Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Poipet and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Poipet: $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.

25

Cost of Living Index in Poipet
Learn more

Poipet Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Poipet

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$518

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Poipet and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

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

Poipet $518
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $813 per month in Poipet vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Poipet $813
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $1,109 per month in Poipet vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Poipet $1,109
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Poipet is about 57% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.57 ៛10.5K

$10.92 MX$203

-76.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$20.39 ៛83.1K

$43.37 MX$807

-52.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.11 ៛24.9K

$11.78 MX$219

-48.13%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ៛6,812

$3.81 MX$70.9

-56.17%

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

$0.67 ៛2,752

$1.28 MX$23.87

-47.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 ៛1,625

$0.78 MX$14.57

-48.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.03 ៛4,187

$3.17 MX$59.0

-67.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 ៛8,363

$4.93 MX$91.9

-58.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.22 ៛9,036

$1.41 MX$26.18

57.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.69 ៛6,874

$2.22 MX$41.27

-23.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.87 ៛3,543

$1.42 MX$26.38

-38.73%

Eggs

$1.74 ៛7,115

$2.52 MX$46.96

-30.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.47 ៛63.1K

$7.26 MX$135

113.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.84 ៛11.6K

$7.70 MX$143

-63.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.24 ៛41.8K

$12.69 MX$236

-19.31%

Apples (1kg)

$4.28 ៛17.5K

$2.78 MX$51.8

53.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.27 ៛5,173

$1.37 MX$25.47

-7.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.78 ៛15.4K

$2.55 MX$47.49

48.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.05 ៛4,266

$2.12 MX$39.52

-50.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ៛5,225

$1.94 MX$36.08

-34.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 ៛4,563

$1.89 MX$35.11

-40.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 ៛5,541

$1.15 MX$21.34

18.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 ៛3,274

$1.18 MX$21.95

-32.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.39 ៛5,672

$4.30 MX$80.0

-67.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 ៛31.7K

$9.95 MX$185

-21.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 ៛4,039

$1.58 MX$29.48

-37.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 ៛9,388

$2.67 MX$49.72

-13.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.30

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$495

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.01 ៛8,207

$4.97 MX$92.5

-59.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.97 ៛3,963

$3.33 MX$62.0

-70.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.92 ៛20.1K

$5.36 MX$99.7

-8.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 ៛5,125

$1.44 MX$26.88

-12.50%

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

$25.0K ៛101.9M

$20.7K MX$384.7K

20.96%

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

$22.5K ៛92.0M

$23.5K MX$436.8K

-3.91%

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

$102 ៛416.5K

$84.8 MX$1,578

20.45%

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

$5.73 ៛23.4K

$23.41 MX$436

-75.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.50 ៛63.2K

$28.66 MX$533

-45.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,062

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$538

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 ៛20.1K

$5.14 MX$95.7

-3.89%

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

$289 ៛1.2M

$207 MX$3,845

39.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,367 ៛17.8M

$3,927 MX$73.1K

11.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$25.81 ៛105.2K

$43.35 MX$807

-40.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$13.13 ៛53.6K

$41.44 MX$771

-68.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.6 ៛279.6K

$74.2 MX$1,381

-7.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$44.58 ៛181.8K

$89.3 MX$1,661

-50.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,089

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$73.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.2

11.45

-19.65%

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

Last update for Poipet: October 24, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Poipet

$236 45.7%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 7.7% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Poipet

$123 23.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 10.9% $13

Eating Out

Poipet

$73 14%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 179% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Poipet

$68 13.2%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 63.2% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Poipet

$9.9 * 1.9%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 581% $57

Getting Around

Poipet

$6.9 * 1.3%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 634% $44

Accommodation & Living

Poipet

- * 0%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

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 $20 in Poipet versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $236 vs $255 – making Poipet the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇭 Poipet

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

06:44 6:44 AM

18:44 6:44 PM

12 h behind Poipet

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

98,934

149,923

💱 Currency

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KHR = 2.45 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to KHR – Cambodian Riel Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇭 Cambodian Riel (៛)

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 4,078 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.45 USD). 1 EUR = 4,546 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 18.62 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to KHR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Poipet Playa del Carmen 16,060 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Poipet
Playa del Carmen

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

Poipet vs Playa del Carmen: 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 $776 per month in Poipet and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $518 in Poipet and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a gap of about 133%.

Kindergarten costs $289 per month in Poipet and $207 in Playa del Carmen. 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 Poipet, where all-in costs run around $518, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Poipet 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 $518 in Poipet to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.