Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buea and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Buea: $739 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Buea
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Buea Living Index
58

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

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Buea

🇨🇲 Cameroon

$739

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $739 in Buea versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Buea $739
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,340 in Buea versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Buea $1,340
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,941 in Buea versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Buea $1,941
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Buea costs roughly 39% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Buea 46% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.69 FCFA 991

$10.92 MX$205

-84.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$117 FCFA 68.8K

$43.37 MX$815

170.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.06 FCFA 3,561

$11.78 MX$221

-48.56%

Cappuccino

$2.04 FCFA 1,199

$3.81 MX$71.6

-46.46%

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

$1.25 FCFA 736

$1.28 MX$24.10

-2.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 FCFA 270

$0.78 MX$14.71

-41.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.99 FCFA 582

$3.17 MX$59.5

-68.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.50 FCFA 878

$4.93 MX$92.7

-69.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.78 FCFA 1,635

$1.41 MX$26.43

97.16%

White Bread (500g)

$0.40 FCFA 233

$2.22 MX$41.66

-81.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 FCFA 901

$1.42 MX$26.64

7.75%

Eggs

$1.87 FCFA 1,098

$2.52 MX$47.41

-25.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.74 FCFA 12.8K

$7.26 MX$137

199.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.58 FCFA 4,450

$7.70 MX$145

-1.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.36 FCFA 2,562

$12.69 MX$239

-65.64%

Apples (1kg)

$3.43 FCFA 2,015

$2.78 MX$52.3

23.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 FCFA 808

$1.37 MX$25.71

0.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.88 FCFA 516

$2.55 MX$47.94

-65.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.31 FCFA 772

$2.12 MX$39.90

-38.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 FCFA 1,013

$1.94 MX$36.43

-11.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.39 FCFA 816

$1.89 MX$35.44

-26.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 FCFA 427

$1.15 MX$21.55

-36.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 FCFA 361

$1.18 MX$22.16

-48.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.64 FCFA 1,549

$4.30 MX$80.7

-38.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.70 FCFA 5,108

$9.95 MX$187

-12.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 FCFA 679

$1.58 MX$29.76

-26.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 FCFA 1,018

$2.67 MX$50.2

-35.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.27 FCFA 159

$4.97 MX$93.4

-94.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 FCFA 310

$3.33 MX$62.6

-84.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.99 FCFA 2,932

$5.36 MX$101

-6.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.20 FCFA 702

$1.44 MX$27.14

-16.67%

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

$18.7K FCFA 11.0M

$20.7K MX$388.4K

-9.55%

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

$15.6K FCFA 9.1M

$23.5K MX$441.0K

-33.69%

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

$59.1 FCFA 34.7K

$84.8 MX$1,594

-30.27%

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

$16.88 FCFA 9,918

$23.41 MX$440

-27.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$167 FCFA 98.2K

$28.66 MX$539

483.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.69 FCFA 15.1K

$57.1 MX$1,072

-54.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.25 FCFA 2,494

$28.91 MX$543

-85.30%

Cinema Ticket

$8.54 FCFA 5,015

$5.14 MX$96.6

66.15%

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

$506 FCFA 297.3K

$207 MX$3,882

145.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,349 FCFA 2.0M

$3,927 MX$73.8K

-14.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$34.09 FCFA 20.0K

$43.35 MX$815

-21.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$65.7 FCFA 38.6K

$41.44 MX$779

58.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 FCFA 80.3K

$74.2 MX$1,394

84.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.9 FCFA 39.9K

$89.3 MX$1,677

-23.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$130 FCFA 76.5K

$735 MX$13.8K

-82.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

19.04

11.45

66.29%

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

Last update for Buea: October 24, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buea

$243 32.9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 43.7% $106

Groceries & Markets

Buea

$242 32.8%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 5.3% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Buea

$137 18.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 18.5% $25

Eating Out

Buea

$71 9.6%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 185% $131

Sport & Entertainment

Buea

$43 5.8%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 57.4% $25

Getting Around

Buea

$2.9 * 0.4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 1634% $48

Accommodation & Living

Buea

- * 0%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

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

Cost Breakdown

Playa del Carmen pays about 5.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $117 in Buea vs $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $242 vs $255, with Buea cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇲 Buea

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

06:26 6:26 AM

00:26 12:26 AM

6 h behind Buea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,325,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Central African CFA Franc XAF Fr

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 XAF = 1.7 USD

1,000 XAF = 1.52 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to XAF – Central African CFA Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 Central African CFA Franc (Fr)

Central African CFA Franc exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 587 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.7 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.52 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to XAF in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Buea Playa del Carmen 10,500 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Buea
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $739 in Buea and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Buea is about 39% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 82% lower in Buea. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Childcare runs $506 in Buea versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $117 in Buea. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $739 in Buea versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Buea but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Buea 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 – Buea wins on affordability, Playa del Carmen on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.