Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Thung Song and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Thung Song: $897 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Thung Song
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Thung Song Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Thung Song

🇹🇭 Thailand

$897

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $897 per month in Thung Song vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Thung Song $897
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,472 per month in Thung Song vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Thung Song $1,472
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,047 per month in Thung Song vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Thung Song $2,047
Playa del Carmen $2,959

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

Both Thung Song and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Thung Song 34% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿148

$10.92 MX$205

-59.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$17.61 ฿594

$43.37 MX$814

-59.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.57 ฿289

$11.78 MX$221

-27.25%

Cappuccino

$2.25 ฿75.9

$3.81 MX$71.5

-40.94%

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

$0.72 ฿24.37

$1.28 MX$24.07

-43.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.62

$0.78 MX$14.70

-60.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ฿87.5

$3.17 MX$59.5

-18.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.76 ฿127

$4.93 MX$92.7

-23.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 ฿57.6

$1.41 MX$26.40

21.28%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 ฿47.39

$2.22 MX$41.62

-36.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 ฿51.9

$1.42 MX$26.61

8.45%

Eggs

$2.12 ฿71.4

$2.52 MX$47.36

-15.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.55 ฿660

$7.26 MX$136

169.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$7.70 MX$144

-57.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.19 ฿378

$12.69 MX$238

-11.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.96 ฿99.9

$2.78 MX$52.3

6.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ฿56.8

$1.37 MX$25.68

22.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.63 ฿21.25

$2.55 MX$47.89

-75.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 ฿72.8

$2.12 MX$39.86

1.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿49.10

$1.94 MX$36.39

-24.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.32 ฿44.58

$1.89 MX$35.41

-30.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.06 ฿35.70

$1.15 MX$21.53

-7.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ฿17.35

$1.18 MX$22.13

-56.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 ฿144

$4.30 MX$80.6

-0.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.51 ฿625

$9.95 MX$187

86.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 ฿59.2

$1.58 MX$29.73

11.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 ฿74.4

$2.67 MX$50.1

-17.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 ฿28.66

$0.55 MX$10.39

54.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.25 ฿76.0

$4.97 MX$93.3

-54.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ฿34.71

$3.33 MX$62.5

-69.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.87 ฿131

$5.36 MX$101

-27.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 ฿37.74

$1.44 MX$27.11

-22.22%

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

$26.4K ฿889.2K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

27.52%

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

$27.3K ฿921.9K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

16.44%

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

$29.42 ฿993

$84.8 MX$1,592

-65.30%

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

$6.07 ฿205

$23.41 MX$439

-74.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.76 ฿464

$28.66 MX$538

-51.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.05 ฿1,621

$57.1 MX$1,071

-15.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.10 ฿442

$28.91 MX$543

-54.69%

Cinema Ticket

$7.45 ฿252

$5.14 MX$96.5

44.94%

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

$563 ฿19.0K

$207 MX$3,878

172.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿381.2K

$3,927 MX$73.7K

187.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.97 ฿910

$43.35 MX$814

-37.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.09 ฿610

$41.44 MX$778

-56.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.6 ฿3,294

$74.2 MX$1,393

31.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.7 ฿2,924

$89.3 MX$1,676

-2.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$440 ฿14.8K

$980 MX$18.4K

-55.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$298 ฿10.0K

$381 MX$7,150

-21.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,147 ฿38.7K

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-32.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$708 ฿23.9K

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-34.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,973 ฿66.6K

$3,943 MX$74.0K

-49.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,472 ฿49.7K

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-76.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-56.33%

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

Last update for Thung Song: October 26, 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

Thung Song

$298 33.2%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 28% $83

Groceries & Markets

Thung Song

$260 29%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 2.1% $5.5

Eating Out

Thung Song

$112 12.6%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 79.9% $90

Clothing & Footwear

Thung Song

$103 11.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 8.2% $8.5

Sport & Entertainment

Thung Song

$63 7%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 6.9% $4.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Thung Song

$49 5.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 178% $88

Getting Around

Thung Song

$11 * 1.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 368% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $440 in Thung Song 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $18 in Thung Song versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $260 in Thung Song vs $255 in Playa del Carmen – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Thung Song

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

17:51 5:51 PM

05:51 5:51 AM

12 h behind Thung Song

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

29,232

149,923

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 31, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Thung Song Playa del Carmen 16,730 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Thung Song
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 34%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,345 per month in Thung Song 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 Thung Song, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $440 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $18 in Thung Song and $43 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Kindergarten costs $563 per month in Thung Song 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 Thung Song, where all-in costs run around $897, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Thung Song 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 $897 in Thung Song to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.