Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Algeciras and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Algeciras: $1,125 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,000 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

55

Cost of Living Index in Algeciras
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Algeciras Living Index
59

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

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Algeciras

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,125

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,125 in Algeciras versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Algeciras $1,125
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,800 in Algeciras versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Algeciras $1,800
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,476 in Algeciras versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Algeciras $2,476
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Algeciras costs roughly 7% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Algeciras 17% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.88 €7.90

$10.76 MX$199

-17.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.75 €32.69

$43.03 MX$795

-14.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.50 €5.78

$11.79 MX$218

-44.87%

Cappuccino

$1.70 €1.51

$3.87 MX$71.4

-56.07%

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

$1.32 €1.18

$1.37 MX$25.29

-3.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.15 €1.02

$0.84 MX$15.44

36.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 €2.27

$3.10 MX$57.3

-17.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.01 €3.57

$5.07 MX$93.6

-20.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 €1.08

$1.44 MX$26.55

-15.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 €1.05

$2.23 MX$41.23

-47.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 €1.49

$1.47 MX$27.17

14.29%

Eggs

$3.35 €2.98

$2.53 MX$46.71

32.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.07 €9.84

$7.30 MX$135

51.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.49 €6.66

$7.86 MX$145

-4.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.35 €12.76

$12.79 MX$236

12.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 €1.92

$2.90 MX$53.6

-25.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 €1.74

$1.44 MX$26.53

36.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 €1.56

$2.55 MX$47.07

-30.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.07 €1.84

$2.06 MX$38.03

0.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 €1.36

$2.00 MX$36.97

-24.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.34 €1.19

$2.01 MX$37.07

-33.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.06 €0.95

$1.19 MX$22.02

-10.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.65 €0.58

$1.26 MX$23.23

-48.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.45 €5.73

$4.40 MX$81.4

46.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.79 €4.26

$9.59 MX$177

-50.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 €0.98

$1.59 MX$29.41

-30.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.49

$2.81 MX$51.9

-40.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 €1.36

$0.57 MX$10.47

168.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.82 €3.39

$4.98 MX$92.1

-23.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 €1.27

$3.50 MX$64.6

-59.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.17 €25.06

$5.40 MX$99.8

421.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.62 €1.44

$1.47 MX$27.08

10.20%

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

$30.4K €27.1K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

45.09%

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

$28.5K €25.4K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

19.22%

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

$86.3 €76.7

$84.2 MX$1,556

2.42%

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

$11.05 €9.83

$23.99 MX$443

-53.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.37 €26.13

$29.02 MX$536

1.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.21 €31.31

$63.0 MX$1,164

-44.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$9.87 €8.78

$4.94 MX$91.3

99.80%

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

$338 €301

$204 MX$3,763

66.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,905 €7,031

$3,941 MX$72.8K

100.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.2 €58.0

$43.60 MX$806

49.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.83 €29.20

$43.12 MX$797

-23.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 €110

$75.8 MX$1,400

63.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$135 €120

$88.6 MX$1,637

51.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$472 €420

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-53.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$389 €346

$374 MX$6,911

3.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$948 €843

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-44.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$805 €716

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-27.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,135 €1,899

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-45.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,741 €1,548

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-71.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,876 €1,669

$754 MX$13.9K

148.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.32

11.45

-71.00%

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

Last update for Algeciras: October 11, 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

Algeciras

$389 34.6%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 3.8% $15

Groceries & Markets

Algeciras

$235 20.9%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 9.8% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Algeciras

$160 14.3%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 29.6% $47

Eating Out

Algeciras

$142 12.6%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 42.8% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Algeciras

$127 11.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 8.3% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Algeciras

$55 4.9%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 32.6% $18

Getting Around

Algeciras

$17 * 1.5%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 207% $35

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 $472 in Algeciras and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Algeciras pays 149% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37.00 in Algeciras vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $258 per month, with Algeciras cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Algeciras

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

22:24 10:24 PM

15:24 3:24 PM

7 h behind Algeciras

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

123,639

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Algeciras Playa del Carmen 7,950 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Algeciras
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

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

Algeciras and Playa del Carmen differ by about 8% in total monthly costs ($1,125 vs $1,210 including rent). Algeciras is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 149% higher in Algeciras, 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: $472 in Algeciras versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $338 in Algeciras versus $204 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Algeciras – a meal for two runs $37.00 versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,125 in Algeciras versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Algeciras but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Algeciras 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, Algeciras 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 Algeciras gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.