Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Badulla and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Badulla: $547 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

26

Cost of Living Index in Badulla
Learn more

Badulla Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Badulla

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$547

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $547 in Badulla versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Badulla $547
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $883 in Badulla versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Badulla $883
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,219 in Badulla versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Badulla $1,219
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Badulla costs roughly 55% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Badulla 60% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.84 LKR 1,276

$10.67 MX$199

-64.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.93 LKR 8,291

$43.80 MX$815

-43.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.54 LKR 2,507

$11.79 MX$219

-36.05%

Cappuccino

$2.47 LKR 823

$3.79 MX$70.5

-34.83%

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

$0.68 LKR 227

$1.30 MX$24.14

-47.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 90.6

$0.83 MX$15.51

-67.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 LKR 752

$3.15 MX$58.6

-28.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 LKR 1,006

$4.93 MX$91.8

-38.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 LKR 539

$1.41 MX$26.22

14.89%

White Bread (500g)

$0.57 LKR 190

$2.20 MX$40.86

-74.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.61 LKR 203

$1.47 MX$27.40

-58.50%

Eggs

$1.65 LKR 548

$2.50 MX$46.46

-34.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.15 LKR 5,038

$7.29 MX$136

107.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.70 LKR 1,230

$7.95 MX$148

-53.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 LKR 2,528

$12.86 MX$239

-40.90%

Apples (1kg)

$6.61 LKR 2,198

$2.90 MX$53.9

127.93%

Banana (1kg)

$0.89 LKR 296

$1.38 MX$25.74

-35.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.27 LKR 1,421

$2.49 MX$46.35

71.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.26 LKR 420

$2.03 MX$37.77

-37.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.09 LKR 362

$2.02 MX$37.68

-46.04%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 LKR 261

$1.90 MX$35.42

-58.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 LKR 405

$1.14 MX$21.30

7.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.46 LKR 152

$1.24 MX$23.05

-62.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.15 LKR 3,375

$4.27 MX$79.5

137.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.31 LKR 4,428

$9.81 MX$183

35.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 LKR 634

$1.59 MX$29.51

20.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 LKR 947

$2.75 MX$51.1

3.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.41 LKR 136

$4.76 MX$88.6

-91.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.33 LKR 111

$3.25 MX$60.5

-89.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.87 LKR 288

$5.39 MX$100

-83.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 LKR 454

$1.53 MX$28.44

-10.46%

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

$42.8K LKR 14.2M

$21.2K MX$394.8K

101.80%

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

$46.1K LKR 15.3M

$23.3K MX$432.9K

98.16%

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

$56.2 LKR 18.7K

$83.5 MX$1,554

-32.64%

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

$4.32 LKR 1,437

$23.19 MX$431

-81.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.66 LKR 6,873

$27.61 MX$514

-25.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$4.39 LKR 1,461

$5.00 MX$93.1

-12.20%

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

$40.51 LKR 13.5K

$207 MX$3,854

-80.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.5K LKR 5.8M

$5,231 MX$97.3K

235.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.24 LKR 6,068

$43.45 MX$809

-58.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.37 LKR 5,779

$42.54 MX$792

-59.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.6 LKR 25.8K

$72.8 MX$1,354

6.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.18 LKR 13.7K

$88.4 MX$1,645

-53.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$76.3 LKR 25.4K

$995 MX$18.5K

-92.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$44.38 LKR 14.8K

$382 MX$7,116

-88.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$89.8 LKR 29.9K

$1,081 MX$20.1K

-91.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,570 LKR 1.5M

$3,909 MX$72.7K

16.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$747 LKR 248.4K

$6,138 MX$114.2K

-87.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$222 LKR 73.7K

$832 MX$15.5K

-73.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.5

11.45

9.17%

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

Last update for Badulla: November 1, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Badulla

$237 43.3%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 8.8% $21

Eating Out

Badulla

$104 19.1%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 92.3% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Badulla

$81 14.9%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 65.3% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Badulla

$69 12.7%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 60% $42

Accommodation & Living

Badulla

$44 8.1%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 762% $338

Sport & Entertainment

Badulla

$8.8 * 1.6%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 657% $58

Getting Around

Badulla

$2.1 * 0.4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 2326% $48

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 $76 in Badulla and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 3.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $25 in Badulla vs $44 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $257 per month, with Badulla cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Badulla

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

10:48 10:48 AM

00:18 12:18 AM

10 h 30 min behind Badulla

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

110,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.67 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 374 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.67 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Badulla Playa del Carmen 16,680 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Badulla
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

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

Badulla is about 55% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, leisure, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 73% lower in Badulla. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $76 in Badulla versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $41 in Badulla versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Badulla – a meal for two runs $25 versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $547 in Badulla versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Badulla but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Badulla 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.

It comes down to priorities – Badulla wins on affordability, Playa del Carmen on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.