Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Abidjan and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living costs are similar in Abidjan and in Playa del Carmen: $1,222 and $1,215 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Abidjan
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Abidjan Living Index
60

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

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Abidjan

🇨🇮 Ivory Coast

$1,222

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,215

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,222 in Abidjan versus $1,215 in Playa del Carmen.

Abidjan $1,222
Playa del Carmen $1,215

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,090 in Abidjan versus $2,144 in Playa del Carmen.

Abidjan $2,090
Playa del Carmen $2,144

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,957 in Abidjan versus $3,072 in Playa del Carmen.

Abidjan $2,957
Playa del Carmen $3,072

Living in Abidjan is roughly 1% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Abidjan 9% lower, Playa del Carmen 9% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.59 F CFA 1,513

$10.97 MX$201

-76.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.8 F CFA 39.7K

$44.85 MX$823

51.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.46 F CFA 6,119

$11.92 MX$219

-12.25%

Cappuccino

$1.85 F CFA 1,080

$3.80 MX$69.9

-51.32%

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

$0.72 F CFA 419

$1.31 MX$24.08

-45.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 F CFA 447

$0.86 MX$15.72

-11.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.04 F CFA 610

$3.21 MX$59.0

-67.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 F CFA 971

$5.01 MX$92.0

-66.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.10 F CFA 1,230

$1.46 MX$26.77

43.84%

White Bread (500g)

$0.49 F CFA 289

$2.33 MX$42.72

-78.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.14 F CFA 667

$1.44 MX$26.48

-20.83%

Eggs

$2.29 F CFA 1,340

$2.46 MX$45.20

-6.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$25.21 F CFA 14.8K

$7.70 MX$141

227.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.73 F CFA 3,351

$7.89 MX$145

-27.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.00 F CFA 3,511

$12.80 MX$235

-53.13%

Apples (1kg)

$3.91 F CFA 2,287

$2.92 MX$53.6

33.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 F CFA 608

$1.42 MX$26.11

-26.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.09 F CFA 1,222

$2.57 MX$47.10

-18.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.39 F CFA 1,397

$2.14 MX$39.24

11.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.76 F CFA 1,032

$1.95 MX$35.75

-9.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 F CFA 932

$1.94 MX$35.55

-18.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.59 F CFA 345

$1.15 MX$21.13

-48.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 F CFA 502

$1.22 MX$22.42

-29.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.75 F CFA 1,022

$4.38 MX$80.3

-60.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.22 F CFA 3,052

$9.85 MX$181

-47.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.06 F CFA 618

$1.54 MX$28.23

-31.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.16 F CFA 679

$2.72 MX$49.86

-57.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 F CFA 536

$0.52 MX$9.64

76.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.81 F CFA 25.0K

$27.42 MX$503

56.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 F CFA 977

$4.91 MX$90.2

-65.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.72 F CFA 1,008

$3.52 MX$64.7

-51.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.89 F CFA 15.1K

$5.69 MX$104

355.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 F CFA 884

$1.54 MX$28.27

-1.95%

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

$28.1K F CFA 16.5M

$21.2K MX$389.9K

32.50%

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

$27.0K F CFA 15.8M

$24.5K MX$449.6K

10.41%

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

$163 F CFA 95.5K

$83.6 MX$1,535

95.14%

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

$24.63 F CFA 14.4K

$24.03 MX$441

2.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.38 F CFA 20.7K

$29.33 MX$539

20.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$70.0 F CFA 41.0K

$64.9 MX$1,191

7.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 F CFA 12.5K

$29.46 MX$541

-27.73%

Cinema Ticket

$8.65 F CFA 5,062

$5.09 MX$93.4

69.94%

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

$367 F CFA 214.8K

$208 MX$3,813

76.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,608 F CFA 2.7M

$4,045 MX$74.3K

13.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.0 F CFA 53.2K

$44.55 MX$818

104.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.71 F CFA 21.5K

$42.06 MX$772

-12.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.2 F CFA 44.6K

$75.5 MX$1,387

0.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$137 F CFA 80.3K

$91.4 MX$1,678

50.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$679 F CFA 397.3K

$986 MX$18.1K

-31.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$342 F CFA 200.2K

$385 MX$7,072

-11.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,604 F CFA 1.5M

$1,713 MX$31.5K

52.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,010 F CFA 590.9K

$1,108 MX$20.4K

-8.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,189 F CFA 1.3M

$4,016 MX$73.7K

-45.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$675 F CFA 395.2K

$6,247 MX$114.7K

-89.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$215 F CFA 126.1K

$758 MX$13.9K

-71.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

15.75

11.45

37.55%

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

Last update for Abidjan: October 6, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Abidjan

$342 28.6%

Playa del Carmen

$385 31.4% 12.5% $43

Groceries & Markets

Abidjan

$247 20.6%

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.2% 5.3% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Abidjan

$223 18.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.2% 38.6% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Abidjan

$154 12.8%

Playa del Carmen

$114 9.3% 25.7% $39

Eating Out

Abidjan

$89 7.4%

Playa del Carmen

$204 16.6% 130% $115

Sport & Entertainment

Abidjan

$87 7.3%

Playa del Carmen

$75 6.1% 14.1% $12

Getting Around

Abidjan

$57 4.7%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.2% 8.3% $4.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $679 in Abidjan and $986 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 252% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $68.0 in Abidjan vs $45.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $247 vs $260, with Abidjan cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇮 Abidjan

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

14:21 2:21 PM

09:21 9:21 AM

5 h behind Abidjan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,567,409

149,923

💱 Currency

West African CFA Franc XOF Fr

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XOF = 1.53 EUR

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to XOF – West African CFA Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 West African CFA Franc (Fr)

West African CFA Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 585 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.53 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to XOF in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Abidjan Playa del Carmen 9,080 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Abidjan
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

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

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, leisure, and utilities. The 1% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 252% lower in Playa del Carmen. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $679 in Abidjan versus $986 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $45.00 versus $68.0 in Abidjan. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,222 per month in Abidjan versus $1,215 in Playa del Carmen – a 1% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,215 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,222 in Abidjan, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Abidjan. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Playa del Carmen is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Abidjan, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Abidjan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.