Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Benoni and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Benoni: $1,067 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

51

Cost of Living Index in Benoni
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Benoni Living Index
58

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

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Benoni

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,067

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,067 in Benoni versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Benoni $1,067
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,318 in Benoni versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Benoni $1,318
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,568 in Benoni versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Benoni $1,568
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Benoni costs roughly 11% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Benoni 22% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.86 R 165

$10.92 MX$205

-9.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.05 R 619

$43.37 MX$814

-14.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 R 92.7

$11.78 MX$221

-52.89%

Cappuccino

$2.17 R 36.21

$3.81 MX$71.5

-43.04%

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

$1.14 R 19.02

$1.28 MX$24.07

-10.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 R 14.08

$0.78 MX$14.70

7.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.37 R 39.54

$3.17 MX$59.5

-25.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 R 45.92

$4.93 MX$92.7

-44.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 R 20.21

$1.41 MX$26.40

-14.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 R 18.66

$2.22 MX$41.62

-49.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 R 29.83

$1.42 MX$26.61

26.06%

Eggs

$2.49 R 41.52

$2.52 MX$47.36

-1.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.18 R 137

$7.26 MX$136

12.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.85 R 81.0

$7.70 MX$144

-37.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.12 R 119

$12.69 MX$238

-43.89%

Apples (1kg)

$1.74 R 29.03

$2.78 MX$52.3

-37.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 R 26.73

$1.37 MX$25.68

16.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.64

$2.55 MX$47.89

-30.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 R 26.14

$2.12 MX$39.86

-26.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 R 17.88

$1.94 MX$36.39

-44.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 R 19.60

$1.89 MX$35.41

-38.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 R 20.33

$1.15 MX$21.53

6.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 R 21.66

$1.18 MX$22.13

10.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.52 R 58.9

$4.30 MX$80.6

-18.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.97 R 83.0

$9.95 MX$187

-50.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 R 25.27

$1.58 MX$29.73

-4.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 R 33.13

$2.67 MX$50.1

-25.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 R 4.80

$4.97 MX$93.3

-94.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 R 15.56

$3.33 MX$62.5

-72.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.37 R 240

$5.36 MX$101

168.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 R 25.61

$1.44 MX$27.11

6.25%

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

$35.4K R 592.0K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

71.48%

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

$34.4K R 575.4K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

46.76%

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

$197 R 3,294

$84.8 MX$1,592

132.50%

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

$39.26 R 656

$23.41 MX$439

67.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.82 R 632

$28.66 MX$538

31.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.81 R 298

$57.1 MX$1,071

-68.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$7.15 R 119

$5.14 MX$96.5

39.11%

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

$246 R 4,108

$207 MX$3,878

19.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,379 R 89.9K

$3,927 MX$73.7K

36.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.1 R 870

$43.35 MX$814

20.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.79 R 531

$41.44 MX$778

-23.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.2 R 1,524

$74.2 MX$1,393

22.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.3 R 1,376

$89.3 MX$1,676

-7.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$393 R 6,564

$980 MX$18.4K

-59.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$302 R 5,049

$381 MX$7,150

-20.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$489 R 8,178

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-71.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,000 R 33.4K

$735 MX$13.8K

172.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.91

11.45

-4.72%

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

Last update for Benoni: October 25, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Benoni

$302 28.3%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 26% $79

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Benoni

$274 25.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 50.1% $137

Groceries & Markets

Benoni

$191 17.9%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 33.3% $64

Eating Out

Benoni

$147 13.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 37.9% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Benoni

$116 10.9%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 3.6% $4.2

Sport & Entertainment

Benoni

$32 3%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 110% $35

Getting Around

Benoni

$4.9 * 0.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 921% $46

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 $393 in Benoni and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Benoni pays about 2.7 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37 in Benoni vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $191 vs $255 per month, with Benoni cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Benoni

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

12:51 12:51 PM

05:51 5:51 AM

7 h behind Benoni

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

158,777

149,923

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 16.71 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Benoni Playa del Carmen 13,460 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Benoni
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,067 in Benoni and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Benoni is about 11% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Benoni is about 2.7 times higher, 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: $393 in Benoni versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 33% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,067 per month in Benoni versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Benoni is about 11% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Benoni gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.