Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Siem Reap and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Siem Reap: $818 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Siem Reap
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Siem Reap Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Siem Reap

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$818

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $818 per month in Siem Reap vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Siem Reap $818
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,338 per month in Siem Reap vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Siem Reap $1,338
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $1,858 per month in Siem Reap vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Siem Reap $1,858
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Siem Reap is about 32% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Siem Reap and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Siem Reap 40% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.51 ៛10.2K

$10.92 MX$205

-77.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.83 ៛97.1K

$43.37 MX$815

-45.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.06 ៛32.8K

$11.78 MX$221

-31.58%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ៛6,786

$3.81 MX$71.6

-56.17%

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

$0.71 ៛2,888

$1.28 MX$24.10

-44.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 ៛1,625

$0.78 MX$14.71

-48.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.03 ៛4,188

$3.17 MX$59.5

-67.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 ៛8,075

$4.93 MX$92.7

-59.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.18 ៛8,872

$1.41 MX$26.43

54.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.74 ៛7,075

$2.22 MX$41.66

-21.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.94 ៛3,822

$1.42 MX$26.64

-33.80%

Eggs

$1.75 ៛7,117

$2.52 MX$47.41

-30.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.24 ៛62.1K

$7.26 MX$137

109.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.95 ៛12.0K

$7.70 MX$145

-61.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.07 ៛41.0K

$12.69 MX$239

-20.65%

Apples (1kg)

$4.23 ៛17.2K

$2.78 MX$52.3

52.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.28 ៛5,225

$1.37 MX$25.71

-6.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.83 ៛15.6K

$2.55 MX$47.94

50.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.05 ៛4,282

$2.12 MX$39.90

-50.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.32 ៛5,375

$1.94 MX$36.43

-31.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.11 ៛4,527

$1.89 MX$35.44

-41.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 ៛5,262

$1.15 MX$21.55

12.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 ៛3,241

$1.18 MX$22.16

-32.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.42 ៛5,770

$4.30 MX$80.7

-66.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.11 ៛33.0K

$9.95 MX$187

-18.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.00 ៛4,068

$1.58 MX$29.76

-36.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 ៛9,446

$2.67 MX$50.2

-13.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.03 ៛4,176

$0.55 MX$10.40

87.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.11 ៛61.6K

$26.62 MX$500

-43.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.01 ៛8,207

$4.97 MX$93.4

-59.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ៛4,132

$3.33 MX$62.6

-69.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.08 ៛20.7K

$5.36 MX$101

-5.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 ៛5,063

$1.44 MX$27.14

-13.89%

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

$24.7K ៛100.6M

$20.7K MX$388.4K

19.48%

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

$22.7K ៛92.4M

$23.5K MX$441.0K

-3.30%

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

$101 ៛410.6K

$84.8 MX$1,594

18.87%

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

$5.53 ៛22.5K

$23.41 MX$440

-76.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.38 ៛62.6K

$28.66 MX$539

-46.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.19 ៛135.2K

$57.1 MX$1,072

-41.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.75 ៛56.0K

$28.91 MX$543

-52.44%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 ៛20.9K

$5.14 MX$96.6

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

$286 ៛1.2M

$207 MX$3,882

38.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,379 ៛17.8M

$3,927 MX$73.8K

11.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.54 ៛108.1K

$43.35 MX$815

-38.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$13.43 ៛54.7K

$41.44 MX$779

-67.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.5 ៛274.7K

$74.2 MX$1,394

-9.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$44.82 ៛182.6K

$89.3 MX$1,677

-49.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$337 ៛1.4M

$980 MX$18.4K

-65.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$244 ៛992.7K

$381 MX$7,157

-36.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$685 ៛2.8M

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-59.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$603 ៛2.5M

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-43.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,492 ៛10.2M

$3,943 MX$74.1K

-36.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,074 ៛4.4M

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-82.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$234 ៛952.5K

$735 MX$13.8K

-68.17%

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 Siem Reap: October 27, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Siem Reap

$244 29.8%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 56.3% $137

Groceries & Markets

Siem Reap

$237 28.9%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 7.6% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Siem Reap

$122 14.9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 12.5% $15

Eating Out

Siem Reap

$78 9.5%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 160% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Siem Reap

$69 8.4%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 63.1% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Siem Reap

$43 5.3%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 54.9% $24

Getting Around

Siem Reap

$26 3.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 91.8% $24

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $337 in Siem Reap versus $980 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 in Playa del Carmen are about 3.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $24 in Siem Reap versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $237 vs $255 – making Siem Reap the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇭 Siem Reap

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

09:55 9:55 AM

21:55 9:55 PM

12 h behind Siem Reap

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

171,800

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 = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4,074 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.45 USD). 1 EUR = 4,548 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to KHR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Siem Reap Playa del Carmen 16,050 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Siem Reap
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 47%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,227 per month in Siem Reap 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 Siem Reap, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $337 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $818 in Siem Reap and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Siem Reap about 32% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 43% less in Siem Reap. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $818 in Siem Reap and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Siem Reap costs $818 versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Siem Reap. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.