Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saraburi and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Saraburi: $782 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Saraburi
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Saraburi Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Saraburi

🇹🇭 Thailand

$782

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $782 per month in Saraburi vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Saraburi $782
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,419 per month in Saraburi vs $2,102 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Saraburi $1,419
Playa del Carmen $2,102

A family of three spends $2,056 per month in Saraburi vs $3,000 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Saraburi $2,056
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Saraburi is about 35% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Saraburi and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Saraburi 42% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.17 ฿206

$10.86 MX$201

-43.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.93 ฿900

$44.21 MX$817

-39.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.43 ฿215

$11.76 MX$217

-45.32%

Cappuccino

$2.28 ฿76.2

$3.68 MX$68.0

-38.04%

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

$0.66 ฿22.15

$1.34 MX$24.79

-50.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.24 ฿7.99

$0.82 MX$15.24

-70.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.99 ฿66.6

$3.06 MX$56.6

-34.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 ฿106

$4.94 MX$91.2

-35.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 ฿50.3

$1.47 MX$27.17

2.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 ฿37.35

$2.22 MX$40.95

-49.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿44.47

$1.48 MX$27.32

-10.14%

Eggs

$1.96 ฿65.5

$2.49 MX$45.99

-21.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.86 ฿563

$7.52 MX$139

124.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.57 ฿86.0

$7.96 MX$147

-67.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.89 ฿331

$12.57 MX$232

-21.32%

Apples (1kg)

$5.15 ฿172

$2.78 MX$51.3

85.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ฿56.7

$1.43 MX$26.37

18.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.08 ฿69.4

$2.62 MX$48.37

-20.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.90 ฿63.5

$2.14 MX$39.49

-11.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.1

$2.02 MX$37.38

-25.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 ฿35.81

$1.99 MX$36.74

-46.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ฿37.51

$1.14 MX$21.01

-1.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.38

$1.20 MX$22.18

-59.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿148

$4.26 MX$78.7

3.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.05 ฿703

$10.02 MX$185

110.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 ฿55.4

$1.54 MX$28.41

7.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.80 ฿93.5

$2.66 MX$49.17

5.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.90 ฿30.05

$0.53 MX$9.73

69.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.05 ฿34.98

$4.90 MX$90.6

-78.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.16 ฿38.75

$3.43 MX$63.5

-66.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.03 ฿202

$5.38 MX$99.4

12.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 ฿46.57

$1.45 MX$26.76

-4.14%

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

$22.9K ฿765.9K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

8.32%

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

$28.8K ฿962.3K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

25.09%

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

$81.9 ฿2,737

$85.4 MX$1,577

-4.04%

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

$11.58 ฿387

$23.46 MX$434

-50.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.63 ฿556

$28.43 MX$525

-41.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.66 ฿1,426

$62.2 MX$1,149

-31.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.23 ฿476

$28.68 MX$530

-50.38%

Cinema Ticket

$6.73 ฿225

$5.10 MX$94.3

31.96%

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

$581 ฿19.4K

$201 MX$3,715

189.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,594 ฿220.4K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

67.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.2 ฿1,712

$44.39 MX$820

15.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.84 ฿997

$41.35 MX$764

-27.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ฿2,572

$72.7 MX$1,344

5.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.5 ฿2,589

$89.6 MX$1,656

-13.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$428 ฿14.3K

$979 MX$18.1K

-56.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$124 ฿4,154

$373 MX$6,887

-66.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 ฿39.1K

$1,681 MX$31.1K

-30.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$602 ฿20.1K

$1,095 MX$20.2K

-45.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,682 ฿56.2K

$3,949 MX$73.0K

-57.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,662 ฿55.6K

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-72.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$453 ฿15.1K

$738 MX$13.6K

-38.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

11.45

-51.35%

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

Last update for Saraburi: October 18, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Saraburi

$259 33.2%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 0.3% $0.8

Accommodation & Living

Saraburi

$124 15.9%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 200% $248

Eating Out

Saraburi

$116 14.8%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 72.7% $84

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saraburi

$110 14.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 24.6% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Saraburi

$106 13.6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 5.4% $5.7

Sport & Entertainment

Saraburi

$56 7.2%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 29% $16

Getting Around

Saraburi

$10 * 1.3%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 395% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $428 in Saraburi 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 63% 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 $27.00 in Saraburi versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $259 in Saraburi vs $258 in Playa del Carmen – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Saraburi

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

23:23 11:23 PM

11:23 11:23 AM

12 h behind Saraburi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

61,900

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 21, 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 21, 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

Saraburi Playa del Carmen 16,010 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Saraburi
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 54%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,173 per month in Saraburi 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 Saraburi, 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 $782 in Saraburi and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 54%.

Kindergarten costs $581 per month in Saraburi 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 $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Saraburi, where all-in costs run around $782, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Saraburi it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Saraburi – 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 Saraburi. 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.