Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Phetchabun

For one person, living is cheaper in Phetchabun: $957 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Phetchabun
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Phetchabun Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Phetchabun

🇹🇭 Thailand

$957

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $957 in Phetchabun, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Phetchabun $957

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,508 in Phetchabun, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Phetchabun $1,508

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,058 in Phetchabun, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Phetchabun $2,058

Playa del Carmen costs about 26% more than Phetchabun, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Phetchabun are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Phetchabun 29% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$1.74 ฿58.3

524.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$23.98 ฿801

84.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$6.54 ฿219

79.82%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$1.18 ฿39.31

211.86%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$0.71 ฿23.88

88.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.21 ฿7.01

290.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.14 ฿71.5

42.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$2.91 ฿97.3

69.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.80 ฿60.1

-18.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.46 ฿48.81

52.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.50 ฿50.1

-1.33%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.05 ฿68.6

21.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$16.61 ฿555

-54.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$2.86 ฿95.6

178.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$11.40 ฿381

10.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$3.16 ฿106

-12.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$0.99 ฿33.12

44.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$2.24 ฿75.0

16.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$2.20 ฿73.4

-2.73%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.36 ฿45.31

48.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.99 ฿33.25

101.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.19 ฿39.70

-4.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.49 ฿16.34

144.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$4.39 ฿147

-2.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$17.94 ฿599

-44.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.67 ฿55.7

-7.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.85 ฿95.3

-6.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.94 ฿31.45

-43.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$1.21 ฿40.45

304.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$1.14 ฿38.06

200.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$5.97 ฿199

-9.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.40 ฿46.87

3.57%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$24.8K ฿830.1K

-14.82%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$25.0K ฿837.1K

-8.10%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$83.7 ฿2,796

2.02%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$11.44 ฿382

105.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$18.78 ฿628

51.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$52.5 ฿1,755

18.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$13.59 ฿454

111.04%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$7.31 ฿244

-30.23%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$536 ฿17.9K

-62.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$11.7K ฿390.2K

-66.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$43.84 ฿1,465

1.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$27.09 ฿905

52.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$75.5 ฿2,522

-3.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$74.1 ฿2,476

20.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$426 ฿14.2K

130.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$345 ฿11.5K

8.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$1,258 ฿42.0K

33.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$724 ฿24.2K

51.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$2,024 ฿67.7K

95.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,349 ฿45.1K

354.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

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 17, 2026

Last update for Phetchabun: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Phetchabun

$345 36.1% 7.4% $28

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Phetchabun

$253 26.5% 1.9% $5

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Phetchabun

$68 7.1% 66.1% $132

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Phetchabun

$114 11.9% 17% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Phetchabun

$99 10.4% 11.1% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Phetchabun

$67 7% 7.3% $5.3

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Phetchabun

$11 * 1.1% 79.4% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $426 in Phetchabun. 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 $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $24.00 in Phetchabun. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $253 – making Phetchabun the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇭 Phetchabun

🕒 Local time

13:01 1:01 PM

01:01 1:01 AM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

23,823

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Phetchabun 15,800 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Phetchabun

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 Phetchabun: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $957 in Phetchabun – roughly 26% apart. 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 $1,436 in Phetchabun. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Phetchabun, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen and $24.00 in Phetchabun. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 2% more in Playa del Carmen, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Phetchabun, where all-in costs run around $957, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Phetchabun 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 $957 in Phetchabun to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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