Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Azcapotzalco and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Azcapotzalco: $1,140 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $840 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Azcapotzalco
Learn more

Azcapotzalco Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Azcapotzalco

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,140

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,140 in Azcapotzalco versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Azcapotzalco $1,140
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,829 in Azcapotzalco versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Azcapotzalco $1,829
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,517 in Azcapotzalco versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Azcapotzalco $2,517
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Azcapotzalco costs roughly 6% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Azcapotzalco 16% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.83 MX$200

$10.76 MX$199

0.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.07 MX$796

$43.03 MX$795

0.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.68 MX$160

$11.79 MX$218

-26.38%

Cappuccino

$3.62 MX$66.9

$3.87 MX$71.4

-6.46%

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

$1.41 MX$26.13

$1.37 MX$25.29

2.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.07 MX$19.75

$0.84 MX$15.44

27.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.50 MX$46.21

$3.10 MX$57.3

-19.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.97 MX$73.4

$5.07 MX$93.6

-21.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 MX$30.71

$1.44 MX$26.55

15.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.67 MX$49.35

$2.23 MX$41.23

19.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.65 MX$30.43

$1.47 MX$27.17

12.24%

Eggs

$2.54 MX$46.86

$2.53 MX$46.71

0.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.06 MX$149

$7.30 MX$135

10.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.38 MX$155

$7.86 MX$145

6.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.72 MX$217

$12.79 MX$236

-8.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 MX$50.8

$2.90 MX$53.6

-5.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 MX$28.82

$1.44 MX$26.53

8.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 MX$34.45

$2.55 MX$47.07

-27.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.78 MX$32.94

$2.06 MX$38.03

-13.59%

Potato (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.22

$2.00 MX$36.97

0.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$34.89

$2.01 MX$37.07

-5.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.38

$1.19 MX$22.02

24.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 MX$19.96

$1.26 MX$23.23

-14.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$4.40 MX$81.4

-3.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.49 MX$194

$9.59 MX$177

9.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 MX$31.95

$1.59 MX$29.41

8.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.81 MX$51.9

8.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 MX$12.76

$0.57 MX$10.47

21.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.63 MX$48.59

$4.98 MX$92.1

-47.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.95 MX$35.99

$3.50 MX$64.6

-44.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.65 MX$215

$5.40 MX$99.8

115.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.77

$1.47 MX$27.08

-1.36%

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

$21.5K MX$396.7K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

2.29%

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

$24.1K MX$445.6K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

0.86%

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

$58.5 MX$1,081

$84.2 MX$1,556

-30.52%

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

$23.16 MX$428

$23.99 MX$443

-3.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.55 MX$546

$29.02 MX$536

1.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.65 MX$640

$63.0 MX$1,164

-44.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.76 MX$365

$29.14 MX$539

-32.19%

Cinema Ticket

$5.19 MX$95.9

$4.94 MX$91.3

5.06%

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

$217 MX$4,004

$204 MX$3,763

6.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,543 MX$83.9K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

15.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.5 MX$1,008

$43.60 MX$806

25.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.10 MX$759

$43.12 MX$797

-4.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 MX$1,860

$75.8 MX$1,400

32.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.8 MX$1,659

$88.6 MX$1,637

1.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$607 MX$11.2K

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-39.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$388 MX$7,176

$374 MX$6,911

3.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,024 MX$18.9K

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-40.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$755 MX$14.0K

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-31.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,940 MX$35.8K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-50.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,161 MX$21.5K

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-81.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,728 MX$31.9K

$754 MX$13.9K

129.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

11.45

-1.31%

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

Last update for Azcapotzalco: 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

Azcapotzalco

$388 34.1%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 3.7% $14

Groceries & Markets

Azcapotzalco

$265 23.3%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 2.5% $6.8

Eating Out

Azcapotzalco

$186 16.4%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 8.5% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Azcapotzalco

$129 11.3%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 12.2% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Azcapotzalco

$111 9.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 23.4% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Azcapotzalco

$45 4%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 61.8% $28

Getting Around

Azcapotzalco

$15 * 1.3%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 247% $37

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 $607 in Azcapotzalco and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Azcapotzalco pays 129% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43.00 in Azcapotzalco vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $265 vs $258, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Azcapotzalco

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

18:45 6:45 PM

19:45 7:45 PM

1 h ahead of Azcapotzalco

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

432,205

149,923

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Azcapotzalco Playa del Carmen 1,270 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Azcapotzalco
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

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

Azcapotzalco and Playa del Carmen differ by about 6% in total monthly costs ($1,140 vs $1,210 including rent). Azcapotzalco is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 129% higher in Azcapotzalco, 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: $607 in Azcapotzalco versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Playa del Carmen pay roughly 3% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,140 per month in Azcapotzalco versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – a 6% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,140 in Azcapotzalco versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Azcapotzalco but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Azcapotzalco 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.

Expats usually find Azcapotzalco gentler on the wallet – expenses run 6% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.