Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between the Canary Islands and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,638 in the Canary Islands, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in the Canary Islands
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Canary Islands Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Canary Islands

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,638

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,638 in the Canary Islands versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Canary Islands $1,638
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,372 in the Canary Islands versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Canary Islands $2,372
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,106 in the Canary Islands versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Canary Islands $3,106
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in the Canary Islands 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: Canary Islands is 20% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.18 €18.08

$10.92 MX$205

84.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.0 €53.7

$43.37 MX$815

38.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.48 €8.49

$11.78 MX$221

-19.52%

Cappuccino

$2.03 €1.82

$3.81 MX$71.6

-46.72%

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

$1.85 €1.66

$1.28 MX$24.10

44.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.11 €0.99

$0.78 MX$14.71

42.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.75 €2.46

$3.17 MX$59.5

-13.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.34 €2.99

$4.93 MX$92.7

-32.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 €1.19

$1.41 MX$26.43

-5.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.47 €2.21

$2.22 MX$41.66

11.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.55 €1.38

$1.42 MX$26.64

9.15%

Eggs

$2.18 €1.95

$2.52 MX$47.41

-13.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.29 €17.29

$7.26 MX$137

165.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.07 €9.02

$7.70 MX$145

30.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.91

$12.69 MX$239

39.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.66 €2.38

$2.78 MX$52.3

-4.32%

Banana (1kg)

$2.29 €2.05

$1.37 MX$25.71

67.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 €1.96

$2.55 MX$47.94

-14.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.51 €2.25

$2.12 MX$39.90

18.40%

Potato (1kg)

$2.08 €1.87

$1.94 MX$36.43

7.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.00 €1.79

$1.89 MX$35.44

5.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.69 €1.51

$1.15 MX$21.55

46.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 €0.82

$1.18 MX$22.16

-22.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.70 €4.21

$4.30 MX$80.7

9.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €7.02

$9.95 MX$187

-21.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 €1.45

$1.58 MX$29.76

2.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$2.67 MX$50.2

-34.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.55 MX$10.40

49.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.23 €3.79

$4.97 MX$93.4

-14.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 €1.46

$3.33 MX$62.6

-51.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.05 €15.28

$5.36 MX$101

218.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.70 €1.52

$1.44 MX$27.14

18.06%

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

$24.1K €21.6K

$20.7K MX$388.4K

16.63%

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

$30.6K €27.4K

$23.5K MX$441.0K

30.24%

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

$122 €110

$84.8 MX$1,594

44.36%

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

$21.05 €18.86

$23.41 MX$440

-10.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.53 €30.94

$28.66 MX$539

20.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.66 €42.71

$57.1 MX$1,072

-16.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.64 €22.08

$28.91 MX$543

-14.77%

Cinema Ticket

$9.93 €8.90

$5.14 MX$96.6

93.19%

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

$398 €357

$207 MX$3,882

92.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,943 €4,429

$3,927 MX$73.8K

25.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.9 €60.8

$43.35 MX$815

56.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.80 €35.67

$41.44 MX$779

-3.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.4 €82.8

$74.2 MX$1,394

24.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 €100

$89.3 MX$1,677

25.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,121 €1,004

$980 MX$18.4K

14.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$672 €602

$381 MX$7,157

76.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$844 €756

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-21.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,366 €1,224

$735 MX$13.8K

86.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.33

11.45

-70.92%

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

Last update for the Canary Islands: 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

Canary Islands

$672 41%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 43.3% $291

Groceries & Markets

Canary Islands

$318 19.4%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 19.9% $63

Eating Out

Canary Islands

$246 15.1%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 17.9% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Canary Islands

$178 10.9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 23.1% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Canary Islands

$140 8.6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 20.5% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Canary Islands

$68 4.1%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 0.3% $0.2

Getting Around

Canary Islands

$16 * 1%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 222% $35

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 $1,121 in the Canary Islands and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Canary Islands pays 86% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $60 in the Canary Islands vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Canary Islands

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

12:31 12:31 PM

07:31 7:31 AM

5 h behind the Canary Islands

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,050

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Canary Islands Playa del Carmen 7,070 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Canary Islands
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 26% lower than in the Canary Islands. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 86% higher in the Canary Islands, 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: $1,121 in the Canary Islands 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 25% higher in the Canary Islands. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,638 per month in the Canary Islands versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 26% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,638 in the Canary Islands, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in the Canary Islands. 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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Canary Islands on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.