Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Phuket Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Phuket

😐 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 20% more expensive than Phuket without rent, and 1.7% more expensive with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 10.3% cheaper than Phuket without rent, and 6.7% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Phuket
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.99 MX$227
$4.68 ฿151
156.20%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$42.47 MX$803
$46.4 ฿1,502
-8.47%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.47 MX$198
$8.65 ฿280
21.04%
Cappuccino
$3.6 MX$68.2
$3.09 ฿100
16.50%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.44 MX$27.16
$0.73 ฿23.53
97.26%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.89 MX$16.79
$0.37 ฿11.95
140.54%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.09 MX$58.5
$2.39 ฿77.4
29.29%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.58 MX$86.6
$3.62 ฿117
26.52%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Phuket
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.38 MX$26.04
$2.24 ฿72.5
-38.39%
White Bread (500g)
$1.85 MX$34.9
$1.8 ฿58.2
2.78%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.57 MX$29.68
$2.24 ฿72.3
-29.91%
Eggs
$2.55 MX$48.3
$2.23 ฿72.1
14.35%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.61 MX$163
$19.31 ฿625
-55.41%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.54 MX$161
$3.77 ฿122
126.53%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.98 MX$208
$13.05 ฿422
-15.86%
Apples (1kg)
$2.72 MX$51.4
$3.28 ฿106
-17.07%
Banana (1kg)
$1.51 MX$28.57
$1.63 ฿52.6
-7.36%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.88 MX$35.63
$2.4 ฿77.7
-21.67%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.19 MX$41.42
$1.99 ฿64.3
10.05%
Potato (1kg)
$1.87 MX$35.3
$1.53 ฿49.62
22.22%
Onion (1kg)
$2.19 MX$41.37
$1.49 ฿48.11
46.98%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.07 MX$20.23
$1.02 ฿32.87
4.90%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.09 MX$20.64
$0.48 ฿15.61
127.08%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.96 MX$74.9
$4.32 ฿140
-8.33%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.86 MX$167
$21.68 ฿702
-59.13%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.72 MX$32.53
$1.77 ฿57.3
-2.82%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.61 MX$49.37
$2.79 ฿90.4
-6.45%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Phuket
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.52 MX$9.74
$1.35 ฿43.74
-61.48%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$26.59 MX$503
$11.76 ฿380
126.11%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.24 MX$61.2
$3.15 ฿102
2.86%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.38 MX$44.94
$1 ฿32.3
138.00%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.11 MX$58.7
$13.64 ฿442
-77.20%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.31 MX$24.85
$1.3 ฿42.2
0.77%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$30.3K MX$573K
$27.4K ฿885.2K
10.80%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24K MX$453.6K
$33.9K ฿1.1M
-29.23%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Phuket
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$84.2 MX$1,592
$123 ฿3,970
-31.33%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$22.14 MX$419
$13.93 ฿451
58.94%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$30.14 MX$570
$18.24 ฿590
65.24%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Phuket
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$52 MX$983
$60.8 ฿1,966
-14.44%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$18.72 MX$354
$17.11 ฿554
9.41%
Cinema Ticket
$5.07 MX$95.9
$9.07 ฿294
-44.10%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Phuket
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$200 MX$3,787
$694 ฿22.5K
-71.15%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,333 MX$100.8K
$15.9K ฿514.4K
-66.45%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Phuket
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$35.74 MX$676
$57.5 ฿1,861
-37.85%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$39.8 MX$753
$34.51 ฿1,117
15.33%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$79 MX$1,493
$115 ฿3,727
-31.43%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$88.4 MX$1,671
$84.8 ฿2,743
4.25%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Phuket
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$965 MX$18.3K
$611 ฿19.8K
58.00%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$474 MX$8,968
$442 ฿14.3K
7.26%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,653 MX$31.2K
$2,014 ฿65.2K
-17.95%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,202 MX$22.7K
$1,460 ฿47.2K
-17.65%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,081 MX$58.3K
$4,244 ฿137.3K
-27.39%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$7,529 MX$142.3K
$2,886 ฿93.4K
160.86%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Phuket
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$792 MX$15K
$697 ฿22.5K
13.66%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.42
5.33
114.26%

Citycost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 28, 2025

Last update for Phuket: October 29, 2025

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