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 20.1% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 1.8% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 5.9% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 11.3% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.83 R 178

$11.88 MX$210

-8.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.28 R 743

$41.90 MX$740

8.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.09 R 83.5

$10.55 MX$186

-51.75%

Cappuccino

$2.01 R 33.02

$3.60 MX$63.5

-44.17%

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

$1.11 R 18.18

$1.50 MX$26.45

-26.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 R 13.26

$0.91 MX$16.09

-10.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.78 R 45.63

$3.08 MX$54.4

-9.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 R 40.14

$4.47 MX$78.8

-45.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 R 18.08

$1.39 MX$24.54

-20.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 R 17.96

$1.90 MX$33.47

-42.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 R 30.57

$1.60 MX$28.27

16.25%

Eggs

$2.49 R 40.87

$2.60 MX$45.97

-4.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.39 R 138

$8.36 MX$148

0.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.28 R 86.6

$8.64 MX$152

-38.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.33 R 120

$10.91 MX$192

-32.81%

Apples (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.83

$2.61 MX$45.98

-39.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 R 23.99

$1.44 MX$25.46

1.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.02

$1.96 MX$34.55

-25.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 R 25.10

$2.12 MX$37.34

-27.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 R 17.56

$1.86 MX$32.87

-42.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 R 20.07

$2.22 MX$39.20

-45.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 R 17.87

$1.02 MX$17.99

6.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 R 15.15

$1.04 MX$18.36

-11.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.14 R 51.5

$4.05 MX$71.5

-22.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.57 R 108

$10.18 MX$180

-35.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 R 22.96

$1.69 MX$29.79

-17.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 R 28.92

$2.62 MX$46.25

-32.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.96 R 15.80

$0.51 MX$9.09

88.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.51 R 796

$26.52 MX$468

82.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.43 R 23.40

$3.15 MX$55.7

-54.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 R 15.27

$2.46 MX$43.49

-62.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.47 R 73.3

$3.26 MX$57.5

37.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 R 20.23

$1.32 MX$23.36

-6.82%

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

$21.0K R 345.0K

$30.1K MX$531.0K

-30.06%

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

$24.3K R 398.8K

$23.8K MX$419.3K

2.35%

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

$101 R 1,659

$83.5 MX$1,474

21.08%

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

$32.32 R 530

$22.86 MX$404

41.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.08 R 690

$30.04 MX$530

40.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.35 R 678

$51.9 MX$916

-20.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.36 R 137

$18.30 MX$323

-54.32%

Cinema Ticket

$6.63 R 109

$5.12 MX$90.4

29.49%

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

$214 R 3,513

$201 MX$3,541

6.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,334 R 87.5K

$5,318 MX$93.9K

0.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.0 R 902

$35.73 MX$631

53.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.11 R 543

$40.27 MX$711

-17.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 R 1,846

$79.2 MX$1,398

42.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.2 R 1,381

$89.3 MX$1,576

-5.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$771 R 12.6K

$947 MX$16.7K

-18.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$516 R 8,457

$483 MX$8,525

6.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,439 R 23.6K

$1,599 MX$28.2K

-9.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,013 R 16.6K

$1,211 MX$21.4K

-16.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,093 R 34.3K

$3,996 MX$70.5K

-47.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,420 R 23.3K

$6,402 MX$113.0K

-77.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,685 R 27.6K

$730 MX$12.9K

130.95%

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: January 13, 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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