Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Samut Prakan Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Samut Prakan

😐 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 32.7% more expensive than Samut Prakan without rent, and 53.2% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 79.9% more expensive than Samut Prakan without rent, and 49.1% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Samut Prakan
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.85 MX$209
$3.00 ฿95.0
295.00%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$42.16 MX$744
$15.39 ฿487
173.94%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.75 MX$190
$7.55 ฿239
42.38%
Cappuccino
$3.47 MX$61.3
$1.36 ฿43.15
155.15%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.45 MX$25.65
$0.58 ฿18.51
150.00%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.90 MX$15.93
$0.30 ฿9.34
200.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.05 MX$53.9
$1.89 ฿59.7
61.38%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.42 MX$77.9
$3.77 ฿119
17.24%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Samut Prakan
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.37 MX$24.17
$1.43 ฿45.27
-4.20%
White Bread (500g)
$1.87 MX$33.05
$0.98 ฿31.16
90.82%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.54 MX$27.25
$1.12 ฿35.33
37.50%
Eggs
$2.50 MX$44.18
$1.80 ฿56.9
38.89%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.61 MX$152
$13.25 ฿419
-35.02%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.63 MX$152
$2.82 ฿89.2
206.03%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.02 MX$195
$10.70 ฿339
2.99%
Apples (1kg)
$2.75 MX$48.53
$1.90 ฿60.2
44.74%
Banana (1kg)
$1.43 MX$25.21
$0.73 ฿23.21
95.89%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.87 MX$33.05
$1.75 ฿55.5
6.86%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.17 MX$38.26
$1.35 ฿42.78
60.74%
Potato (1kg)
$1.88 MX$33.23
$1.69 ฿53.4
11.24%
Onion (1kg)
$2.25 MX$39.65
$1.10 ฿34.93
104.55%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.07 MX$18.85
$0.80 ฿25.35
33.75%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.07 MX$18.95
$0.45 ฿14.39
137.78%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.15 MX$73.3
$4.64 ฿147
-10.56%
Wine (Bottle)
$10.34 MX$182
$12.50 ฿396
-17.28%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.68 MX$29.64
$1.54 ฿48.87
9.09%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.48 MX$43.84
$2.26 ฿71.7
9.73%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Samut Prakan
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.55 MX$9.80
$0.55 ฿17.43
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$26.53 MX$468
$31.37 ฿993
-15.43%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.22 MX$56.8
$1.09 ฿34.62
195.41%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.48 MX$43.80
$0.75 ฿23.83
230.67%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.11 MX$54.9
$5.44 ฿172
-42.83%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.26 MX$22.16
$1.24 ฿39.37
1.61%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$30.7K MX$541.1K
$12.3K ฿389.9K
148.88%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.0K MX$424.3K
$21.4K ฿676.9K
12.39%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Samut Prakan
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$82.5 MX$1,456
$72.8 ฿2,303
13.33%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$22.29 MX$393
$11.20 ฿354
99.02%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$30.02 MX$530
$17.70 ฿560
69.60%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Samut Prakan
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$51.4 MX$908
$45.40 ฿1,437
13.30%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$18.29 MX$323
$12.04 ฿381
51.91%
Cinema Ticket
$4.98 MX$88.0
$6.12 ฿194
-18.63%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Samut Prakan
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$200 MX$3,530
$387 ฿12.3K
-48.36%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,304 MX$93.6K
$6,884 ฿217.9K
-22.94%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Samut Prakan
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$35.71 MX$630
$19.13 ฿606
86.67%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$39.56 MX$698
$33.69 ฿1,066
17.42%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$80.6 MX$1,422
$61.5 ฿1,947
30.91%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$88.3 MX$1,559
$58.2 ฿1,840
51.88%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Samut Prakan
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$969 MX$17.1K
$491 ฿15.5K
97.32%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$482 MX$8,511
$249 ฿7,865
94.05%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,595 MX$28.2K
$797 ฿25.2K
100.17%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,184 MX$20.9K
$839 ฿26.6K
41.08%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,050 MX$71.5K
$2,398 ฿75.9K
68.90%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,522 MX$115.1K
$1,512 ฿47.9K
331.31%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Samut Prakan
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$756 MX$13.4K
$693 ฿21.9K
9.11%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.42
3
280.67%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: March 3, 2026

Last update for Samut Prakan: March 2, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.
Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Similar cities