4

27.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.06 ฿35.79

78.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.08 ฿36.38

6.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.53 ฿18.06

122.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$4.36 ฿147

-1.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$17.70 ฿598

-43.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.71 ฿57.9

-7.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$2.89 ฿97.5

-7.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.92 ฿31.12

-40.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.16 ฿39.25

328.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.12 ฿37.90

197.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$6.06 ฿205

-11.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.34 ฿45.41

7.46%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$26.4K ฿892.2K

-21.78%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$26.8K ฿905.1K

-12.44%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$82.2 ฿2,777

3.11%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$11.66 ฿394

100.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$18.97 ฿641

51.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$47.45 ฿1,602

20.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$13.36 ฿451

116.39%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$6.58 ฿222

-21.88%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$581 ฿19.6K

-64.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$10.9K ฿368.8K

-64.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$50.4 ฿1,700

-13.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$29.75 ฿1,005

39.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$77.1 ฿2,605

-3.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$76.1 ฿2,571

17.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$439 ฿14.8K

123.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$298 ฿10.1K

27.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,135 ฿38.3K

50.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$686 ฿23.2K

56.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$1,968 ฿66.5K

100.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,481 ฿50.0K

315.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

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 Maha Sarakham: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Maha Sarakham

$298 32.3% 21.6% $82

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Maha Sarakham

$246 26.7% 3.3% $8.3

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Maha Sarakham

$91 9.8% 55.1% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Maha Sarakham

$113 12.2% 17.5% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Maha Sarakham

$105 11.4% 6% $6.7

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Maha Sarakham

$61 6.6% 10% $6.7

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Maha Sarakham

$10 * 1.1% 79.3% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $439 in Maha Sarakham. 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 $24 in Maha Sarakham. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $246 – making Maha Sarakham the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇭 Maha Sarakham

🕒 Local time

17:20 5:20 PM

05:20 5:20 AM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

46,523

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Maha Sarakham 15,770 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Maha Sarakham

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 Maha Sarakham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $925 in Maha Sarakham – Maha Sarakham comes out roughly 23% 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 $1,387 in Maha Sarakham. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Maha Sarakham, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $439 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $24 in Maha Sarakham. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 3% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Maha Sarakham, where all-in costs run around $925, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Maha Sarakham 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 $925 in Maha Sarakham to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.