Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Burnie and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,646 in Burnie, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Burnie
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Burnie Living Index
59

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

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Burnie

🇦🇺 Australia

$1,646

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,646 in Burnie versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Burnie $1,646
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,474 in Burnie versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Burnie $2,474
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,301 in Burnie versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Burnie $3,301
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Burnie is roughly 36% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Burnie is 22% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.62 A$26.80

$10.76 MX$199

73.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$92.2 A$133

$43.03 MX$795

114.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 A$8.06

$11.79 MX$218

-52.50%

Cappuccino

$3.88 A$5.58

$3.87 MX$71.4

0.26%

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

$3.39 A$4.87

$1.37 MX$25.29

147.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 A$2.53

$0.84 MX$15.44

109.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.25 A$6.11

$3.10 MX$57.3

37.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.83 A$8.39

$5.07 MX$93.6

14.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.85 A$2.66

$1.44 MX$26.55

28.47%

White Bread (500g)

$2.43 A$3.50

$2.23 MX$41.23

8.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.87 A$2.69

$1.47 MX$27.17

27.21%

Eggs

$5.04 A$7.25

$2.53 MX$46.71

99.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.90 A$14.24

$7.30 MX$135

35.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.17 A$8.87

$7.86 MX$145

-21.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.30 A$24.89

$12.79 MX$236

35.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 A$4.04

$2.90 MX$53.6

-3.10%

Banana (1kg)

$2.73 A$3.92

$1.44 MX$26.53

89.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 A$3.08

$2.55 MX$47.07

-16.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.84 A$4.08

$2.06 MX$38.03

37.86%

Potato (1kg)

$2.52 A$3.63

$2.00 MX$36.97

26.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.11 A$3.03

$2.01 MX$37.07

4.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.14 A$3.08

$1.19 MX$22.02

79.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 A$2.39

$1.26 MX$23.23

31.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$36.64 A$52.7

$4.40 MX$81.4

732.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.64 A$21.06

$9.59 MX$177

52.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.46 A$4.97

$1.59 MX$29.41

117.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.43 A$7.82

$2.81 MX$51.9

93.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.89 A$2.72

$0.57 MX$10.47

231.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.67 A$3.84

$4.98 MX$92.1

-46.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 A$2.96

$3.50 MX$64.6

-41.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.09 A$59.1

$5.40 MX$99.8

660.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 A$1.86

$1.47 MX$27.08

-12.24%

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

$26.9K A$38.7K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

28.31%

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

$31.2K A$44.8K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

30.34%

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

$210 A$302

$84.2 MX$1,556

148.90%

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

$21.19 A$30.49

$23.99 MX$443

-11.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.00 A$69.1

$29.02 MX$536

65.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$14.19 A$20.42

$4.94 MX$91.3

187.25%

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

$2,007 A$2,888

$204 MX$3,763

885.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.0K A$30.2K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

433.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.3 A$111

$43.60 MX$806

77.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.96 A$34.48

$43.12 MX$797

-44.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 A$149

$75.8 MX$1,400

36.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.6 A$138

$88.6 MX$1,637

7.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$815 A$1,173

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-19.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$584 A$840

$374 MX$6,911

56.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,117 A$1,607

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-34.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$833 A$1,199

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-24.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,999 A$7,193

$754 MX$13.9K

562.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.6

11.45

-51.09%

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

Last update for Burnie: October 12, 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

Burnie

$584 35.5%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 35.9% $210

Groceries & Markets

Burnie

$334 20.3%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 22.5% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Burnie

$279 16.9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 50.8% $142

Eating Out

Burnie

$266 16.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 23.9% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Burnie

$135 8.2%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 16.3% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Burnie

$28 * 1.7%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 157% $44

Getting Around

Burnie

$21 * 1.3%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 156% $32

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $815 in Burnie and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Burnie pays 563% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $92.0 in Burnie vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $334 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Burnie

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

04:27 4:27 AM

12:27 12:27 PM

16 h behind Burnie

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,267

149,923

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Burnie Playa del Carmen 14,570 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Burnie
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

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

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 36% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 563% higher in Burnie, 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: $815 in Burnie versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 29% higher in Burnie. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,646 per month in Burnie versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – a 36% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,646 in Burnie, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Burnie. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Playa del Carmen is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Burnie, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Burnie and Playa del Carmen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Burnie. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.