Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Alicante and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,814 in Alicante, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Alicante
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Alicante Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Alicante

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,814

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,814 in Alicante versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Alicante $1,814
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,801 in Alicante versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Alicante $2,801
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,788 in Alicante versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Alicante $3,788
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Alicante is roughly 50% 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: Alicante is 34% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.14 €17.03

$10.76 MX$199

77.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.0 €58.7

$43.03 MX$795

53.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.24 €10.00

$11.79 MX$218

-4.66%

Cappuccino

$2.21 €1.97

$3.87 MX$71.4

-42.89%

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

$2.06 €1.83

$1.37 MX$25.29

50.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 €1.16

$0.84 MX$15.44

54.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.34 €2.97

$3.10 MX$57.3

7.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 €2.94

$5.07 MX$93.6

-34.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 €0.99

$1.44 MX$26.55

-22.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 €1.46

$2.23 MX$41.23

-26.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 €1.43

$1.47 MX$27.17

9.52%

Eggs

$3.26 €2.90

$2.53 MX$46.71

28.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.37 €15.45

$7.30 MX$135

137.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.79 €8.71

$7.86 MX$145

24.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.86 €14.11

$12.79 MX$236

24.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 €2.30

$2.90 MX$53.6

-11.03%

Banana (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.44 MX$26.53

44.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.79 €1.59

$2.55 MX$47.07

-29.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.63 €2.34

$2.06 MX$38.03

27.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$2.00 MX$36.97

-5.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 €1.79

$2.01 MX$37.07

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 €1.10

$1.19 MX$22.02

3.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 €0.58

$1.26 MX$23.23

-47.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.46 €5.75

$4.40 MX$81.4

46.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.42 €4.82

$9.59 MX$177

-43.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 €1.06

$1.59 MX$29.41

-25.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 €1.83

$2.81 MX$51.9

-26.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.65 €1.47

$0.57 MX$10.47

189.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.30 €23.39

$27.82 MX$514

-5.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.10 €2.76

$4.98 MX$92.1

-37.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 €1.16

$3.50 MX$64.6

-62.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.96 €15.09

$5.40 MX$99.8

214.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.76 €1.56

$1.47 MX$27.08

19.73%

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

$35.6K €31.7K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

69.81%

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

$29.1K €25.9K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

21.84%

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

$141 €125

$84.2 MX$1,556

66.90%

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

$18.27 €16.25

$23.99 MX$443

-23.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.69 €26.41

$29.02 MX$536

2.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.64 €36.15

$63.0 MX$1,164

-35.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.59 €14.76

$29.14 MX$539

-43.07%

Cinema Ticket

$9.07 €8.06

$4.94 MX$91.3

83.60%

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

$708 €629

$204 MX$3,763

247.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,120 €8,113

$3,941 MX$72.8K

131.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.1 €76.5

$43.60 MX$806

97.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.13 €31.25

$43.12 MX$797

-18.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.7 €83.3

$75.8 MX$1,400

23.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 €92.0

$88.6 MX$1,637

16.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,003 €892

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-0.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$846 €752

$374 MX$6,911

126.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,685 €1,499

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-1.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,519 €1,351

$1,106 MX$20.4K

37.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,155 €3,696

$3,944 MX$72.9K

5.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,008 €1,786

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-67.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,900 €1,690

$754 MX$13.9K

151.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.99

11.45

-73.89%

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

Last update for Alicante: 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

Alicante

$846 46.6%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 55.8% $472

Groceries & Markets

Alicante

$285 15.7%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 9.2% $26

Eating Out

Alicante

$250 13.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 19.1% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Alicante

$189 10.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 27.2% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Alicante

$143 7.9%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 21.1% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Alicante

$59 3.2%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 24% $14

Getting Around

Alicante

$43 2.3%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 23.6% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,003 in Alicante and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Alicante pays 152% 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: $66.0 in Alicante vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $285 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Alicante

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

23:58 11:58 PM

16:58 4:58 PM

7 h behind Alicante

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

349,282

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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

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

From you

Alicante
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 50% lower than in Alicante. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 152% higher in Alicante, 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: $1,003 in Alicante versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $708 in Alicante versus $204 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 10% higher in Alicante. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,814 in Alicante, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Alicante. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Playa del Carmen delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,210 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Playa del Carmen hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Alicante 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 50% less than in Alicante. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.