Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Busselton and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,622 in Busselton, rent and utilities included – about $17,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Busselton
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Busselton Living Index
58

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

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Busselton

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,622

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,622 in Busselton versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Busselton $2,622
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,738 in Busselton versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Busselton $3,738
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,853 in Busselton versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Busselton $4,853
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Busselton is roughly 118% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Busselton is 93% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.71 A$25.17

$10.92 MX$204

62.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.7 A$122

$43.37 MX$808

97.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.46 A$14.86

$11.78 MX$220

-11.21%

Cappuccino

$4.61 A$6.55

$3.81 MX$71.0

21.00%

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

$2.06 A$2.92

$1.28 MX$23.90

60.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 A$3.06

$0.78 MX$14.59

175.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.16 A$11.59

$3.17 MX$59.0

157.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.65 A$12.29

$4.93 MX$92.0

75.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 A$2.40

$1.41 MX$26.22

19.86%

White Bread (500g)

$3.24 A$4.60

$2.22 MX$41.33

45.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.03 A$2.89

$1.42 MX$26.42

42.96%

Eggs

$5.29 A$7.51

$2.52 MX$47.03

109.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.02 A$12.82

$7.26 MX$135

24.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.45 A$13.43

$7.70 MX$143

22.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.73 A$19.51

$12.69 MX$237

8.20%

Apples (1kg)

$4.59 A$6.53

$2.78 MX$51.9

65.11%

Banana (1kg)

$3.23 A$4.59

$1.37 MX$25.50

135.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.55 A$5.05

$2.55 MX$47.55

39.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.99 A$7.09

$2.12 MX$39.58

135.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.91 A$4.13

$1.94 MX$36.13

50.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 A$2.80

$1.89 MX$35.16

4.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.22 A$3.16

$1.15 MX$21.37

93.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 A$1.91

$1.18 MX$21.98

14.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$41.77 A$59.4

$4.30 MX$80.1

871.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.58 A$17.88

$9.95 MX$185

26.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.34 A$6.16

$1.58 MX$29.52

174.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 A$4.87

$2.67 MX$49.79

28.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.83 A$4.02

$0.55 MX$10.31

414.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.3 A$107

$26.62 MX$496

182.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.72 A$5.28

$4.97 MX$92.6

-25.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.46 A$2.08

$3.33 MX$62.1

-56.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.47 A$57.5

$5.36 MX$99.8

655.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 A$1.94

$1.44 MX$26.92

-5.56%

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

$29.6K A$42.1K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

43.37%

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

$27.3K A$38.7K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

16.19%

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

$205 A$291

$84.8 MX$1,581

141.79%

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

$33.45 A$47.53

$23.41 MX$436

42.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$64.7 A$92.0

$28.66 MX$534

125.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 A$77.5

$57.1 MX$1,063

-4.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.77 A$28.10

$28.91 MX$539

-31.62%

Cinema Ticket

$17.48 A$24.84

$5.14 MX$95.8

240.08%

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

$2,269 A$3,224

$207 MX$3,851

998.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.0K A$32.7K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

486.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.1 A$111

$43.35 MX$808

80.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$63.0 A$89.6

$41.44 MX$772

52.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$123 A$175

$74.2 MX$1,383

66.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$161 A$228

$89.3 MX$1,664

79.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,288 A$1,830

$980 MX$18.3K

31.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,270 A$1,805

$381 MX$7,099

233.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,366 A$3,362

$1,708 MX$31.8K

38.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,815 A$2,580

$1,075 MX$20.0K

68.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,978 A$8,494

$3,943 MX$73.5K

51.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,879 A$6,932

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-20.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.96

11.45

-47.95%

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

Last update for Busselton: October 25, 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

Busselton

$1.3K 48.5%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 70% $889

Groceries & Markets

Busselton

$367 14%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 30.6% $112

Eating Out

Busselton

$303 11.6%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 33.3% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Busselton

$303 11.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 54.9% $166

Clothing & Footwear

Busselton

$191 7.3%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 41.6% $80

Getting Around

Busselton

$98 3.7%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 48.3% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Busselton

$89 3.4%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 24.8% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,288 in Busselton and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $86 in Busselton vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $367 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Busselton

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

03:03 3:03 AM

14:03 2:03 PM

13 h behind Busselton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

27,233

149,923

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 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 AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Busselton Playa del Carmen 17,380 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Busselton
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

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

Busselton and Playa del Carmen differ by about 118% in total monthly costs ($2,622 vs $1,204 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,933 in Busselton and $1,806 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,288 in Busselton versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,269 in Busselton 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 44% higher in Busselton. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,622 in Busselton, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Busselton. 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 54% less than in Busselton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.