Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bonao and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Bonao: $678 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Bonao
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Bonao Living Index
57

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

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Bonao

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$678

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $678 in Bonao versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Bonao $678
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,117 in Bonao versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Bonao $1,117
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,556 in Bonao versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Bonao $1,556
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Bonao costs roughly 44% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bonao 50% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.74 DOP 585

$10.67 MX$199

-8.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.85 DOP 2,934

$43.80 MX$815

11.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.64 DOP 459

$11.79 MX$219

-35.20%

Cappuccino

$1.93 DOP 116

$3.79 MX$70.5

-49.08%

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

$1.06 DOP 63.5

$1.30 MX$24.14

-18.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 DOP 34.39

$0.83 MX$15.51

-31.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.51 DOP 151

$3.15 MX$58.6

-20.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.14 DOP 189

$4.93 MX$91.8

-36.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 DOP 61.5

$1.41 MX$26.22

-27.66%

White Bread (500g)

$1.03 DOP 61.8

$2.20 MX$40.86

-53.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.66 DOP 39.83

$1.47 MX$27.40

-55.10%

Eggs

$1.16 DOP 69.9

$2.50 MX$46.46

-53.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.84 DOP 291

$7.29 MX$136

-33.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.45 DOP 327

$7.95 MX$148

-31.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.67 DOP 400

$12.86 MX$239

-48.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.34 DOP 141

$2.90 MX$53.9

-19.31%

Banana (1kg)

$0.64 DOP 38.14

$1.38 MX$25.74

-53.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.63 DOP 158

$2.49 MX$46.35

5.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.40 DOP 84.3

$2.03 MX$37.77

-31.03%

Potato (1kg)

$2.01 DOP 121

$2.02 MX$37.68

-0.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 DOP 92.7

$1.90 MX$35.42

-18.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 DOP 61.2

$1.14 MX$21.30

-10.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.47 DOP 28.11

$1.24 MX$23.05

-62.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.19 DOP 312

$4.27 MX$79.5

21.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.86 DOP 412

$9.81 MX$183

-30.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 DOP 122

$1.59 MX$29.51

28.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.83 DOP 170

$2.75 MX$51.1

2.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.58 DOP 34.58

$0.51 MX$9.58

13.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.90 DOP 2,096

$27.39 MX$510

27.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.19 DOP 192

$4.76 MX$88.6

-32.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.26 DOP 136

$3.25 MX$60.5

-30.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.48 DOP 149

$5.39 MX$100

-53.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 DOP 86.2

$1.53 MX$28.44

-6.54%

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

$29.2K DOP 1.8M

$21.2K MX$394.8K

37.72%

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

$33.2K DOP 2.0M

$23.3K MX$432.9K

42.77%

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

$91.6 DOP 5,503

$83.5 MX$1,554

9.75%

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

$30.86 DOP 1,854

$23.19 MX$431

33.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.71 DOP 2,144

$27.61 MX$514

29.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$7.34 DOP 441

$5.00 MX$93.1

46.80%

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

$246 DOP 14.8K

$207 MX$3,854

18.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,464 DOP 448.3K

$5,231 MX$97.3K

42.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.87 DOP 2,695

$43.45 MX$809

3.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.00 DOP 2,763

$42.54 MX$792

8.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.6 DOP 5,084

$72.8 MX$1,354

16.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 DOP 7,262

$88.4 MX$1,645

36.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.56

11.45

18.43%

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

Last update for Bonao: 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

Bonao

$171 25.2%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 50.5% $86

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bonao

$158 23.3%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 15.1% $24

Eating Out

Bonao

$149 22%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 34.1% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Bonao

$133 19.7%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 16.6% $22

Getting Around

Bonao

$52 7.6%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 2.4% $1.3

Sport & Entertainment

Bonao

$15 * 2.2%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 352% $52

Accommodation & Living

Bonao

- * 0%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $49 in Bonao vs $44 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $171 vs $257, with Bonao cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇩🇴 Bonao

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

18:43 6:43 PM

17:43 5:43 PM

1 h behind Bonao

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

158,034

149,923

💱 Currency

Dominican Peso DOP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 DOP = 1.67 USD

100 DOP = 1.49 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to DOP – Dominican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇩🇴 Dominican Peso ($)

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 60.06 DOP (100 DOP = 1.67 USD). 1 EUR = 67.17 DOP (100 DOP = 1.49 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to DOP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bonao Playa del Carmen 1,750 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bonao
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $678 in Bonao and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, so Bonao is about 44% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,018 in Bonao and $1,804 in Playa del Carmen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 22% less than in Bonao. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $246 in Bonao versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $678 in Bonao versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Bonao but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Bonao 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.