Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Antofagasta and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Antofagasta: $888 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Antofagasta
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Antofagasta Living Index
59

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

Jump to prices

Antofagasta

🇨🇱 Chile

$888

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $888 in Antofagasta versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Antofagasta $888
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,416 in Antofagasta versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Antofagasta $1,416
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,944 in Antofagasta versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Antofagasta $1,944
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Antofagasta costs roughly 27% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Antofagasta 34% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.05 CLP 6,935

$10.76 MX$199

-34.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.93 CLP 35.4K

$43.03 MX$795

-16.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.29 CLP 7,179

$11.79 MX$218

-38.17%

Cappuccino

$2.57 CLP 2,528

$3.87 MX$71.4

-33.59%

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

$1.28 CLP 1,264

$1.37 MX$25.29

-6.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.88 CLP 862

$0.84 MX$15.44

4.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 CLP 1,488

$3.10 MX$57.3

-51.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 CLP 1,765

$5.07 MX$93.6

-64.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.07 CLP 1,054

$1.44 MX$26.55

-25.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 CLP 1,834

$2.23 MX$41.23

-16.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.22 CLP 1,199

$1.47 MX$27.17

-17.01%

Eggs

$2.59 CLP 2,553

$2.53 MX$46.71

2.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.02 CLP 8,878

$7.30 MX$135

23.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.31 CLP 3,260

$7.86 MX$145

-57.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.72 CLP 7,599

$12.79 MX$236

-39.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.03 CLP 1,996

$2.90 MX$53.6

-30.00%

Banana (1kg)

$2.26 CLP 2,223

$1.44 MX$26.53

56.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.85 CLP 2,809

$2.55 MX$47.07

11.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.10 CLP 1,081

$2.06 MX$38.03

-46.60%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 CLP 864

$2.00 MX$36.97

-56.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.78 CLP 772

$2.01 MX$37.07

-61.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 CLP 1,283

$1.19 MX$22.02

9.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 CLP 1,102

$1.26 MX$23.23

-11.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.29 CLP 5,209

$4.40 MX$81.4

20.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.13 CLP 5,048

$9.59 MX$177

-46.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 CLP 1,328

$1.59 MX$29.41

-15.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 CLP 992

$2.81 MX$51.9

-64.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.62 CLP 613

$0.57 MX$10.47

8.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.63 CLP 2,584

$4.98 MX$92.1

-47.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 CLP 1,318

$1.47 MX$27.08

-8.84%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

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

$17.5K CLP 17.2M

$23.9K MX$441.8K

-26.79%

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

$46.23 CLP 45.5K

$84.2 MX$1,556

-45.10%

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

$9.82 CLP 9,669

$23.99 MX$443

-59.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.54 CLP 12.3K

$29.02 MX$536

-56.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.34 CLP 40.7K

$63.0 MX$1,164

-34.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.15 CLP 24.8K

$29.14 MX$539

-13.69%

Cinema Ticket

$5.17 CLP 5,086

$4.94 MX$91.3

4.66%

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

$255 CLP 250.6K

$204 MX$3,763

25.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,160 CLP 3.1M

$3,941 MX$72.8K

-19.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.01 CLP 38.4K

$43.60 MX$806

-10.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.18 CLP 14.9K

$43.12 MX$797

-64.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$58.3 CLP 57.4K

$75.8 MX$1,400

-23.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.7 CLP 66.6K

$88.6 MX$1,637

-23.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$437 CLP 430.0K

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-56.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$359 CLP 352.9K

$374 MX$6,911

-4.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$811 CLP 798.7K

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-52.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 CLP 648.9K

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-40.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$711 CLP 700.2K

$754 MX$13.9K

-5.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

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

Last update for Antofagasta: 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

Antofagasta

$359 40.4%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 4.3% $15

Groceries & Markets

Antofagasta

$194 21.8%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 33.4% $65

Eating Out

Antofagasta

$129 14.5%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 57% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Antofagasta

$81 9.1%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 39.4% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Antofagasta

$69 7.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 100% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Antofagasta

$52 5.8%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 41% $21

Getting Around

Antofagasta

$5.1 * 0.6%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 927% $47

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 $437 in Antofagasta and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 6% 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: $36.00 in Antofagasta vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $194 vs $258 per month, with Antofagasta cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇱 Antofagasta

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

15:32 3:32 PM

13:32 1:32 PM

2 h behind Antofagasta

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

348,517

149,923

💱 Currency

Chilean Peso CLP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 CLP = 10.16 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CLP – Chilean Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇱 Chilean Peso ($)

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 984 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,107 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR).

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 CLP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Antofagasta Playa del Carmen 5,240 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Antofagasta
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

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

Antofagasta wins on cost – living expenses run 36% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Antofagasta the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 6% 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: $437 in Antofagasta versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $255 in Antofagasta 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 Antofagasta – a meal for two runs $36.00 versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $888 in Antofagasta versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Antofagasta but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Antofagasta the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Antofagasta delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $888 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Antofagasta hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Antofagasta gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.