Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Arklow and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,624 in Arklow, rent and utilities included – about $17,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Arklow
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Arklow Living Index
59

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

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Arklow

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,624

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,624 per month in Arklow vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Arklow $2,624
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $3,680 per month in Arklow vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Arklow $3,680
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $4,737 per month in Arklow vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Arklow $4,737
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Arklow costs about 117% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Arklow sits 94% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.34 €19.87

$10.76 MX$199

107.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.5 €79.6

$43.03 MX$795

107.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.25 €10.01

$11.79 MX$218

-4.58%

Cappuccino

$4.12 €3.67

$3.87 MX$71.4

6.46%

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

$2.93 €2.60

$1.37 MX$25.29

113.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 €2.00

$0.84 MX$15.44

167.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.47 €4.86

$3.10 MX$57.3

76.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 €4.58

$5.07 MX$93.6

1.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 €1.50

$1.44 MX$26.55

17.36%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 €1.99

$2.23 MX$41.23

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.47 MX$27.17

29.25%

Eggs

$4.64 €4.12

$2.53 MX$46.71

83.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.19 €12.62

$7.30 MX$135

94.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.17 €11.71

$7.86 MX$145

67.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.67 €14.83

$12.79 MX$236

30.34%

Apples (1kg)

$3.26 €2.90

$2.90 MX$53.6

12.41%

Banana (1kg)

$2.90 €2.58

$1.44 MX$26.53

101.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.42 €3.04

$2.55 MX$47.07

34.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.70 €4.18

$2.06 MX$38.03

128.16%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 €2.10

$2.00 MX$36.97

18.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$2.01 MX$37.07

-8.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.19 MX$22.02

21.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.26 MX$23.23

70.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.31 €18.07

$4.40 MX$81.4

361.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.59 €12.09

$9.59 MX$177

41.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.08 €3.63

$1.59 MX$29.41

156.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.61 €3.21

$2.81 MX$51.9

28.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.40 €2.14

$0.57 MX$10.47

321.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.18 €4.61

$4.98 MX$92.1

4.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 €1.37

$3.50 MX$64.6

-56.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.30 €29.62

$5.40 MX$99.8

516.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.47 MX$27.08

44.22%

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

$38.8K €34.5K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

84.83%

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

$37.3K €33.2K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

56.04%

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

$240 €213

$84.2 MX$1,556

184.88%

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

$22.10 €19.65

$23.99 MX$443

-7.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.2 €49.08

$29.02 MX$536

90.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.5 €51.2

$63.0 MX$1,164

-8.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$13.58 €12.08

$4.94 MX$91.3

174.90%

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

$1,066 €948

$204 MX$3,763

423.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,404 €4,807

$3,941 MX$72.8K

37.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.9 €83.5

$43.60 MX$806

115.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.32 €38.53

$43.12 MX$797

0.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.6

$75.8 MX$1,400

40.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$88.6 MX$1,637

33.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,566 €1,393

$1,008 MX$18.6K

55.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,325 €1,178

$374 MX$6,911

254.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,857 €2,541

$1,708 MX$31.6K

67.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,819 €1,618

$1,106 MX$20.4K

64.49%

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)

$4,863 €4,325

$754 MX$13.9K

544.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.14

11.45

-63.84%

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

Last update for Arklow: 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

Arklow

$1.3K 50.5%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 71.8% $951

Groceries & Markets

Arklow

$392 14.9%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 34% $133

Eating Out

Arklow

$320 12.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 36.9% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Arklow

$317 12.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 56.7% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Arklow

$163 6.2%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 30.6% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Arklow

$85 3.2%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 13.9% $12

Getting Around

Arklow

$23 * 0.9%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 133% $30

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,566 in Arklow versus $1,008 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.

Salaries run about 545% higher in Arklow, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $89.0 in Arklow versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $392 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Arklow

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

12:32 12:32 PM

06:32 6:32 AM

6 h behind Arklow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,399

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

Arklow Playa del Carmen 7,590 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Arklow
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $2,624 in Arklow, $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – roughly 117% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,936 per month in Arklow and $1,816 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 Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $89.0 in Arklow and $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 52% more in Arklow, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Arklow at $2,624. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Arklow 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 $1,210 in Playa del Carmen to $2,624 in Arklow. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Arklow makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.