Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Vung Tau and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Vung Tau: $608 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Vung Tau
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Vung Tau Living Index
59

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

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Vung Tau

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$608

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $608 per month in Vung Tau vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Vung Tau $608
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $1,015 per month in Vung Tau vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Vung Tau $1,015
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $1,423 per month in Vung Tau vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Vung Tau $1,423
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Vung Tau is about 50% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Vung Tau and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Vung Tau 55% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.95 ₫50.5K

$10.76 MX$199

-81.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.66 ₫405.5K

$43.03 MX$795

-63.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.75 ₫97.0K

$11.79 MX$218

-68.19%

Cappuccino

$1.84 ₫47.6K

$3.87 MX$71.4

-52.45%

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

$0.41 ₫10.6K

$1.37 MX$25.29

-70.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ₫8,662

$0.84 MX$15.44

-60.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.78 ₫20.2K

$3.10 MX$57.3

-74.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 ₫26.3K

$5.07 MX$93.6

-80.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.40 ₫36.3K

$1.44 MX$26.55

-2.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 ₫28.7K

$2.23 MX$41.23

-50.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.89 ₫23.1K

$1.47 MX$27.17

-39.46%

Eggs

$1.65 ₫42.8K

$2.53 MX$46.71

-34.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.79 ₫124.0K

$7.30 MX$135

-34.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.60 ₫93.1K

$7.86 MX$145

-54.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.44 ₫244.4K

$12.79 MX$236

-26.19%

Apples (1kg)

$3.06 ₫79.3K

$2.90 MX$53.6

5.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 ₫32.1K

$1.44 MX$26.53

-13.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.63 ₫16.3K

$2.55 MX$47.07

-75.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.29 ₫33.5K

$2.06 MX$38.03

-37.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.15 ₫29.8K

$2.00 MX$36.97

-42.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 ₫30.8K

$2.01 MX$37.07

-40.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.60 ₫15.7K

$1.19 MX$22.02

-49.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 ₫11.0K

$1.26 MX$23.23

-65.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.20 ₫31.1K

$4.40 MX$81.4

-72.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.74 ₫329.7K

$9.59 MX$177

32.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 ₫21.1K

$1.59 MX$29.41

-49.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 ₫26.2K

$2.81 MX$51.9

-64.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.70 ₫18.1K

$4.98 MX$92.1

-85.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.59 ₫15.3K

$3.50 MX$64.6

-83.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.15 ₫29.7K

$5.40 MX$99.8

-78.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 ₫20.7K

$1.47 MX$27.08

-45.58%

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

$30.2K ₫782.2M

$21.0K MX$387.8K

43.97%

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

$31.4K ₫811.9M

$23.9K MX$441.8K

31.18%

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

$46.69 ₫1.2M

$84.2 MX$1,556

-44.56%

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

$5.90 ₫152.7K

$23.99 MX$443

-75.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.99 ₫206.9K

$29.02 MX$536

-72.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.04 ₫441.1K

$63.0 MX$1,164

-72.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.41 ₫243.6K

$29.14 MX$539

-67.71%

Cinema Ticket

$3.54 ₫91.6K

$4.94 MX$91.3

-28.34%

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

$117 ₫3.0M

$204 MX$3,763

-42.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,586 ₫248.2M

$3,941 MX$72.8K

143.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$21.13 ₫547.1K

$43.60 MX$806

-51.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.89 ₫489.1K

$43.12 MX$797

-56.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.2 ₫2.4M

$75.8 MX$1,400

21.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.9 ₫1.8M

$88.6 MX$1,637

-23.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$304 ₫7.9M

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-69.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$199 ₫5.2M

$374 MX$6,911

-46.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$752 ₫19.5M

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-55.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$504 ₫13.0M

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-54.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,301 ₫189.0M

$3,944 MX$72.9K

85.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,367 ₫113.1M

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-29.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$572 ₫14.8M

$754 MX$13.9K

-24.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.64

11.45

-24.54%

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

Last update for Vung Tau: October 10, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Vung Tau

$199 32.7%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 88% $175

Groceries & Markets

Vung Tau

$173 28.4%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 49.7% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Vung Tau

$90 14.8%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 25.5% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Vung Tau

$61 10%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 127% $77

Eating Out

Vung Tau

$58 9.5%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 250% $144

Sport & Entertainment

Vung Tau

$24 4%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 202% $49

Getting Around

Vung Tau

$3.7 * 0.6%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 1336% $49

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $304 in Vung Tau versus $1,008 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 32% 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 $16.00 in Vung Tau versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $173 vs $258 – making Vung Tau the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Vung Tau

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

19:52 7:52 PM

07:52 7:52 AM

12 h behind Vung Tau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

380,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to VND – Vietnamese Dong Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇻🇳 Vietnamese Dong (₫)

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,108 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to VND in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Vung Tau Playa del Carmen 16,240 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Vung Tau
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 99%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $912 per month in Vung Tau and $1,816 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 Vung Tau, 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 $608 in Vung Tau and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 99%.

Kindergarten costs $117 per month in Vung Tau and $204 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 Vung Tau, where all-in costs run around $608, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Vung Tau it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Vung Tau – 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 Vung Tau. 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.