Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Sakon Nakhon

For one person, living is cheaper in Sakon Nakhon: $896 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Sakon Nakhon
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Sakon Nakhon Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Sakon Nakhon

🇹🇭 Thailand

$896

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Sakon Nakhon

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $896 in Sakon Nakhon, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Sakon Nakhon $896

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,416 in Sakon Nakhon, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Sakon Nakhon $1,416

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,937 in Sakon Nakhon, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Sakon Nakhon $1,937

Playa del Carmen costs about 34% more than Sakon Nakhon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Sakon Nakhon are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Sakon Nakhon 34% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$1.46 ฿49.20

647.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$805

$14.98 ฿505

189.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$2.89 ฿97.5

307.61%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$70.7

$1.46 ฿49.23

160.96%

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

$1.28 MX$23.81

$0.73 ฿24.55

75.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.54

$0.25 ฿8.38

212.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$58.8

$2.01 ฿67.9

57.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.7

$2.12 ฿71.5

132.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.12

$2.38 ฿80.1

-40.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.17

$1.28 ฿43.15

73.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.32

$1.21 ฿40.73

17.36%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$46.85

$2.10 ฿70.7

20.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$10.51 ฿354

-30.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$2.48 ฿83.7

210.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$10.38 ฿350

22.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.7

$3.11 ฿105

-10.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.41

$1.16 ฿39.24

18.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.37

$2.13 ฿71.9

19.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.43

$1.86 ฿62.8

13.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.00

$1.46 ฿49.20

32.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.02

$1.45 ฿48.72

30.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.29

$0.54 ฿18.25

112.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.89

$0.51 ฿17.10

131.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$79.8

$4.35 ฿147

-1.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$17.49 ฿589

-43.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.41

$1.66 ฿56.0

-4.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.60

$2.76 ฿93.0

-3.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.28

$0.87 ฿29.25

-36.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$494

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.3

$1.46 ฿49.31

240.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$61.9

$1.10 ฿37.19

202.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.5

$5.36 ฿181

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.82

$1.26 ฿42.54

14.29%

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

$20.7K MX$383.8K

$26.3K ฿887.7K

-21.55%

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

$23.5K MX$435.8K

$27.4K ฿921.7K

-14.21%

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

$84.8 MX$1,575

$83.2 ฿2,803

1.94%

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

$23.41 MX$435

$10.13 ฿342

131.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$532

$15.68 ฿528

82.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,059

$48.92 ฿1,649

16.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$537

$12.06 ฿407

139.72%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.4

$3.54 ฿119

45.20%

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

$207 MX$3,836

$660 ฿22.2K

-68.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$72.9K

$11.0K ฿370.3K

-64.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$805

$19.47 ฿656

122.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$770

$6.67 ฿225

521.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,378

$118 ฿3,988

-37.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,657

$74.1 ฿2,497

20.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$410 ฿13.8K

139.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,072

$336 ฿11.3K

13.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.7K

$1,219 ฿41.1K

40.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$752 ฿25.4K

42.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.2K

$2,173 ฿73.2K

81.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.4K

$1,814 ฿61.1K

239.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.6K

$741 ฿25.0K

-0.88%

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 25, 2026

Last update for Sakon Nakhon: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Sakon Nakhon

$336 37.5% 11.7% $45

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Sakon Nakhon

$230 25.6% 9.9% $25

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Sakon Nakhon

$56 6.3% 72.3% $146

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Sakon Nakhon

$109 12.2% 20.4% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Sakon Nakhon

$98 11% 11.9% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Sakon Nakhon

$56 6.3% 16.8% $11

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Sakon Nakhon

$10 * 1.2% 79.3% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $410 in Sakon Nakhon. 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 $15 in Sakon Nakhon. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $230 – making Sakon Nakhon the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇭 Sakon Nakhon

🕒 Local time

03:58 3:58 AM

15:58 3:58 PM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

53,100

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 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 November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.73 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Sakon Nakhon 15,640 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Sakon Nakhon

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 Sakon Nakhon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 34%, 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 $1,343 in Sakon Nakhon. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sakon Nakhon, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $410 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $896 in Sakon Nakhon. That makes Sakon Nakhon about 26% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $660 in Sakon Nakhon. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Sakon Nakhon, where all-in costs run around $896, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Sakon Nakhon 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 $896 in Sakon Nakhon to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.