Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Birzebbuga and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,662 in Birzebbuga, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Birzebbuga
Learn more

Birzebbuga Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Birzebbuga

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,662

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,662 in Birzebbuga versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Birzebbuga $1,662
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,653 in Birzebbuga versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Birzebbuga $2,653
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,643 in Birzebbuga versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Birzebbuga $3,643
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Birzebbuga is roughly 38% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Birzebbuga is 22% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.24 €13.69

$10.92 MX$204

39.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.1 €77.3

$43.37 MX$808

98.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 €10.56

$11.78 MX$220

-0.17%

Cappuccino

$2.61 €2.35

$3.81 MX$71.0

-31.50%

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

$2.06 €1.85

$1.28 MX$23.90

60.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 €1.76

$0.78 MX$14.59

151.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 €2.03

$3.17 MX$59.0

-28.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 €2.99

$4.93 MX$92.0

-32.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 €1.14

$1.41 MX$26.22

-9.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.22 MX$41.33

-40.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.12 €2.80

$1.42 MX$26.42

119.72%

Eggs

$3.60 €3.24

$2.52 MX$47.03

42.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.29 €7.45

$7.26 MX$135

14.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 €8.63

$7.70 MX$143

24.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.35 €16.48

$12.69 MX$237

44.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 €2.33

$2.78 MX$51.9

-6.47%

Banana (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.37 MX$25.50

51.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 €2.72

$2.55 MX$47.55

18.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.97 €2.67

$2.12 MX$39.58

40.09%

Potato (1kg)

$1.62 €1.45

$1.94 MX$36.13

-16.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.85 €1.67

$1.89 MX$35.16

-2.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.15 MX$21.37

33.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$1.18 MX$21.98

-35.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.02 €5.41

$4.30 MX$80.1

40.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.68 €6.00

$9.95 MX$185

-32.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 €1.40

$1.58 MX$29.52

-1.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 €2.15

$2.67 MX$49.79

-10.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.25 €2.03

$0.55 MX$10.31

309.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.81 €13.30

$26.62 MX$496

-44.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.57 €5.01

$4.97 MX$92.6

12.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.18 €1.96

$3.33 MX$62.1

-34.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.14 €24.38

$5.36 MX$99.8

406.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.44 MX$26.92

2.08%

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

$30.0K €27.0K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

45.39%

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

$33.0K €29.7K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

40.81%

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

$94.3 €84.7

$84.8 MX$1,581

11.20%

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

$25.00 €22.46

$23.41 MX$436

6.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.58 €38.25

$28.66 MX$534

48.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.7 €50.1

$57.1 MX$1,063

-2.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.94 €19.71

$28.91 MX$539

-24.11%

Cinema Ticket

$10.14 €9.11

$5.14 MX$95.8

97.28%

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

$367 €330

$207 MX$3,851

77.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,991 €8,077

$3,927 MX$73.2K

128.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.7 €77.8

$43.35 MX$808

99.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.77 €33.93

$41.44 MX$772

-8.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 €82.2

$74.2 MX$1,383

23.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.1 €71.1

$89.3 MX$1,664

-11.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,174 €1,055

$980 MX$18.3K

19.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$746 €670

$381 MX$7,099

95.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,688 €1,516

$1,708 MX$31.8K

-1.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,351 €1,214

$1,075 MX$20.0K

25.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,912 €3,514

$3,943 MX$73.5K

-0.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,876 €2,583

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-53.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,758 €1,579

$735 MX$13.7K

139.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.9

11.45

-74.67%

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

Last update for Birzebbuga: October 27, 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

Birzebbuga

$746 44.9%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 49% $365

Groceries & Markets

Birzebbuga

$283 17%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 9.9% $28

Eating Out

Birzebbuga

$223 13.4%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 9.1% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Birzebbuga

$162 9.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 15.5% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Birzebbuga

$133 8%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 15.9% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Birzebbuga

$76 4.6%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 11.4% $8.7

Getting Around

Birzebbuga

$40 2.4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 25.1% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,174 in Birzebbuga and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Birzebbuga pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $86 in Birzebbuga vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Birzebbuga

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

22:20 10:20 PM

16:20 4:20 PM

6 h behind Birzebbuga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

10,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Birzebbuga Playa del Carmen 9,670 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Birzebbuga
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

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

Playa del Carmen is about 28% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Birzebbuga is about 2.4 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: $1,174 in Birzebbuga versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $86 in Birzebbuga. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,662 per month in Birzebbuga versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 28% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,662 in Birzebbuga, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Birzebbuga. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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 – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Birzebbuga on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.