Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aalst and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,067 in Aalst, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in Aalst
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Aalst Living Index
59

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

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Aalst

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,067

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,067 in Aalst versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Aalst $2,067
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,086 in Aalst versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Aalst $3,086
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,105 in Aalst versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Aalst $4,105
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Aalst is roughly 71% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Aalst is 53% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.53 €20.10

$10.76 MX$198

109.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 €94.3

$43.03 MX$791

145.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.43 €11.99

$11.79 MX$217

13.91%

Cappuccino

$4.43 €3.95

$3.87 MX$71.0

14.47%

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

$3.63 €3.24

$1.37 MX$25.14

164.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 €2.83

$0.84 MX$15.36

277.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.55 €4.96

$3.10 MX$57.0

79.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 €4.93

$5.07 MX$93.1

9.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.44 MX$26.39

-9.03%

White Bread (500g)

$2.81 €2.51

$2.23 MX$40.99

26.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 €1.90

$1.47 MX$27.01

44.90%

Eggs

$3.83 €3.42

$2.53 MX$46.44

51.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.39 €15.52

$7.30 MX$134

138.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.87 €10.59

$7.86 MX$144

51.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.29 €19.90

$12.79 MX$235

74.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 €2.67

$2.90 MX$53.3

3.10%

Banana (1kg)

$2.43 €2.17

$1.44 MX$26.38

68.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.67 €2.38

$2.55 MX$46.80

4.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.23 €2.88

$2.06 MX$37.81

56.80%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 €2.21

$2.00 MX$36.76

23.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 €1.74

$2.01 MX$36.85

-2.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.19 MX$21.89

29.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 €0.94

$1.26 MX$23.09

-16.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.93 €11.54

$4.40 MX$80.9

193.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.74 €7.80

$9.59 MX$176

-8.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 €1.54

$1.59 MX$29.24

8.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 €1.85

$2.81 MX$51.6

-25.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.09 €2.76

$0.57 MX$10.41

442.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$511

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.86 €2.55

$4.98 MX$91.6

-42.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.35 €2.09

$3.50 MX$64.3

-32.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.40 €36.05

$5.40 MX$99.2

648.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.47 MX$26.92

44.22%

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

$34.7K €30.9K

$21.0K MX$385.6K

65.18%

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

$32.8K €29.3K

$23.9K MX$439.2K

37.26%

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

$203 €181

$84.2 MX$1,547

140.83%

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

$21.94 €19.58

$23.99 MX$441

-8.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.8 €45.37

$29.02 MX$533

75.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.21 €32.32

$63.0 MX$1,157

-42.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.03 €18.77

$29.14 MX$535

-27.83%

Cinema Ticket

$15.18 €13.55

$4.94 MX$90.8

207.29%

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

$1,605 €1,433

$204 MX$3,741

688.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$33.7K €30.1K

$3,941 MX$72.4K

756.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 €101

$43.60 MX$801

159.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.17 €41.21

$43.12 MX$792

7.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €90.9

$75.8 MX$1,392

34.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 €146

$88.6 MX$1,628

84.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$911 €813

$1,008 MX$18.5K

-9.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$808 €721

$374 MX$6,872

115.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,384 €1,236

$1,708 MX$31.4K

-18.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,104 €985

$1,106 MX$20.3K

-0.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 €3,714

$3,944 MX$72.5K

5.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,890 €2,580

$6,169 MX$113.3K

-53.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,782 €2,483

$754 MX$13.9K

268.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

11.45

-69.78%

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

Last update for Aalst: October 12, 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

Aalst

$807 39.1%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 53.7% $433

Groceries & Markets

Aalst

$360 17.4%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 28.2% $102

Eating Out

Aalst

$340 16.4%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 40.5% $137

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aalst

$276 13.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 50.2% $138

Clothing & Footwear

Aalst

$191 9.2%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 40.8% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Aalst

$67 3.2%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 9.5% $6.3

Getting Around

Aalst

$27 * 1.3%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 95.1% $26

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $911 in Aalst and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Aalst pays 269% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $106 in Aalst vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Aalst

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

07:14 7:14 AM

00:14 12:14 AM

7 h behind Aalst

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,271

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.44 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 18.37 MXN (100 MXN = 5.44 USD). 1 EUR = 20.56 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Aalst Playa del Carmen 8,320 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Aalst
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

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

Aalst and Playa del Carmen differ by about 71% in total monthly costs ($2,067 vs $1,210 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 269% higher in Aalst, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $911 in Aalst versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 39% higher in Aalst. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,067 per month in Aalst versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – a 71% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,067 in Aalst, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Aalst. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Aalst and Playa del Carmen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 71% less than in Aalst. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.