Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ta Khmau

For one person, living is cheaper in Ta Khmau: $511 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 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 Ta Khmau
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Ta Khmau Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Ta Khmau

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$511

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Ta Khmau

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $511 in Ta Khmau, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Ta Khmau $511

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $812 in Ta Khmau, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Ta Khmau $812

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,114 in Ta Khmau, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Ta Khmau $1,114

Playa del Carmen costs about 136% more than Ta Khmau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$2.55 ៛10.4K

328.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$24.28 ៛99.1K

78.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$6.88 ៛28.1K

71.22%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$1.69 ៛6,883

125.44%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.70 ៛2,872

82.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.39 ៛1,598

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$1.02 ៛4,163

210.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$2.02 ៛8,233

144.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$2.24 ៛9,137

-37.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.65 ៛6,734

34.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$0.88 ៛3,594

61.36%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.75 ៛7,129

44.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$14.60 ៛59.6K

-50.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$2.89 ៛11.8K

166.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$9.50 ៛38.8K

33.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$4.28 ៛17.5K

-35.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.23 ៛5,002

11.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$3.69 ៛15.0K

-30.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.09 ៛4,435

94.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.29 ៛5,245

50.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.13 ៛4,593

67.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.30 ៛5,305

-11.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.77 ៛3,159

53.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$1.35 ៛5,493

218.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$8.04 ៛32.8K

23.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$0.96 ៛3,905

64.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.79 ៛7,321

49.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.08 ៛4,397

360.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.03 ៛4,194

223.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$4.94 ៛20.2K

8.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.26 ៛5,138

14.29%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$25.2K ៛102.8M

-17.96%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$22.8K ៛93.0M

2.98%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$99.9 ៛407.9K

-15.16%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$5.71 ៛23.3K

309.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$15.09 ៛61.6K

89.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$4.93 ៛20.1K

4.26%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$293 ៛1.2M

-29.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$4,377 ៛17.9M

-10.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$26.29 ៛107.3K

64.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$13.48 ៛55.0K

207.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$68.5 ៛279.3K

8.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$44.57 ៛181.9K

100.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.94

44.21%

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 Ta Khmau: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Ta Khmau

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Ta Khmau

$230 45.1% 9.7% $25

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Ta Khmau

$75 14.7% 63% $128

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Ta Khmau

$121 23.7% 11.8% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Ta Khmau

$69 13.5% 38.4% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Ta Khmau

$9.9 * 1.9% 85.3% $57

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Ta Khmau

$6.2 * 1.2% 87.7% $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 $24 in Ta Khmau. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $230 – making Ta Khmau the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇭 Ta Khmau

🕒 Local time

15:50 3:50 PM

03:50 3:50 AM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

52,066

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.45 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4,081 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.45 USD). 1 EUR = 4,543 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Ta Khmau 16,210 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ta Khmau

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 Ta Khmau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 136%, 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 $766 in Ta Khmau. 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 $511 in Ta Khmau. That makes Ta Khmau about 58% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $293 in Ta Khmau. 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 Ta Khmau, where all-in costs run around $511, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Ta Khmau 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 $511 in Ta Khmau to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.