Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Samut Sakhon and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Samut Sakhon: $935 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Samut Sakhon
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Samut Sakhon Living Index
57

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

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Samut Sakhon

🇹🇭 Thailand

$935

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $935 per month in Samut Sakhon vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Samut Sakhon $935
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $1,504 per month in Samut Sakhon vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Samut Sakhon $1,504
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,074 per month in Samut Sakhon vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Samut Sakhon $2,074
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Samut Sakhon is about 22% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Samut Sakhon and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Samut Sakhon 31% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.74 ฿58.7

$10.67 MX$198

-83.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$17.65 ฿595

$43.80 MX$813

-59.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.84 ฿197

$11.79 MX$219

-50.47%

Cappuccino

$1.18 ฿39.68

$3.79 MX$70.3

-68.87%

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

$0.37 ฿12.61

$1.30 MX$24.09

-71.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ฿9.15

$0.83 MX$15.48

-67.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.90 ฿63.9

$3.15 MX$58.4

-39.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 ฿90.8

$4.93 MX$91.6

-45.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ฿52.8

$1.41 MX$26.16

11.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ฿47.63

$2.20 MX$40.77

-35.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 ฿47.20

$1.47 MX$27.35

-4.76%

Eggs

$2.22 ฿74.9

$2.50 MX$46.37

-11.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.45 ฿521

$7.29 MX$135

111.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.53 ฿85.3

$7.95 MX$148

-68.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.14 ฿342

$12.86 MX$239

-21.15%

Apples (1kg)

$3.54 ฿119

$2.90 MX$53.8

22.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.20 ฿40.31

$1.38 MX$25.69

-13.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 ฿62.2

$2.49 MX$46.26

-25.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.87 ฿63.0

$2.03 MX$37.70

-7.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 ฿41.56

$2.02 MX$37.61

-39.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 ฿35.10

$1.90 MX$35.35

-45.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 ฿41.14

$1.14 MX$21.25

7.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 ฿14.43

$1.24 MX$23.01

-65.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.22 ฿142

$4.27 MX$79.3

-1.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.14 ฿611

$9.81 MX$182

84.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ฿58.5

$1.59 MX$29.45

9.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 ฿99.4

$2.75 MX$51.0

7.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.39 ฿13.06

$0.51 MX$9.56

-23.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$509

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.05 ฿35.46

$4.76 MX$88.4

-77.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.12 ฿37.80

$3.25 MX$60.3

-65.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.62 ฿122

$5.39 MX$100

-32.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 ฿39.52

$1.53 MX$28.38

-23.53%

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

$44.9K ฿1.5M

$21.2K MX$393.9K

111.78%

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

$27.0K ฿910.2K

$23.3K MX$432.0K

16.10%

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

$93.8 ฿3,160

$83.5 MX$1,550

12.31%

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

$11.33 ฿382

$23.19 MX$431

-51.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.04 ฿642

$27.61 MX$513

-31.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.3 ฿1,695

$56.4 MX$1,048

-10.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.99 ฿505

$28.19 MX$524

-46.83%

Cinema Ticket

$7.72 ฿260

$5.00 MX$92.9

54.40%

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

$619 ฿20.8K

$207 MX$3,846

198.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.3K ฿717.6K

$5,231 MX$97.1K

307.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.60 ฿1,672

$43.45 MX$807

14.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.66 ฿999

$42.54 MX$790

-30.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.1 ฿3,137

$72.8 MX$1,351

27.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$76.5 ฿2,578

$88.4 MX$1,641

-13.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.1K

$995 MX$18.5K

-48.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$320 ฿10.8K

$382 MX$7,102

-16.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,158 ฿39.0K

$1,674 MX$31.1K

-30.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$776 ฿26.1K

$1,081 MX$20.1K

-28.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,033 ฿68.5K

$3,909 MX$72.6K

-48.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,580 ฿53.2K

$6,138 MX$114.0K

-74.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.96

11.45

-47.95%

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

Last update for Samut Sakhon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Samut Sakhon

$320 34.2%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 19.6% $63

Groceries & Markets

Samut Sakhon

$242 25.9%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 6.4% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Samut Sakhon

$124 13.3%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 8.2% $10

Clothing & Footwear

Samut Sakhon

$112 12%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 0.7% $0.8

Sport & Entertainment

Samut Sakhon

$66 7%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 1.1% $0.7

Eating Out

Samut Sakhon

$63 6.7%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 218% $137

Getting Around

Samut Sakhon

$8.2 * 0.9%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 515% $42

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $509 in Samut Sakhon versus $995 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $18 in Samut Sakhon versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $242 vs $257 – making Samut Sakhon the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Samut Sakhon

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

21:16 9:16 PM

09:16 9:16 AM

12 h behind Samut Sakhon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

67,515

149,923

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 MXN = 5.38 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 November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 33.7 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.73 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Samut Sakhon Playa del Carmen 16,130 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 29%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,402 per month in Samut Sakhon and $1,804 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 Sakhon, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $509 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $935 in Samut Sakhon and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Samut Sakhon about 22% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $619 per month in Samut Sakhon and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $935 in Samut Sakhon to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.