Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Caloocan and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Caloocan: $496 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Caloocan
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Caloocan Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Caloocan

🇵🇭 Philippines

$496

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $496 per month in Caloocan vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Caloocan $496
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $665 per month in Caloocan vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Caloocan $665
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $834 per month in Caloocan vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Caloocan $834
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Caloocan is about 59% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Caloocan and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Caloocan 64% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.70 ₱172

$10.92 MX$205

-75.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.45 ₱1,048

$43.37 MX$814

-62.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.26 ₱144

$11.78 MX$221

-80.81%

Cappuccino

$0.84 ₱53.3

$3.81 MX$71.5

-77.95%

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

$0.39 ₱25.07

$1.28 MX$24.07

-69.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 ₱20.70

$0.78 MX$14.70

-58.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.01 ₱64.3

$3.17 MX$59.5

-68.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 ₱101

$4.93 MX$92.7

-67.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 ₱105

$1.41 MX$26.40

17.02%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 ₱70.7

$2.22 MX$41.62

-50.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.99 ₱63.1

$1.42 MX$26.61

-30.28%

Eggs

$1.79 ₱114

$2.52 MX$47.36

-28.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.93 ₱314

$7.26 MX$136

-32.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.32 ₱212

$7.70 MX$144

-56.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.69 ₱490

$12.69 MX$238

-39.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.23 ₱142

$2.78 MX$52.3

-19.78%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ₱61.5

$1.37 MX$25.68

-29.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ₱149

$2.55 MX$47.89

-8.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.04 ₱66.6

$2.12 MX$39.86

-50.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 ₱67.8

$1.94 MX$36.39

-45.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.77 ₱113

$1.89 MX$35.41

-6.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.65 ₱41.39

$1.15 MX$21.53

-43.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.46 ₱29.15

$1.18 MX$22.13

-61.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.82 ₱180

$4.30 MX$80.6

-34.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.82 ₱307

$9.95 MX$187

-51.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 ₱61.2

$1.58 MX$29.73

-39.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 ₱129

$2.67 MX$50.1

-24.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.20 ₱12.69

$0.55 MX$10.39

-63.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱49.01

$4.97 MX$93.3

-84.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ₱13.97

$3.33 MX$62.5

-93.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.85 ₱118

$5.36 MX$101

-65.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.07 ₱68.0

$1.44 MX$27.11

-25.69%

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

$21.4K ₱1.4M

$20.7K MX$388.0K

3.36%

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

$19.2K ₱1.2M

$23.5K MX$440.5K

-18.30%

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

$53.6 ₱3,416

$84.8 MX$1,592

-36.78%

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

$9.42 ₱600

$23.41 MX$439

-59.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.59 ₱1,439

$28.66 MX$538

-21.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$4.82 ₱307

$57.1 MX$1,071

-91.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.12 ₱326

$5.14 MX$96.5

-0.39%

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

$130 ₱8,279

$207 MX$3,878

-37.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.6K ₱673.2K

$3,927 MX$73.7K

169.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.20 ₱1,797

$43.35 MX$814

-34.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.52 ₱1,244

$41.44 MX$778

-52.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$53.9 ₱3,432

$74.2 MX$1,393

-27.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$47.64 ₱3,035

$89.3 MX$1,676

-46.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$209 ₱13.3K

$980 MX$18.4K

-78.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$118 ₱7,491

$381 MX$7,150

-69.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$307 ₱19.6K

$735 MX$13.8K

-58.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

11.45

-41.05%

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

Last update for Caloocan: 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.

Groceries & Markets

Caloocan

$158 31.9%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 61.3% $97

Accommodation & Living

Caloocan

$118 23.7%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 224% $263

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Caloocan

$86 17.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 59.8% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Caloocan

$67 13.6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 66.4% $45

Eating Out

Caloocan

$50 10%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 309% $153

Sport & Entertainment

Caloocan

$15 3%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 347% $52

Getting Around

Caloocan

$2.7 * 0.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 1797% $48

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $209 in Caloocan versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 2.4 times higher, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $16 in Caloocan versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $158 vs $255 – making Caloocan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Caloocan

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

12:12 12:12 PM

23:12 11:12 PM

13 h behind Caloocan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,661,584

149,923

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 63.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.15 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Caloocan Playa del Carmen 15,040 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Caloocan
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

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

Playa del Carmen costs about 143% more than Caloocan, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $743 per month in Caloocan and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Caloocan, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $209 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $16 in Caloocan and $43 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 61% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Caloocan, where all-in costs run around $496, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Caloocan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Caloocan – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Caloocan. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.