Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Arnhem and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,557 in Arnhem, rent and utilities included – about $16,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Arnhem
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Arnhem Living Index
59

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

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Arnhem

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$2,557

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,557 in Arnhem versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Arnhem $2,557
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,743 in Arnhem versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Arnhem $3,743
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,930 in Arnhem versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Arnhem $4,930
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Arnhem is roughly 111% 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: Arnhem is 89% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.91 €19.49

$10.76 MX$199

103.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.2 €75.8

$43.03 MX$795

98.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.98 €13.32

$11.79 MX$218

27.06%

Cappuccino

$4.07 €3.62

$3.87 MX$71.4

5.17%

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

$3.34 €2.97

$1.37 MX$25.29

143.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.83 €2.52

$0.84 MX$15.44

236.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.62 €5.00

$3.10 MX$57.3

81.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.47 €4.86

$5.07 MX$93.6

7.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 €1.32

$1.44 MX$26.55

2.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.99 €1.77

$2.23 MX$41.23

-10.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.29 €2.04

$1.47 MX$27.17

55.78%

Eggs

$5.21 €4.64

$2.53 MX$46.71

105.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.74 €11.33

$7.30 MX$135

74.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.14 €12.58

$7.86 MX$145

79.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.77 €14.03

$12.79 MX$236

23.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.82 €2.50

$2.90 MX$53.6

-2.76%

Banana (1kg)

$2.54 €2.26

$1.44 MX$26.53

76.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.55 MX$47.07

-27.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.39 €4.79

$2.06 MX$38.03

161.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.88 €1.67

$2.00 MX$36.97

-6.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.39 €2.13

$2.01 MX$37.07

18.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 €1.08

$1.19 MX$22.02

2.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 €0.63

$1.26 MX$23.23

-43.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.23 €12.65

$4.40 MX$81.4

223.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.15 €6.36

$9.59 MX$177

-25.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.59 MX$29.41

-9.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$2.81 MX$51.9

-6.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.35 €3.87

$0.57 MX$10.47

663.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$113 €100

$27.82 MX$514

305.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.00 €3.56

$4.98 MX$92.1

-19.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.38 €2.12

$3.50 MX$64.6

-32.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.86 €29.23

$5.40 MX$99.8

508.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.39 €2.12

$1.47 MX$27.08

62.59%

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

$41.8K €37.2K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

99.32%

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

$39.7K €35.3K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

66.03%

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

$276 €245

$84.2 MX$1,556

227.29%

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

$22.71 €20.20

$23.99 MX$443

-5.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.44 €37.75

$29.02 MX$536

46.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.30 €36.73

$63.0 MX$1,164

-34.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 €9.78

$29.14 MX$539

-62.29%

Cinema Ticket

$14.38 €12.79

$4.94 MX$91.3

191.09%

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

$1,259 €1,120

$204 MX$3,763

518.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,925 €5,270

$3,941 MX$72.8K

50.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$95.3 €84.8

$43.60 MX$806

118.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.13 €25.91

$43.12 MX$797

-32.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 €94.8

$75.8 MX$1,400

40.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$152 €136

$88.6 MX$1,637

72.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,436 €1,278

$1,008 MX$18.6K

42.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,159 €1,031

$374 MX$6,911

209.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,228 €1,982

$1,708 MX$31.6K

30.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,834 €1,632

$1,106 MX$20.4K

65.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,312 €4,725

$3,944 MX$72.9K

34.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,175 €3,714

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-32.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,723 €3,312

$754 MX$13.9K

393.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.95

11.45

-65.50%

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

Last update for Arnhem: 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

Arnhem

$1.2K 45.3%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 67.7% $785

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Arnhem

$341 13.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 59.7% $204

Groceries & Markets

Arnhem

$335 13.1%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 22.9% $77

Eating Out

Arnhem

$333 13%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 39.2% $131

Clothing & Footwear

Arnhem

$173 6.8%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 34.5% $60

Getting Around

Arnhem

$146 5.7%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 64% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Arnhem

$70 2.7%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 4% $2.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,436 in Arnhem and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Arnhem pays 394% 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: $85.0 in Arnhem vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $335 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇱 Arnhem

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

01:46 1:46 AM

18:46 6:46 PM

7 h behind Arnhem

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

165,770

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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 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

Arnhem Playa del Carmen 8,410 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Arnhem
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

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

Arnhem and Playa del Carmen differ by about 111% in total monthly costs ($2,557 vs $1,210 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 394% higher in Arnhem, 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: $1,436 in Arnhem versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Arnhem. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $85.0 in Arnhem. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,557 in Arnhem, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Arnhem. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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, Arnhem 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 111% less than in Arnhem. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.