Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairns and Playa del Carmen Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairns and Playa del Carmen

😐 Solo nomad: Cairns is 26.6% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 78.1% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cairns is 71.4% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 49.8% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.56 A$17.34

$11.88 MX$210

-2.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.8 A$123

$41.90 MX$740

95.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.93 A$16.39

$10.55 MX$186

3.60%

Cappuccino

$3.95 A$5.92

$3.60 MX$63.5

9.72%

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

$2.81 A$4.22

$1.50 MX$26.45

87.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 A$3.32

$0.91 MX$16.09

142.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.65 A$9.98

$3.08 MX$54.4

115.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.09 A$10.64

$4.47 MX$78.8

58.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 A$2.61

$1.39 MX$24.54

25.18%

White Bread (500g)

$2.39 A$3.59

$1.90 MX$33.47

25.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.79 A$4.19

$1.60 MX$28.27

74.37%

Eggs

$4.08 A$6.11

$2.60 MX$45.97

56.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.21 A$12.31

$8.36 MX$148

-1.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.07 A$13.61

$8.64 MX$152

4.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.58 A$18.87

$10.91 MX$192

15.31%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.65

$2.61 MX$45.98

18.77%

Banana (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.45

$1.44 MX$25.46

59.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.68 A$4.02

$1.96 MX$34.55

36.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.37 A$11.06

$2.12 MX$37.34

247.64%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 A$3.46

$1.86 MX$32.87

24.19%

Onion (1kg)

$2.34 A$3.50

$2.22 MX$39.20

5.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.26 A$3.39

$1.02 MX$17.99

121.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.95 A$4.43

$1.04 MX$18.36

183.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$29.47 A$44.20

$4.05 MX$71.5

627.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.37 A$17.05

$10.18 MX$180

11.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.28 A$4.92

$1.69 MX$29.79

94.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 A$5.48

$2.62 MX$46.25

39.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 A$4.97

$0.51 MX$9.09

549.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.1 A$99.1

$26.52 MX$468

149.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.46 A$9.69

$3.15 MX$55.7

105.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.19 A$4.79

$2.46 MX$43.49

29.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.66 A$50.5

$3.26 MX$57.5

932.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.14 A$1.72

$1.32 MX$23.36

-13.64%

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

$22.4K A$33.6K

$30.1K MX$531.0K

-25.53%

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

$19.2K A$28.8K

$23.8K MX$419.3K

-19.24%

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

$153 A$230

$83.5 MX$1,474

83.56%

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

$36.98 A$55.5

$22.86 MX$404

61.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59.6 A$89.4

$30.04 MX$530

98.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.58 A$56.4

$51.9 MX$916

-27.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.87 A$23.80

$18.30 MX$323

-13.28%

Cinema Ticket

$12.91 A$19.36

$5.12 MX$90.4

152.15%

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

$1,629 A$2,444

$201 MX$3,541

712.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.1K A$18.2K

$5,318 MX$93.9K

128.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$82.9 A$124

$35.73 MX$631

131.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$67.6 A$101

$40.27 MX$711

67.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 A$151

$79.2 MX$1,398

27.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$136 A$204

$89.3 MX$1,576

52.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,231 A$1,847

$947 MX$16.7K

30.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,103 A$1,655

$483 MX$8,525

128.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,004 A$3,006

$1,599 MX$28.2K

25.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,863 A$2,795

$1,211 MX$21.4K

53.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,168 A$9,252

$3,996 MX$70.5K

54.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,807 A$7,210

$6,402 MX$113.0K

-24.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,874 A$5,811

$730 MX$12.9K

431.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.96

11.42

-39.05%

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

Last update for Cairns: January 12, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: January 13, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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