Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Poipet

For one person, living is cheaper in Poipet: $518 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Poipet
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Poipet Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Poipet

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$518

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $518 in Poipet, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Poipet $518

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $813 in Poipet, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Poipet $813

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,109 in Poipet, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Poipet $1,109

Playa del Carmen costs about 133% more than Poipet, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Poipet are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Poipet 62% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$2.57 ៛10.5K

324.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$810

$20.39 ៛83.1K

112.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$6.11 ៛24.9K

92.80%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.2

$1.67 ៛6,805

128.14%

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

$1.28 MX$23.96

$0.67 ៛2,749

91.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.63

$0.40 ៛1,624

95.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.2

$1.03 ៛4,183

207.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.2

$2.05 ៛8,355

140.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.28

$2.22 ៛9,027

-36.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.43

$1.69 ៛6,867

31.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.48

$0.87 ៛3,540

63.22%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.14

$1.74 ៛7,108

44.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$15.47 ៛63.0K

-53.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$2.84 ៛11.6K

171.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$10.24 ៛41.7K

23.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.0

$4.28 ៛17.5K

-35.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.56

$1.27 ៛5,168

7.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.66

$3.78 ៛15.4K

-32.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.67

$1.05 ៛4,262

101.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.22

$1.28 ៛5,220

51.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.24

$1.12 ៛4,558

68.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.42

$1.36 ៛5,535

-15.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.03

$0.80 ៛3,271

47.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.3

$1.39 ៛5,667

209.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$7.78 ៛31.7K

27.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.59

$0.99 ៛4,035

59.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.91

$2.30 ៛9,379

16.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.34

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$497

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.9

$2.01 ៛8,199

147.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.2

$0.97 ៛3,960

243.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$4.92 ៛20.0K

8.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.98

$1.26 ៛5,119

14.29%

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

$20.7K MX$386.2K

$25.0K ៛101.8M

-17.33%

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

$23.5K MX$438.5K

$22.5K ៛91.9M

4.07%

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

$84.8 MX$1,584

$102 ៛416.1K

-16.98%

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

$23.41 MX$437

$5.73 ៛23.4K

308.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$535

$15.50 ៛63.2K

84.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,066

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$540

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.0

$4.94 ៛20.1K

4.05%

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

$207 MX$3,860

$289 ៛1.2M

-28.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.4K

$4,367 ៛17.8M

-10.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$810

$25.81 ៛105.1K

67.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$774

$13.13 ៛53.5K

215.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,386

$68.6 ៛279.3K

8.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,668

$44.58 ៛181.6K

100.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,116

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

9.2

24.46%

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 Poipet: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Poipet

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Poipet

$236 45.7% 7.2% $18

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Poipet

$73 14% 64.2% $130

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Poipet

$123 23.8% 9.9% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Poipet

$68 13.2% 38.7% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Poipet

$9.9 * 1.9% 85.3% $57

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Poipet

$6.9 * 1.3% 86.4% $44

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $20 in Poipet. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $236 – making Poipet the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇭 Poipet

🕒 Local time

08:05 8:05 AM

20:05 8:05 PM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

98,934

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.45 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.21 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KHR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4,074 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.45 USD). 1 EUR = 4,534 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.21 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Poipet 16,060 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Poipet

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 Poipet: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 133%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $776 in Poipet. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $518 in Poipet. That’s a gap of about 133%.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $289 in Poipet. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Poipet, where all-in costs run around $518, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Poipet 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 $518 in Poipet to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.