Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Antiguo Cuscatlan and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Antiguo Cuscatlan: $810 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Antiguo Cuscatlan
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Antiguo Cuscatlan Living Index
58

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

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Antiguo Cuscatlan

🇸🇻 El Salvador

$810

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $810 per month in Antiguo Cuscatlan vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Antiguo Cuscatlan $810
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,304 per month in Antiguo Cuscatlan vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Antiguo Cuscatlan $1,304
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $1,798 per month in Antiguo Cuscatlan vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Antiguo Cuscatlan $1,798
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Antiguo Cuscatlan is about 33% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Antiguo Cuscatlan and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Antiguo Cuscatlan 41% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.93 $6.93

$10.92 MX$204

-36.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 $45.34

$43.37 MX$810

4.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.13 $7.13

$11.78 MX$220

-39.47%

Cappuccino

$3.63 $3.63

$3.81 MX$71.2

-4.72%

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

$1.12 $1.12

$1.28 MX$23.96

-12.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 $0.81

$0.78 MX$14.63

3.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.04 $2.04

$3.17 MX$59.2

-35.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.58 $3.58

$4.93 MX$92.2

-27.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 $1.80

$1.41 MX$26.28

27.66%

White Bread (500g)

$2.89 $2.89

$2.22 MX$41.43

30.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 $1.40

$1.42 MX$26.48

-1.41%

Eggs

$2.94 $2.94

$2.52 MX$47.14

16.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.84 $7.84

$7.26 MX$136

7.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.87 $6.87

$7.70 MX$144

-10.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.34 $10.34

$12.69 MX$237

-18.52%

Apples (1kg)

$5.00 $5.00

$2.78 MX$52.0

79.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 $1.43

$1.37 MX$25.56

4.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.63 $2.63

$2.55 MX$47.66

3.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.36 $3.36

$2.12 MX$39.67

58.49%

Potato (1kg)

$3.01 $3.01

$1.94 MX$36.22

55.15%

Onion (1kg)

$3.35 $3.35

$1.89 MX$35.24

77.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 $1.03

$1.15 MX$21.42

-10.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 $0.90

$1.18 MX$22.03

-23.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.90 $3.90

$4.30 MX$80.3

-9.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.82 $11.82

$9.95 MX$186

18.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.27 $2.27

$1.58 MX$29.59

43.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 $2.95

$2.67 MX$49.91

10.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.34

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$497

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.02 $6.02

$4.97 MX$92.9

21.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.06 $3.06

$3.33 MX$62.2

-8.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.13 $20.13

$5.36 MX$100

275.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 $1.29

$1.44 MX$26.98

-10.42%

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

$24.7K $24.7K

$20.7K MX$386.2K

19.74%

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

$27.6K $27.6K

$23.5K MX$438.5K

17.45%

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

$129 $129

$84.8 MX$1,584

51.93%

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

$21.07 $21.07

$23.41 MX$437

-10.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.89 $41.89

$28.66 MX$535

46.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,066

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$540

Cinema Ticket

$4.92 $4.92

$5.14 MX$96.0

-4.28%

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

$162 $162

$207 MX$3,860

-21.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,664 $4,664

$3,927 MX$73.4K

18.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.8 $66.8

$43.35 MX$810

53.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.91 $46.91

$41.44 MX$774

13.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 $117

$74.2 MX$1,386

57.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 $115

$89.3 MX$1,668

28.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$602 $602

$980 MX$18.3K

-38.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,116

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.5

11.45

-25.76%

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

Last update for Antiguo Cuscatlan: October 24, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Antiguo Cuscatlan

$286 35.3%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 10.8% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Antiguo Cuscatlan

$192 23.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 28.6% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Antiguo Cuscatlan

$156 19.2%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 28.2% $44

Eating Out

Antiguo Cuscatlan

$146 18%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 39.1% $57

Getting Around

Antiguo Cuscatlan

$21 * 2.6%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 137% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Antiguo Cuscatlan

$9.8 * 1.2%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 584% $57

Accommodation & Living

Antiguo Cuscatlan

- * 0%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $602 in Antiguo Cuscatlan versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45 in Antiguo Cuscatlan versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $286 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇻 Antiguo Cuscatlan

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

04:40 4:40 AM

05:40 5:40 AM

1 h ahead of Antiguo Cuscatlan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

33,767

149,923

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.899 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.899 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Antiguo Cuscatlan Playa del Carmen 810 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Antiguo Cuscatlan
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $810 in Antiguo Cuscatlan, $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – roughly 49% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,215 per month in Antiguo Cuscatlan and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Antiguo Cuscatlan, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $602 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45 in Antiguo Cuscatlan and $43 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 11% cheaper in Playa del Carmen – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Antiguo Cuscatlan, where all-in costs run around $810, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Antiguo Cuscatlan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $810 in Antiguo Cuscatlan to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.