Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Sihanoukville

For one person, living is cheaper in Sihanoukville: $928 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Sihanoukville
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Sihanoukville Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Sihanoukville

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$928

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $928 in Sihanoukville, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Sihanoukville $928

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,395 in Sihanoukville, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Sihanoukville $1,395

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,862 in Sihanoukville, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Sihanoukville $1,862

Playa del Carmen costs about 30% more than Sihanoukville, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Sihanoukville are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Sihanoukville 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$198

$3.94 ៛16.0K

173.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$791

$30.25 ៛122.7K

42.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$217

$7.19 ៛29.2K

63.98%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.1

$2.30 ៛9,344

68.26%

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

$1.37 MX$25.16

$0.78 ៛3,171

75.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.37

$0.42 ៛1,704

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.0

$1.02 ៛4,130

203.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.1

$2.02 ៛8,208

150.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.41

$2.11 ៛8,555

-31.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.02

$1.59 ៛6,463

40.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.04

$0.87 ៛3,513

68.97%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.48

$1.71 ៛6,932

47.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$134

$13.87 ៛56.3K

-47.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$4.10 ៛16.6K

91.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$235

$8.78 ៛35.6K

45.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.3

$3.59 ៛14.6K

-19.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.40

$1.38 ៛5,591

4.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$46.84

$4.25 ៛17.2K

-40.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$37.84

$1.61 ៛6,540

27.95%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.79

$1.35 ៛5,465

48.15%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$36.88

$1.15 ៛4,647

74.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$21.91

$1.19 ៛4,816

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.11

$0.73 ៛2,946

72.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.0

$1.46 ៛5,938

201.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$176

$11.16 ៛45.3K

-14.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.27

$0.90 ៛3,669

76.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.7

$1.65 ៛6,713

70.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.41

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$512

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$91.7

$1.09 ៛4,428

356.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.3

$1.03 ៛4,177

239.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.3

$5.19 ៛21.0K

4.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$26.94

$1.25 ៛5,053

17.60%

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

$21.0K MX$385.9K

$34.3K ៛139.2M

-38.85%

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

$23.9K MX$439.6K

$43.5K ៛176.5M

-45.04%

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

$84.2 MX$1,548

$106 ៛431.0K

-20.75%

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

$23.99 MX$441

$6.46 ៛26.2K

271.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$534

$18.99 ៛77.0K

52.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,158

$72.2 ៛292.7K

-12.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$536

$10.11 ៛41.0K

188.23%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$90.9

$5.09 ៛20.6K

-2.95%

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

$204 MX$3,744

$339 ៛1.4M

-39.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.5K

$5,096 ៛20.7M

-22.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$802

$28.55 ៛115.8K

52.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$793

$20.14 ៛81.7K

114.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,393

$89.5 ៛363.2K

-15.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,629

$20.29 ៛82.3K

336.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.5K

$407 ៛1.6M

147.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,877

$304 ៛1.2M

22.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.4K

$643 ៛2.6M

165.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.3K

$492 ៛2.0M

124.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$113.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.07

41.88%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Sihanoukville: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Sihanoukville

$304 32.8% 18.6% $70

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Sihanoukville

$237 25.6% 8.3% $21

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Sihanoukville

$95 10.2% 53.2% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Sihanoukville

$132 14.2% 4% $5.5

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Sihanoukville

$71 7.7% 36.9% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Sihanoukville

$82 8.9% 13% $9.5

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Sihanoukville

$6.2 * 0.7% 88.1% $46

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $407 in Sihanoukville. 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 $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $30.00 in Sihanoukville. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $237 – making Sihanoukville the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇭 Sihanoukville

🕒 Local time

17:45 5:45 PM

05:45 5:45 AM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

73,036

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.44 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.47 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.2 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 14, 2026: 1 USD = 18.39 MXN (100 MXN = 5.44 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 4,056 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.47 USD). 1 EUR = 4,542 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Sihanoukville 16,350 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Sihanoukville

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 Sihanoukville: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 30%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,392 in Sihanoukville. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sihanoukville, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $928 in Sihanoukville. That's a gap of about 30%.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $339 in Sihanoukville. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Sihanoukville, where all-in costs run around $928, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Sihanoukville it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Sihanoukville – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Sihanoukville. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.