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

🙂 Solo nomad: Cartagena is 20.6% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 14% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cartagena is 29% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 17.1% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.75 €11.86

$11.88 MX$210

15.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.2 €50.2

$41.90 MX$740

38.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.21 €7.08

$10.55 MX$186

-22.18%

Cappuccino

$2.57 €2.21

$3.60 MX$63.5

-28.61%

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

$2.46 €2.12

$1.50 MX$26.45

64.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 €1.77

$0.91 MX$16.09

125.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.54 €3.05

$3.08 MX$54.4

14.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.39 €2.92

$4.47 MX$78.8

-24.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 €0.98

$1.39 MX$24.54

-17.99%

White Bread (500g)

$1.03 €0.89

$1.90 MX$33.47

-45.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 €1.46

$1.60 MX$28.27

5.62%

Eggs

$2.82 €2.43

$2.60 MX$45.97

8.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.45 €9.87

$8.36 MX$148

36.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.21 €7.08

$8.64 MX$152

-4.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.13 €12.18

$10.91 MX$192

29.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €1.95

$2.61 MX$45.98

-13.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.83 €1.58

$1.44 MX$25.46

27.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 €1.25

$1.96 MX$34.55

-26.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.72 €1.48

$2.12 MX$37.34

-18.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 €1.08

$1.86 MX$32.87

-32.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.05 €0.91

$2.22 MX$39.20

-52.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 €0.94

$1.02 MX$17.99

7.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 €0.48

$1.04 MX$18.36

-46.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.65 €4.87

$4.05 MX$71.5

39.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.00 €5.17

$10.18 MX$180

-41.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 €0.95

$1.69 MX$29.79

-34.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.26 €1.08

$2.62 MX$46.25

-51.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 €1.18

$0.51 MX$9.09

168.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.52 €9.93

$26.52 MX$468

-56.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.43 €2.96

$3.15 MX$55.7

8.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.21 €1.04

$2.46 MX$43.49

-50.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.52 €21.14

$3.26 MX$57.5

652.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.83 €1.58

$1.32 MX$23.36

38.64%

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

$30.5K €26.3K

$30.1K MX$531.0K

1.29%

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

$31.0K €26.7K

$23.8K MX$419.3K

30.59%

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

$144 €124

$83.5 MX$1,474

72.72%

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

$13.56 €11.69

$22.86 MX$404

-40.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.05 €25.90

$30.04 MX$530

0.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.19 €33.78

$51.9 MX$916

-24.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.11 €13.02

$18.30 MX$323

-17.43%

Cinema Ticket

$8.04 €6.93

$5.12 MX$90.4

57.03%

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

$423 €364

$201 MX$3,541

110.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,832 €2,441

$5,318 MX$93.9K

-46.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.81 €38.63

$35.73 MX$631

25.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.44 €27.10

$40.27 MX$711

-21.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$44.64 €38.48

$79.2 MX$1,398

-43.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.0 €66.3

$89.3 MX$1,576

-13.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$777 €670

$947 MX$16.7K

-17.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$617 €532

$483 MX$8,525

27.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$911 €785

$1,599 MX$28.2K

-43.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$752 €648

$1,211 MX$21.4K

-37.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,804 €1,555

$3,996 MX$70.5K

-54.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,494 €1,288

$6,402 MX$113.0K

-76.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,817 €1,566

$730 MX$12.9K

149.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.44

11.42

-69.88%

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

Last update for Cartagena: January 11, 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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