Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cabarete and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living costs are similar in Cabarete and in Playa del Carmen: $1,191 and $1,204 a month, rent and utilities included.

58

Cost of Living Index in Cabarete
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Cabarete Living Index
58

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

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Cabarete

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$1,191

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,191 in Cabarete versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Cabarete $1,191
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,800 in Cabarete versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Cabarete $1,800
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,409 in Cabarete versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Cabarete $2,409
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Monthly costs are close between Cabarete and Playa del Carmen; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.60 DOP 458

$10.92 MX$205

-30.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.1 DOP 3,020

$43.37 MX$815

15.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.53 DOP 394

$11.78 MX$221

-44.57%

Cappuccino

$2.01 DOP 121

$3.81 MX$71.6

-47.24%

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

$1.06 DOP 63.7

$1.28 MX$24.10

-17.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.58 DOP 34.91

$0.78 MX$14.71

-25.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.39 DOP 144

$3.17 MX$59.5

-24.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 DOP 190

$4.93 MX$92.7

-36.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.40 DOP 84.7

$1.41 MX$26.43

-0.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.52 DOP 91.5

$2.22 MX$41.66

-31.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.62 DOP 97.5

$1.42 MX$26.64

14.08%

Eggs

$2.30 DOP 139

$2.52 MX$47.41

-8.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.10 DOP 429

$7.26 MX$137

-2.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.34 DOP 322

$7.70 MX$145

-30.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.72 DOP 406

$12.69 MX$239

-47.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 DOP 175

$2.78 MX$52.3

4.68%

Banana (1kg)

$0.79 DOP 47.66

$1.37 MX$25.71

-42.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 DOP 163

$2.55 MX$47.94

5.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.84 DOP 111

$2.12 MX$39.90

-13.21%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 DOP 123

$1.94 MX$36.43

5.15%

Onion (1kg)

$2.22 DOP 134

$1.89 MX$35.44

17.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.97 DOP 58.7

$1.15 MX$21.55

-15.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 DOP 51.6

$1.18 MX$22.16

-27.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.10 DOP 248

$4.30 MX$80.7

-4.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.24 DOP 618

$9.95 MX$187

2.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 DOP 155

$1.58 MX$29.76

62.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 DOP 146

$2.67 MX$50.2

-9.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.03 DOP 62.1

$0.55 MX$10.40

87.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 DOP 199

$4.97 MX$93.4

-33.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.24 DOP 135

$3.33 MX$62.6

-32.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.67 DOP 342

$5.36 MX$101

5.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 DOP 73.8

$1.44 MX$27.14

-15.28%

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

$26.8K DOP 1.6M

$20.7K MX$388.4K

29.77%

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

$33.6K DOP 2.0M

$23.5K MX$441.0K

43.24%

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

$90.2 DOP 5,444

$84.8 MX$1,594

6.39%

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

$31.17 DOP 1,881

$23.41 MX$440

33.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.44 DOP 2,199

$28.66 MX$539

27.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.37 DOP 1,471

$57.1 MX$1,072

-57.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$7.29 DOP 440

$5.14 MX$96.6

41.83%

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

$246 DOP 14.9K

$207 MX$3,882

19.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,266 DOP 438.5K

$3,927 MX$73.8K

85.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.08 DOP 2,721

$43.35 MX$815

3.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.53 DOP 2,747

$41.44 MX$779

9.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.5 DOP 5,219

$74.2 MX$1,394

16.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 DOP 7,394

$89.3 MX$1,677

37.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$713 DOP 43.0K

$980 MX$18.4K

-27.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$497 DOP 30.0K

$381 MX$7,157

30.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 DOP 73.6K

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-28.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$809 DOP 48.8K

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-24.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$293 DOP 17.7K

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-95.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

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 Cabarete: 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

Cabarete

$497 41.7%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 23.3% $116

Groceries & Markets

Cabarete

$215 18.1%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 18.4% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cabarete

$158 13.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 13.3% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Cabarete

$135 11.3%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 17.1% $23

Eating Out

Cabarete

$129 10.9%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 56.6% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Cabarete

$39 3.3%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 72.8% $28

Getting Around

Cabarete

$19 * 1.6%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 171% $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 $713 in Cabarete and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $50 in Cabarete vs $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $215 vs $255, with Cabarete cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇩🇴 Cabarete

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

06:40 6:40 AM

05:40 5:40 AM

1 h behind Cabarete

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,094

149,923

💱 Currency

Dominican Peso DOP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 DOP = 1.66 USD

100 DOP = 1.48 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 60.35 DOP (100 DOP = 1.66 USD). 1 EUR = 67.35 DOP (100 DOP = 1.48 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to DOP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cabarete Playa del Carmen 1,740 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Cabarete
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

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

You’d need roughly $1,787 in Cabarete 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: $713 in Cabarete versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $50 in Cabarete. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Cabarete is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Cabarete delivers better value at $1,191 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Cabarete hard to pass up.