Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Samut Prakan and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Samut Prakan: $886 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Samut Prakan
Learn more

Samut Prakan Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Samut Prakan

🇹🇭 Thailand

$886

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Samut Prakan 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 Samut Prakan and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $886 per month in Samut Prakan vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Samut Prakan $886
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,378 per month in Samut Prakan vs $2,102 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Samut Prakan $1,378
Playa del Carmen $2,102

A family of three spends $1,869 per month in Samut Prakan vs $3,000 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Samut Prakan $1,869
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Samut Prakan is about 26% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Samut Prakan and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Samut Prakan 35% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.30 ฿110

$10.86 MX$201

-69.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.12 ฿505

$44.21 MX$817

-65.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.48 ฿250

$11.76 MX$217

-36.39%

Cappuccino

$1.38 ฿46.13

$3.68 MX$68.0

-62.50%

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

$0.52 ฿17.54

$1.34 MX$24.79

-61.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 ฿8.77

$0.82 MX$15.24

-68.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.02 ฿67.6

$3.06 MX$56.6

-33.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.92 ฿97.4

$4.94 MX$91.2

-40.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 ฿48.92

$1.47 MX$27.17

-0.68%

White Bread (500g)

$0.98 ฿32.62

$2.22 MX$40.95

-55.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.88 ฿29.34

$1.48 MX$27.32

-40.54%

Eggs

$1.84 ฿61.5

$2.49 MX$45.99

-26.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.31 ฿411

$7.52 MX$139

63.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.49 ฿83.1

$7.96 MX$147

-68.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.20 ฿341

$12.57 MX$232

-18.85%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 ฿61.5

$2.78 MX$51.3

-33.81%

Banana (1kg)

$0.77 ฿25.67

$1.43 MX$26.37

-46.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.31 ฿43.68

$2.62 MX$48.37

-50.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.21 ฿40.59

$2.14 MX$39.49

-43.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 ฿50.7

$2.02 MX$37.38

-24.75%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 ฿25.78

$1.99 MX$36.74

-61.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.78 ฿25.99

$1.14 MX$21.01

-31.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 ฿15.01

$1.20 MX$22.18

-62.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.50 ฿151

$4.26 MX$78.7

5.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.10 ฿304

$10.02 MX$185

-9.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 ฿34.32

$1.54 MX$28.41

-33.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 ฿63.2

$2.66 MX$49.17

-28.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 ฿16.95

$0.53 MX$9.73

-3.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$4.90 MX$90.6

-64.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.61 ฿53.7

$3.43 MX$63.5

-53.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.85 ฿196

$5.38 MX$99.4

8.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.07 ฿35.84

$1.45 MX$26.76

-26.21%

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

$12.1K ฿405.1K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

-42.70%

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

$24.3K ฿811.4K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

5.48%

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

$83.1 ฿2,776

$85.4 MX$1,577

-2.68%

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

$9.40 ฿314

$23.46 MX$434

-59.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.35 ฿547

$28.43 MX$525

-42.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.72 ฿1,595

$62.2 MX$1,149

-23.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.06 ฿503

$28.68 MX$530

-47.49%

Cinema Ticket

$6.41 ฿214

$5.10 MX$94.3

25.69%

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

$148 ฿4,933

$201 MX$3,715

-26.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,950 ฿198.9K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

50.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$15.09 ฿504

$44.39 MX$820

-66.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.66 ฿1,192

$41.35 MX$764

-13.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.9 ฿2,369

$72.7 MX$1,344

-2.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 ฿4,004

$89.6 MX$1,656

33.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$478 ฿16.0K

$979 MX$18.1K

-51.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$330 ฿11.0K

$373 MX$6,887

-11.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,147 ฿38.3K

$1,681 MX$31.1K

-31.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 ฿23.1K

$1,095 MX$20.2K

-36.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,726 ฿57.7K

$3,949 MX$73.0K

-56.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,607 ฿53.7K

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-73.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$671 ฿22.4K

$738 MX$13.6K

-9.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-73.80%

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

Last update for Samut Prakan: October 19, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Samut Prakan

$330 37.2%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 13% $43

Groceries & Markets

Samut Prakan

$182 20.5%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 41.9% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Samut Prakan

$109 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 26.1% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Samut Prakan

$109 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 2.8% $3

Eating Out

Samut Prakan

$84 9.5%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 137% $116

Sport & Entertainment

Samut Prakan

$61 6.8%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 19.6% $12

Getting Around

Samut Prakan

$12 * 1.3%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 338% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $478 in Samut Prakan versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 10% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $15.00 in Samut Prakan versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $182 vs $258 – making Samut Prakan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Samut Prakan

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

18:41 6:41 PM

06:41 6:41 AM

12 h behind Samut Prakan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

50,843

149,923

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Samut Prakan Playa del Carmen 16,120 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Samut Prakan
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

Samut Prakan vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 36%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,329 per month in Samut Prakan and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Samut Prakan, 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 $886 in Samut Prakan and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 36%.

Kindergarten costs $148 per month in Samut Prakan and $201 in Playa del Carmen. 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 Samut Prakan, where all-in costs run around $886, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Samut Prakan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Samut Prakan. 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.