Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Phan Thiet

For one person, living is cheaper in Phan Thiet: $658 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 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
32

Cost of Living Index in Phan Thiet
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Phan Thiet Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Phan Thiet

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$658

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Phan Thiet

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $658 in Phan Thiet, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Phan Thiet $658

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,085 in Phan Thiet, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Phan Thiet $1,085

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,512 in Phan Thiet, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Phan Thiet $1,512

Playa del Carmen costs about 83% more than Phan Thiet, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Phan Thiet are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Phan Thiet 52% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$2.63 ₫68.0K

315.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$23.07 ₫596.4K

87.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$4.60 ₫118.8K

156.09%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$0.61 ₫15.7K

524.59%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$0.40 ₫10.3K

220.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$0.21 ₫5,419

271.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$0.61 ₫15.7K

419.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$1.22 ₫31.6K

304.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$1.34 ₫34.6K

5.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$0.37 ₫9,630

500.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$0.96 ₫24.8K

47.92%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$1.13 ₫29.2K

123.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$12.32 ₫318.4K

-41.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$3.14 ₫81.2K

145.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$8.35 ₫215.9K

51.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$1.95 ₫50.4K

42.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$0.80 ₫20.7K

71.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$1.08 ₫27.9K

136.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$1.24 ₫32.1K

70.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$0.81 ₫21.0K

139.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$0.72 ₫18.7K

162.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$0.60 ₫15.4K

91.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$0.55 ₫14.2K

114.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$1.57 ₫40.7K

173.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$9.75 ₫252.1K

2.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$0.41 ₫10.5K

285.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$1.53 ₫39.6K

74.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.29 ₫7,368

89.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$6.35 ₫164.3K

319.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.59 ₫15.3K

742.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.60 ₫15.4K

455.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$2.17 ₫56.2K

147.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$0.92 ₫23.7K

56.52%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$31.1K ₫803.4M

-33.50%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$28.2K ₫728.1M

-16.68%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$43.05 ₫1.1M

96.96%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$6.41 ₫165.8K

265.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$9.43 ₫243.8K

203.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$20.55 ₫531.2K

177.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$7.78 ₫201.1K

271.59%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$1.88 ₫48.6K

173.40%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$213 ₫5.5M

-2.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$3,840 ₫99.3M

2.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$22.83 ₫590.1K

89.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$23.47 ₫606.6K

76.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$38.53 ₫996.2K

92.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$59.1 ₫1.5M

50.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$479 ₫12.4M

104.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$284 ₫7.3M

34.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$810 ₫20.9M

110.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$629 ₫16.3M

70.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$2,217 ₫57.3M

77.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$1,316 ₫34.0M

367.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.28

38.29%

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 Phan Thiet: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Phan Thiet

$284 43.1% 25.5% $97

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Phan Thiet

$166 25.2% 35% $89

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Phan Thiet

$50 7.6% 75.3% $152

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Phan Thiet

$59 9% 57% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Phan Thiet

$65 9.8% 42% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Phan Thiet

$24 3.7% 63.9% $43

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Phan Thiet

$11 1.7% 78.1% $39

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $479 in Phan Thiet. 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 $23 in Phan Thiet. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $166 – making Phan Thiet the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇻🇳 Phan Thiet

🕒 Local time

23:03 11:03 PM

11:03 11:03 AM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

255,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.87 USD

100,000 VND = 3.47 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 25,852 VND (100,000 VND = 3.87 USD). 1 EUR = 28,779 VND (100,000 VND = 3.47 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Phan Thiet 16,130 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Phan Thiet

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 Phan Thiet: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $658 in Phan Thiet – Phan Thiet comes out roughly 45% 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 $987 in Phan Thiet. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Phan Thiet, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $479 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $213 in Phan Thiet. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 54% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Phan Thiet, where all-in costs run around $658, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Phan Thiet 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 $658 in Phan Thiet to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

For expats, Phan Thiet is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 45% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.