Cost of Living Comparison Between Balti and Playa del Carmen Cost of Living Comparison Between Balti and Playa del Carmen

🙂 Solo nomad: Balti is 18.8% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 21.7% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Balti is 30.9% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 49.7% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Balti
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$8.02 MDL 138
$11.85 MX$205
-32.32%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$36.80 MDL 631
$42.16 MX$730
-12.71%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.57 MDL 130
$10.75 MX$186
-29.58%
Cappuccino
$1.61 MDL 27.58
$3.47 MX$60.2
-53.60%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.94 MDL 16.08
$1.45 MX$25.17
-35.17%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.65 MDL 11.13
$0.90 MX$15.64
-27.78%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.74 MDL 29.78
$3.05 MX$52.9
-42.95%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.26 MDL 38.81
$4.42 MX$76.5
-48.87%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Balti
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.27 MDL 21.83
$1.37 MX$23.72
-7.30%
White Bread (500g)
$0.42 MDL 7.24
$1.87 MX$32.43
-77.54%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.51 MDL 25.82
$1.54 MX$26.74
-1.95%
Eggs
$1.63 MDL 27.89
$2.50 MX$43.36
-34.80%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$9.22 MDL 158
$8.61 MX$149
7.08%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$4.58 MDL 78.5
$8.63 MX$150
-46.93%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$8.79 MDL 151
$11.02 MX$191
-20.24%
Apples (1kg)
$0.89 MDL 15.21
$2.75 MX$47.62
-67.64%
Banana (1kg)
$1.78 MDL 30.47
$1.43 MX$24.73
24.48%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.55 MDL 26.57
$1.87 MX$32.44
-17.11%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.10 MDL 36.06
$2.17 MX$37.54
-3.23%
Potato (1kg)
$0.69 MDL 11.89
$1.88 MX$32.61
-63.30%
Onion (1kg)
$0.59 MDL 10.07
$2.25 MX$38.91
-73.78%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.32 MDL 22.59
$1.07 MX$18.49
23.36%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.87 MDL 14.94
$1.07 MX$18.59
-18.69%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.29 MDL 56.4
$4.15 MX$72.0
-20.72%
Wine (Bottle)
$4.68 MDL 80.2
$10.34 MX$179
-54.74%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.22 MDL 20.89
$1.68 MX$29.08
-27.38%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.98 MDL 33.94
$2.48 MX$43.02
-20.16%
🚌 Getting Around
Balti
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.36 MDL 6.18
$0.55 MX$9.61
-34.55%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$26.53 MX$459
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.03 MDL 34.73
$3.22 MX$55.7
-36.96%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.27 MDL 4.68
$2.48 MX$42.98
-89.11%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.28 MDL 90.6
$3.11 MX$53.9
69.77%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.37 MDL 23.52
$1.26 MX$21.75
8.73%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$31.8K MDL 545.9K
$30.7K MX$531.0K
3.81%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$30.4K MDL 521.8K
$24.0K MX$416.4K
26.56%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Balti
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$173 MDL 2,966
$82.5 MX$1,429
109.69%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$4.76 MDL 81.6
$22.29 MX$386
-78.65%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$10.63 MDL 182
$30.02 MX$520
-64.59%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Balti
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$41.25 MDL 707
$51.4 MX$891
-19.81%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$18.29 MX$317
-
Cinema Ticket
$4.78 MDL 81.9
$4.98 MX$86.3
-4.02%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Balti
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$116 MDL 1,992
$200 MX$3,464
-41.93%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,543 MDL 95.1K
$5,304 MX$91.9K
4.49%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Balti
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$65.4 MDL 1,122
$35.71 MX$618
83.20%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$53.9 MDL 925
$39.56 MX$685
36.30%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$112 MDL 1,920
$80.6 MX$1,395
39.02%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$125 MDL 2,141
$88.3 MX$1,530
41.35%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Balti
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$410 MDL 7,025
$969 MX$16.8K
-57.74%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$298 MDL 5,115
$482 MX$8,352
-38.16%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
-
$1,595 MX$27.6K
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
-
$1,184 MX$20.5K
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,469 MDL 25.2K
$4,050 MX$70.1K
-63.74%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,029 MDL 17.7K
$6,522 MX$113.0K
-84.22%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Balti
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$431 MDL 7,387
$756 MX$13.1K
-43.05%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
9.24
11.42
-19.09%

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

Last update for Balti: March 2, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: March 3, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.
Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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