Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Thika

For one person, living is cheaper in Thika: $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 Thika
Learn more

Thika Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Thika

🇰🇪 Kenya

$518

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

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

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Thika $518

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $883 in Thika, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Thika $883

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,248 in Thika, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Thika $1,248

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$3.52 KES 457

210.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$34.12 KES 4,431

27.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$6.31 KES 819

86.69%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$1.97 KES 256

93.40%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.32 KES 41.83

300.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.67 KES 87.2

16.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$1.89 KES 246

67.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$2.10 KES 273

134.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$0.74 KES 96.4

90.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$0.45 KES 58.2

393.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.15 KES 149

23.48%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.37 KES 177

83.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$10.98 KES 1,426

-33.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$6.75 KES 877

14.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$4.01 KES 521

216.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$1.51 KES 196

84.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$0.60 KES 77.5

128.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$0.78 KES 102

226.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.14 KES 148

85.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$0.36 KES 47.22

438.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$0.48 KES 62.7

293.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$0.73 KES 95.0

57.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.37 KES 47.60

218.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$2.80 KES 364

53.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$5.72 KES 743

73.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.77 KES 230

-10.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.95 KES 253

36.92%

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

$1.52 KES 197

226.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.91 KES 118

265.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$2.95 KES 383

81.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.36 KES 177

5.88%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$19.0K KES 2.5M

8.76%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$21.4K KES 2.8M

9.43%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$34.61 KES 4,494

144.99%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$15.36 KES 1,994

52.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$34.47 KES 4,477

-16.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$46.97 KES 6,100

21.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$7.68 KES 997

-33.07%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$53.3 KES 6,921

287.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$3,489 KES 453.1K

12.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$28.59 KES 3,713

51.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$29.22 KES 3,795

41.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$68.7 KES 8,921

8.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$19.35 KES 2,513

361.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$101 KES 13.2K

865.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$56.9 KES 7,384

569.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$268 KES 34.8K

537.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$175 KES 22.7K

515.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$623 KES 80.9K

532.82%

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

14.71

-22.16%

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 Thika: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Thika

$57 11% 85.1% $324

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Thika

$154 29.8% 39.5% $101

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Thika

$88 17.1% 56.3% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Thika

$84 16.3% 38.3% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Thika

$66 12.7% 41.2% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Thika

$62 12% 7.4% $5

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Thika

$6.1 * 1.2% 88% $44

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 $101 in Thika. 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 $34 in Thika. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $154 – making Thika the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇪 Thika

🕒 Local time

16:43 4:43 PM

00:43 12:43 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

83,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, 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).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Thika 13,580 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Thika

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 Thika: 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 $777 in Thika. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Thika, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $101 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $518 in Thika. That makes Thika about 57% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $53 in Thika. 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 Thika, where all-in costs run around $518, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Thika it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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