Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ashgabat and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,367 in Ashgabat, rent and utilities included – about $26,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

164

Cost of Living Index in Ashgabat
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Ashgabat Living Index
59

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

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Ashgabat

🇹🇲 Turkmenistan

$3,367

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,367 in Ashgabat versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Ashgabat $3,367
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,093 in Ashgabat versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Ashgabat $5,093
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,820 in Ashgabat versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Ashgabat $6,820
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Ashgabat is roughly 180% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ashgabat is 148% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.92 TMT 104

$10.86 MX$201

184.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.5 TMT 290

$44.21 MX$817

95.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.08 TMT 43.94

$11.76 MX$217

11.22%

Cappuccino

$6.94 TMT 23.33

$3.68 MX$68.0

88.59%

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

$1.58 TMT 5.32

$1.34 MX$24.79

17.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 TMT 2.83

$0.82 MX$15.24

2.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.78 TMT 19.42

$3.06 MX$56.6

88.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.40 TMT 45.02

$4.94 MX$91.2

171.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.41 TMT 14.82

$1.47 MX$27.17

200.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 TMT 6.90

$2.22 MX$40.95

-7.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.99 TMT 20.12

$1.48 MX$27.32

304.73%

Eggs

$5.85 TMT 19.65

$2.49 MX$45.99

134.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$37.82 TMT 127

$7.52 MX$139

402.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.59 TMT 65.8

$7.96 MX$147

146.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$23.05 TMT 77.4

$12.57 MX$232

83.37%

Apples (1kg)

$5.19 TMT 17.45

$2.78 MX$51.3

86.69%

Banana (1kg)

$8.41 TMT 28.24

$1.43 MX$26.37

488.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.69 TMT 25.83

$2.62 MX$48.37

193.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.57 TMT 11.99

$2.14 MX$39.49

66.82%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 TMT 7.74

$2.02 MX$37.38

14.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 TMT 4.76

$1.99 MX$36.74

-28.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.72 TMT 9.15

$1.14 MX$21.01

138.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 TMT 3.69

$1.20 MX$22.18

-8.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$25.46 TMT 85.6

$4.26 MX$78.7

497.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$41.36 TMT 139

$10.02 MX$185

312.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.16 TMT 17.35

$1.54 MX$28.41

235.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 TMT 9.77

$2.66 MX$49.17

9.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.14 TMT 0.47

$0.53 MX$9.73

-73.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.01 TMT 33.62

$27.51 MX$508

-63.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.83 TMT 9.50

$4.90 MX$90.6

-42.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.84 TMT 2.84

$3.43 MX$63.5

-75.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.49 TMT 28.54

$5.38 MX$99.4

57.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.44 TMT 1.50

$1.45 MX$26.76

-69.66%

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

$44.2K TMT 148.4K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

108.76%

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

$56.7K TMT 190.4K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

146.23%

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

$567 TMT 1,905

$85.4 MX$1,577

564.26%

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

$56.8 TMT 191

$23.46 MX$434

141.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$103 TMT 345

$28.43 MX$525

261.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$192 TMT 645

$62.2 MX$1,149

208.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$43.98 TMT 148

$28.68 MX$530

53.35%

Cinema Ticket

$8.78 TMT 29.50

$5.10 MX$94.3

72.16%

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

$23.20 TMT 77.9

$201 MX$3,715

-88.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.9K TMT 83.6K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

530.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 TMT 189

$44.39 MX$820

26.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$115 TMT 385

$41.35 MX$764

177.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$368 TMT 1,238

$72.7 MX$1,344

406.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$195 TMT 655

$89.6 MX$1,656

117.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,412 TMT 4,745

$979 MX$18.1K

44.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$982 TMT 3,298

$373 MX$6,887

163.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,273 TMT 7,636

$1,681 MX$31.1K

35.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,959 TMT 6,582

$1,095 MX$20.2K

78.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,585 TMT 12.0K

$3,949 MX$73.0K

-9.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,851 TMT 9,580

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-53.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 TMT 2,478

$738 MX$13.6K

0.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.5

11.45

-17.03%

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

Last update for Ashgabat: October 17, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ashgabat

$982 29.2%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 62% $609

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ashgabat

$727 21.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 81.1% $589

Groceries & Markets

Ashgabat

$666 19.8%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 61.2% $407

Eating Out

Ashgabat

$435 12.9%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 54% $235

Clothing & Footwear

Ashgabat

$330 9.8%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 66.2% $219

Sport & Entertainment

Ashgabat

$210 6.2%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 65.5% $137

Getting Around

Ashgabat

$18 0.5%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 194% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,412 in Ashgabat and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ashgabat pays 0% 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: $86.0 in Ashgabat vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $666 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇲 Ashgabat

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

18:28 6:28 PM

08:28 8:28 AM

10 h behind Ashgabat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

909,000 Capital

149,923

💱 Currency

Turkmenistani Manat TMT m

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 TMT = 0.298 USD

1 TMT = 0.265 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to TMT – Turkmenistani Manat Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇲 Turkmenistani Manat (m)

Turkmenistani Manat exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 3.36 TMT (1 TMT = 0.298 USD). 1 EUR = 3.78 TMT (1 TMT = 0.265 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to TMT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ashgabat Playa del Carmen 12,570 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Ashgabat
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

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

Ashgabat and Playa del Carmen differ by about 180% in total monthly costs ($3,367 vs $1,204 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 0% higher in Ashgabat, 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: $1,412 in Ashgabat versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $23.20 in Ashgabat versus $201 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 158% higher in Ashgabat. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,367 in Ashgabat, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Ashgabat. 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, Ashgabat 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 180% less than in Ashgabat. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.