Cost of living comparison
compared to
Playa del Carmen vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost of Living Summary
Playa del Carmen is 46.7% more expensive than Ho Chi Minh City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.7 times more in Playa del Carmen
- Groceries
-
pay 38.9% more in Playa del Carmen
- Transportation
-
pay 57.3% more in Playa del Carmen
- Housing
-
pay 40.5% more in Playa del Carmen
- Childcare
-
pay 71.5% less in Playa del Carmen
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.3 times more in Playa del Carmen
- Clothing
-
pay 4.1% less in Playa del Carmen
The cost of restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, housing, and groceries in Playa del Carmen are more expensive than in Ho Chi Minh City. Expenses including childcare and clothing are lower in Playa del Carmen. Notably, restaurants and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Playa del Carmen.
Playa del Carmen vs. Ho Chi Minh City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Playa del Carmen instead of Ho Chi Minh City, you would:
pay 3.7 times more for restaurants
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$1.92
₫49,832
|
$11.13
MX$205.76
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.62
₫120K
|
$11.94
MX$220.72
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.54
₫13,905
|
$1.34
MX$24.83
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.33
₫8,590
|
$0.82
MX$15.25
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of restaurants
pay 38.9% more for groceries
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.08
₫27,843
|
$2.30
MX$42.51
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.05
₫157K
|
$3.80
MX$70.30
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.13
₫159K
|
$5.64
MX$104.29
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.62
₫42,008
|
$2.53
MX$46.87
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.64
₫42,570
|
$3.67
MX$67.89
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.36
₫35,261
|
$1.31
MX$24.17
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.58
₫14,953
|
$0.66
MX$12.13
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.72
₫18,715
|
$1.20
MX$22.24
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.58
₫14,918
|
$0.97
MX$17.89
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.54
₫14,104
|
$0.91
MX$16.82
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.53
₫13,662
|
$0.89
MX$16.46
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of groceries
pay 57.3% more for transportation
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.55
₫91,950
|
$5.72
MX$105.85
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$11.55
₫299K
|
$27.82
MX$514.40
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,715.02
₫795M
|
$21,528.95
MX$398K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$5.80
₫150K
|
$32.66
MX$604.00
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of transportation
pay 40.5% more for housing
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$10.46
₫271K
|
$29.02
MX$536.69
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$585.86
₫15M
|
$998.64
MX$18,467.72
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$297.81
₫8M
|
$386.21
MX$7,142.10
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$79.24
₫2M
|
$65.50
MX$1,211.29
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of housing
pay 71.5% less for childcare
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$438.36
₫11M
|
$210.01
MX$3,883.69
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,561.82
₫610M
|
$4,005.49
MX$74,073.10
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of childcare
pay 2.3 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.03
₫26,762
|
$3.17
MX$58.59
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.81
₫46,978
|
$3.84
MX$71.02
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$1.23
₫31,892
|
$4.45
MX$82.30
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$25.91
₫671K
|
$64.07
MX$1,184.89
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.46
₫89,697
|
$5.00
MX$92.42
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.1% less for clothing
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
Playa del Carmen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.59
₫1M
|
$44.85
MX$829.44
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$34.61
₫896K
|
$42.62
MX$788.17
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.59
₫2M
|
$76.03
MX$1,406.02
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$94.62
₫2M
|
$90.05
MX$1,665.28
|
|
Ho Chi Minh City vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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