Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Playa del Carmen Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Playa del Carmen

🙂 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 20.7% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 1.4% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 3% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 9.9% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 R 196

$11.99 MX$227

-8.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.54 R 792

$42.47 MX$803

4.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.96 R 88.2

$10.47 MX$198

-52.63%

Cappuccino

$1.98 R 35.25

$3.6 MX$68.2

-45.00%

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

$1.16 R 20.6

$1.44 MX$27.16

-19.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.87 R 15.46

$0.89 MX$16.79

-2.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.82 R 50.1

$3.09 MX$58.5

-8.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 R 43.97

$4.58 MX$86.6

-46.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 R 20.62

$1.38 MX$26.04

-15.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.1 R 19.49

$1.85 MX$34.9

-40.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 R 32.49

$1.57 MX$29.68

16.56%

Eggs

$2.39 R 42.45

$2.55 MX$48.3

-6.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.28 R 147

$8.61 MX$163

-3.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.22 R 92.8

$8.54 MX$161

-38.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.46 R 133

$10.98 MX$208

-32.06%

Apples (1kg)

$1.55 R 27.64

$2.72 MX$51.4

-43.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 R 25.08

$1.51 MX$28.57

-6.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 R 25.83

$1.88 MX$35.63

-22.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.52 R 26.99

$2.19 MX$41.42

-30.59%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 R 19.21

$1.87 MX$35.3

-42.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.24 R 22.05

$2.19 MX$41.37

-43.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 R 19.32

$1.07 MX$20.23

1.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 17.46

$1.09 MX$20.64

-10.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.04 R 54

$3.96 MX$74.9

-23.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.68 R 101

$8.86 MX$167

-35.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 R 25.18

$1.72 MX$32.53

-17.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 R 29.94

$2.61 MX$49.37

-35.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.91 R 16.22

$0.52 MX$9.74

75.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.53 R 845

$26.59 MX$503

78.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.38 R 24.59

$3.24 MX$61.2

-57.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.95 R 16.94

$2.38 MX$44.94

-60.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 R 80.8

$3.11 MX$58.7

45.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 R 21.88

$1.31 MX$24.85

-6.11%

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

$21K R 373K

$30.3K MX$573K

-30.81%

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

$24.5K R 434.9K

$24K MX$453.6K

1.92%

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

$99.2 R 1,764

$84.2 MX$1,592

17.76%

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

$33.54 R 597

$22.14 MX$419

51.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.65 R 723

$30.14 MX$570

34.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.61 R 758

$52 MX$983

-18.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.17 R 145

$18.72 MX$354

-56.36%

Cinema Ticket

$6.85 R 122

$5.07 MX$95.9

35.11%

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

$209 R 3,720

$200 MX$3,787

4.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,202 R 92.5K

$5,333 MX$100.8K

-2.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.1 R 980

$35.74 MX$676

54.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.11 R 589

$39.8 MX$753

-16.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 R 1,974

$79 MX$1,493

40.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.5 R 1,520

$88.4 MX$1,671

-3.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$766 R 13.6K

$965 MX$18.3K

-20.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$522 R 9,280

$474 MX$8,968

10.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,434 R 25.5K

$1,653 MX$31.2K

-13.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,029 R 18.3K

$1,202 MX$22.7K

-14.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,000 R 35.6K

$3,081 MX$58.3K

-35.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,318 R 23.4K

$7,529 MX$142.3K

-82.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,641 R 29.2K

$792 MX$15K

107.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.77

11.42

3.06%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 29, 2025

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 28, 2025

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