Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Burnaby and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,678 in Burnaby, rent and utilities included – about $17,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Burnaby
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Burnaby Living Index
58

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

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Burnaby

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,678

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,678 in Burnaby versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Burnaby $2,678
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,827 in Burnaby versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Burnaby $3,827
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,976 in Burnaby versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Burnaby $4,976
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Burnaby is roughly 122% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Burnaby is 97% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.23 CA$29.79

$10.92 MX$204

94.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.5 CA$121

$43.37 MX$808

99.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.53 CA$13.37

$11.78 MX$220

-19.10%

Cappuccino

$4.67 CA$6.56

$3.81 MX$71.0

22.57%

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

$2.45 CA$3.44

$1.28 MX$23.90

91.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 CA$2.52

$0.78 MX$14.59

130.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.57 CA$12.03

$3.17 MX$59.0

170.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.18 CA$8.67

$4.93 MX$92.0

25.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.34 CA$3.28

$1.41 MX$26.22

65.96%

White Bread (500g)

$2.76 CA$3.88

$2.22 MX$41.33

24.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.52 CA$4.95

$1.42 MX$26.42

147.89%

Eggs

$3.17 CA$4.45

$2.52 MX$47.03

25.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.05 CA$19.72

$7.26 MX$135

93.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.07 CA$19.75

$7.70 MX$143

82.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.31 CA$35.52

$12.69 MX$237

99.45%

Apples (1kg)

$4.42 CA$6.20

$2.78 MX$51.9

58.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.28 CA$1.80

$1.37 MX$25.50

-6.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.61 CA$6.47

$2.55 MX$47.55

80.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.61 CA$6.48

$2.12 MX$39.58

117.45%

Potato (1kg)

$2.81 CA$3.95

$1.94 MX$36.13

44.85%

Onion (1kg)

$3.54 CA$4.96

$1.89 MX$35.16

87.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.74 CA$3.84

$1.15 MX$21.37

138.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.10 CA$2.95

$1.18 MX$21.98

77.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.23 CA$19.96

$4.30 MX$80.1

230.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.39 CA$18.79

$9.95 MX$185

34.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.05 CA$2.88

$1.58 MX$29.52

29.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 CA$3.27

$2.67 MX$49.79

-12.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.54 CA$3.56

$0.55 MX$10.31

361.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$81.6 CA$115

$26.62 MX$496

206.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.88 CA$4.04

$4.97 MX$92.6

-42.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.51 CA$2.12

$3.33 MX$62.1

-54.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.45 CA$37.12

$5.36 MX$99.8

393.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 CA$1.92

$1.44 MX$26.92

-4.86%

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

$28.5K CA$40.1K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

38.13%

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

$20.9K CA$29.4K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

-10.74%

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

$126 CA$177

$84.8 MX$1,581

48.91%

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

$44.96 CA$63.1

$23.41 MX$436

92.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.7 CA$74.0

$28.66 MX$534

83.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.23 CA$43.83

$57.1 MX$1,063

-45.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.52 CA$14.77

$28.91 MX$539

-63.61%

Cinema Ticket

$14.23 CA$19.97

$5.14 MX$95.8

176.85%

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

$649 CA$910

$207 MX$3,851

214.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.2 CA$73.3

$43.35 MX$808

20.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.4 CA$72.1

$41.44 MX$772

24.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 CA$145

$74.2 MX$1,383

39.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.0 CA$111

$89.3 MX$1,664

-11.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,693 CA$2,376

$980 MX$18.3K

72.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 CA$1,973

$381 MX$7,099

269.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,623 CA$3,681

$1,708 MX$31.8K

53.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,985 CA$2,786

$1,075 MX$20.0K

84.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,886 CA$9,663

$3,943 MX$73.5K

74.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,338 CA$7,491

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-13.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,149 CA$4,419

$735 MX$13.7K

328.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.76

11.45

-58.43%

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

Last update for Burnaby: October 26, 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

Burnaby

$1.4K 52.5%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 72.9% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Burnaby

$431 16.1%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 40.9% $176

Eating Out

Burnaby

$327 12.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 38.1% $124

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Burnaby

$224 8.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 38.9% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Burnaby

$129 4.8%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 13.2% $17

Getting Around

Burnaby

$102 3.8%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 50.6% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Burnaby

$60 2.2%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 12.8% $7.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,693 in Burnaby and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Burnaby pays about 4.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $87 in Burnaby vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $431 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Burnaby

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

14:35 2:35 PM

16:35 4:35 PM

2 h ahead of Burnaby

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

249,125

149,923

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.64 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.64 EUR).

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 CAD in detail →

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Between locations

Burnaby Playa del Carmen 4,490 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Burnaby
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,678 in Burnaby and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Playa del Carmen is about 55% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Burnaby is about 4.3 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: $1,693 in Burnaby versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $649 in Burnaby versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 69% higher in Burnaby. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,678 in Burnaby, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Burnaby. 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.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Burnaby. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.