Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Phuket

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Phuket: $1,204 and $1,208 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Phuket $2,845

Monthly costs are close between Playa del Carmen and Phuket; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$4.40 ฿147

146.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$32.26 ฿1,078

37.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$8.76 ฿293

34.25%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$2.83 ฿94.5

30.04%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$0.90 ฿30.14

48.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.47 ฿15.56

74.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.55 ฿85.2

20.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$3.83 ฿128

28.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.73 ฿57.7

-15.03%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.47 ฿49.11

51.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.51 ฿50.6

-1.99%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$2.17 ฿72.7

14.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$19.70 ฿658

-61.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$3.34 ฿112

138.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$11.16 ฿373

12.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$2.85 ฿95.1

-2.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.70 ฿56.9

-15.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$2.19 ฿73.3

19.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$2.05 ฿68.4

4.39%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.45 ฿48.57

39.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.38 ฿46.16

44.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.07 ฿35.69

6.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.51 ฿16.91

135.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$4.26 ฿142

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$18.58 ฿621

-46.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.78 ฿59.7

-13.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.85 ฿95.2

-6.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$2.26 ฿75.6

-76.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$22.10 ฿738

24.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$3.01 ฿101

62.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$1.06 ฿35.34

223.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$3.86 ฿129

39.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.45 ฿48.45

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$26.3K ฿879.9K

-19.64%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$26.9K ฿900.4K

-14.57%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$96.4 ฿3,221

-11.43%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$11.04 ฿369

112.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$17.14 ฿573

65.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$52.2 ฿1,744

19.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$11.16 ฿373

156.99%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$7.81 ฿261

-34.70%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$556 ฿18.6K

-63.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$11.6K ฿387.0K

-65.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$64.2 ฿2,146

-30.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$28.69 ฿959

44.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$95.4 ฿3,187

-23.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$88.0 ฿2,940

1.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$737 ฿24.6K

32.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$462 ฿15.5K

-19.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$2,095 ฿70.0K

-19.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$1,201 ฿40.1K

-8.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$3,488 ฿116.6K

13.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$2,523 ฿84.3K

143.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$501 ฿16.7K

47.30%

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 Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 24% $90

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 4% $10

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Phuket

$121 10% 39.4% $79

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 9.2% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 11.3% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 6.4% $4.6

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 23.7% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 47% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $258 vs $269, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

07:52 7:52 AM

19:52 7:52 PM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

79,308

💱 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 21, 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 21, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Phuket 16,790 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Phuket

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 Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay runs 47% higher in Playa del Carmen, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $201 in Playa del Carmen versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $32.00 in Phuket. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,208 in Phuket, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Phuket. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Playa del Carmen is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phuket, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Phuket on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.