Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bologna and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,168 in Bologna, rent and utilities included – about $11,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

105

Cost of Living Index in Bologna
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Bologna Living Index
59

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

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Bologna

🇮🇹 Italy

$2,168

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,168 per month in Bologna vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Bologna $2,168
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $3,357 per month in Bologna vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Bologna $3,357
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $4,546 per month in Bologna vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Bologna $4,546
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Bologna costs about 79% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Bologna sits 61% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.66 €20.16

$10.76 MX$199

110.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$87.8 €78.1

$43.03 MX$795

104.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.46 €11.98

$11.79 MX$218

14.16%

Cappuccino

$2.24 €1.99

$3.87 MX$71.4

-42.12%

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

$3.52 €3.13

$1.37 MX$25.29

156.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 €1.61

$0.84 MX$15.44

115.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.68 €5.94

$3.10 MX$57.3

115.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.63 €5.01

$5.07 MX$93.6

11.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.40 €1.25

$1.44 MX$26.55

-2.78%

White Bread (500g)

$2.99 €2.66

$2.23 MX$41.23

34.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.89 €2.57

$1.47 MX$27.17

96.60%

Eggs

$4.01 €3.57

$2.53 MX$46.71

58.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$20.41 €18.15

$7.30 MX$135

179.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.24 €10.88

$7.86 MX$145

55.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.03 €18.70

$12.79 MX$236

64.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.48 €2.21

$2.90 MX$53.6

-14.48%

Banana (1kg)

$2.40 €2.13

$1.44 MX$26.53

66.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 €2.27

$2.55 MX$47.07

Tomato (1kg)

$3.31 €2.95

$2.06 MX$38.03

60.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.88 €1.67

$2.00 MX$36.97

-6.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 €1.52

$2.01 MX$37.07

-14.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 €1.20

$1.19 MX$22.02

13.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 €0.50

$1.26 MX$23.23

-55.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.88 €6.12

$4.40 MX$81.4

56.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.96 €7.08

$9.59 MX$177

-17.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 €1.70

$1.59 MX$29.41

20.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.83 €2.52

$2.81 MX$51.9

0.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.63 €2.34

$0.57 MX$10.47

361.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.76 €38.03

$27.82 MX$514

53.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.64 €4.13

$4.98 MX$92.1

-6.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.65 €1.47

$3.50 MX$64.6

-52.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.98 €28.45

$5.40 MX$99.8

492.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.47 MX$27.08

45.58%

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

$36.8K €32.8K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

75.56%

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

$36.4K €32.4K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

52.33%

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

$249 €221

$84.2 MX$1,556

195.10%

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

$11.10 €9.88

$23.99 MX$443

-53.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.22 €27.77

$29.02 MX$536

7.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.1 €56.1

$63.0 MX$1,164

0.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.63 €23.69

$29.14 MX$539

-8.61%

Cinema Ticket

$9.87 €8.78

$4.94 MX$91.3

99.80%

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

$768 €683

$204 MX$3,763

277.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

319.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.5 €83.1

$43.60 MX$806

114.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.18 €41.08

$43.12 MX$797

7.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 €109

$75.8 MX$1,400

61.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$146 €129

$88.6 MX$1,637

64.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,141 €1,015

$1,008 MX$18.6K

13.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$867 €771

$374 MX$6,911

131.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,081 €1,851

$1,708 MX$31.6K

21.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,574 €1,400

$1,106 MX$20.4K

42.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,130 €4,563

$3,944 MX$72.9K

30.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,737 €3,324

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-39.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,103 €1,870

$754 MX$13.9K

178.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

11.45

-72.14%

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

Last update for Bologna: 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

Bologna

$867 40%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 56.9% $493

Groceries & Markets

Bologna

$363 16.7%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 28.8% $104

Eating Out

Bologna

$314 14.5%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 35.7% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bologna

$291 13.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 52.8% $154

Clothing & Footwear

Bologna

$183 8.5%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 38.4% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Bologna

$83 3.8%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 12% $9.9

Getting Around

Bologna

$66 3.1%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 20.6% $14

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,141 in Bologna versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 179% higher in Bologna, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $88.0 in Bologna versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $363 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Bologna

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

15:22 3:22 PM

08:22 8:22 AM

7 h behind Bologna

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

386,663

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bologna Playa del Carmen 9,050 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Bologna
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

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

Bologna costs about 79% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,251 per month in Bologna and $1,816 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 54% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $768 per month in Bologna and $204 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Bologna at $2,168. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Bologna it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,210 versus $2,168 in Bologna. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Bologna makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.