Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Avila and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,448 in Avila, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

70

Cost of Living Index in Avila
Learn more

Avila Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Avila

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,448

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,448 in Avila versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Avila $1,448
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,146 in Avila versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Avila $2,146
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,845 in Avila versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Avila $2,845
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Avila is roughly 20% 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: Avila is 7% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.09 €15.21

$10.76 MX$199

58.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.5 €54.7

$43.03 MX$795

42.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.37 €10.11

$11.79 MX$218

-3.56%

Cappuccino

$2.11 €1.87

$3.87 MX$71.4

-45.48%

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

$3.29 €2.93

$1.37 MX$25.29

140.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.92 €1.71

$0.84 MX$15.44

128.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.31 €2.94

$3.10 MX$57.3

6.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 €3.98

$5.07 MX$93.6

-11.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 €1.05

$1.44 MX$26.55

-18.06%

White Bread (500g)

$0.82 €0.73

$2.23 MX$41.23

-63.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 €1.32

$1.47 MX$27.17

0.68%

Eggs

$2.99 €2.66

$2.53 MX$46.71

18.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$25.41 €22.60

$7.30 MX$135

248.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.27 €3.80

$7.86 MX$145

-45.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.04 €8.93

$12.79 MX$236

-21.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.70 €2.40

$2.90 MX$53.6

-6.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.25 €1.12

$1.44 MX$26.53

-13.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$2.55 MX$47.07

-13.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.04 €4.48

$2.06 MX$38.03

144.66%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$2.00 MX$36.97

7.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 €1.73

$2.01 MX$37.07

-2.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.19 MX$22.02

5.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 €0.50

$1.26 MX$23.23

-55.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.21 €5.52

$4.40 MX$81.4

41.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.00 €2.67

$9.59 MX$177

-68.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 €0.92

$1.59 MX$29.41

-35.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 €2.00

$2.81 MX$51.9

-20.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.25 €1.12

$0.57 MX$10.47

119.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.01 €29.36

$27.82 MX$514

18.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.37 €3.89

$4.98 MX$92.1

-12.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.19 €1.94

$3.50 MX$64.6

-37.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.41 €20.82

$5.40 MX$99.8

333.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.47 MX$27.08

21.77%

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

$35.3K €31.4K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

68.31%

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

$29.5K €26.3K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

23.60%

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

$75.0 €66.7

$84.2 MX$1,556

-11.00%

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

$16.61 €14.77

$23.99 MX$443

-30.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.95 €23.08

$29.02 MX$536

-10.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.25 €35.80

$63.0 MX$1,164

-36.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.55 €13.83

$29.14 MX$539

-46.64%

Cinema Ticket

$8.76 €7.79

$4.94 MX$91.3

77.33%

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

$177 €158

$204 MX$3,763

-12.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,058 €5,389

$3,941 MX$72.8K

53.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.3 €64.3

$43.60 MX$806

65.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.53 €31.60

$43.12 MX$797

-17.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.5 €68.1

$75.8 MX$1,400

0.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.6 €84.2

$88.6 MX$1,637

6.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$817 €726

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-19.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 €527

$374 MX$6,911

58.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,029 €915

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-39.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$779 €693

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-29.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 €2,102

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-40.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,743 €1,550

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-71.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,513 €2,235

$754 MX$13.9K

233.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.08

11.45

-73.10%

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

Last update for Avila: October 10, 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

Avila

$593 41%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 36.9% $219

Groceries & Markets

Avila

$258 17.8%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 0% $0.1

Eating Out

Avila

$242 16.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 16.6% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Avila

$126 8.7%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 10% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Avila

$118 8.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 16.8% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Avila

$58 4%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 26.2% $15

Getting Around

Avila

$53 3.7%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 1.4% $0.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $817 in Avila and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Avila pays 233% 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: $61.0 in Avila vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $258 vs $258, with Avila cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Avila

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

00:34 12:34 AM

17:34 5:34 PM

7 h behind Avila

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

57,741

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 = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Avila Playa del Carmen 7,910 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Avila
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 20% lower than in Avila. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 233% higher in Avila, 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: $817 in Avila versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,448 per month in Avila versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – a 20% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 19% less than in Avila. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,448 in Avila, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Avila. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Playa del Carmen delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,210 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Playa del Carmen hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Avila 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 20% less than in Avila. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.