Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,425 in Cartagena, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cartagena outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

68

Cost of Living Index in Cartagena
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Cartagena Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Cartagena

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,425

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,425 in Cartagena versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Cartagena $1,425
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,101 in Cartagena versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Cartagena $2,101
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,778 in Cartagena versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Cartagena $2,778
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Cartagena is roughly 18% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cartagena is 5% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.84 €12.40

$10.92 MX$205

26.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.2 €50.3

$43.37 MX$814

29.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.95 €7.12

$11.78 MX$221

-32.51%

Cappuccino

$2.47 €2.21

$3.81 MX$71.5

-35.17%

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

$2.56 €2.30

$1.28 MX$24.07

100.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.78 MX$14.70

133.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.06

$3.17 MX$59.5

7.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.86 €3.46

$4.93 MX$92.7

-21.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 €1.09

$1.41 MX$26.40

-13.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 €1.06

$2.22 MX$41.62

-46.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.63 €2.35

$1.42 MX$26.61

85.21%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.54

$2.52 MX$47.36

57.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.82 €11.48

$7.26 MX$136

76.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.71 €6.01

$7.70 MX$144

-12.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.75 €16.79

$12.69 MX$238

47.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.37 €2.12

$2.78 MX$52.3

-14.75%

Banana (1kg)

$2.45 €2.19

$1.37 MX$25.68

78.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.58 €1.42

$2.55 MX$47.89

-38.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.20 €2.87

$2.12 MX$39.86

50.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.94 MX$36.39

-34.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 €1.13

$1.89 MX$35.41

-33.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.15 MX$21.53

33.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 €0.62

$1.18 MX$22.13

-41.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.71 €5.11

$4.30 MX$80.6

32.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.30 €5.64

$9.95 MX$187

-36.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 €1.08

$1.58 MX$29.73

-23.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.17 €1.05

$2.67 MX$50.1

-56.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.48 €1.32

$0.55 MX$10.39

169.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.08 €9.93

$26.62 MX$500

-58.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.65 €5.06

$4.97 MX$93.3

13.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.23 €2.00

$3.33 MX$62.5

-33.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.72 €24.83

$5.36 MX$101

417.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.77 €1.59

$1.44 MX$27.11

22.92%

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

$34.6K €30.9K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

67.22%

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

$29.9K €26.7K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

27.24%

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

$211 €189

$84.8 MX$1,592

148.94%

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

$19.43 €17.40

$23.41 MX$439

-17.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.27 €26.21

$28.66 MX$538

2.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.23 €36.92

$57.1 MX$1,071

-27.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.81 €11.47

$28.91 MX$543

-55.69%

Cinema Ticket

$7.72 €6.91

$5.14 MX$96.5

50.19%

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

$406 €364

$207 MX$3,878

96.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,651 €2,374

$3,927 MX$73.7K

-32.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.46 €41.61

$43.35 MX$814

7.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.88 €31.24

$41.44 MX$778

-15.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.6 €54.2

$74.2 MX$1,393

-18.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 €90.5

$89.3 MX$1,676

13.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$596 €534

$980 MX$18.4K

-39.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$490 €439

$381 MX$7,150

28.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$872 €781

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-48.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$720 €644

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-33.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,737 €1,556

$3,943 MX$74.0K

-55.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,427 €1,278

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-76.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,704 €1,526

$735 MX$13.8K

132.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

11.45

-64.54%

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

Last update for Cartagena: 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

Cartagena

$490 34.4%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 22.2% $109

Groceries & Markets

Cartagena

$269 18.9%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 5.4% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cartagena

$260 18.2%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 47.3% $123

Eating Out

Cartagena

$207 14.5%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 2% $4.2

Clothing & Footwear

Cartagena

$109 7.7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 2.2% $2.4

Sport & Entertainment

Cartagena

$57 4%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 18.8% $11

Getting Around

Cartagena

$34 2.4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 49.3% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $596 in Cartagena and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cartagena pays about 2.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $56 in Cartagena vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Cartagena

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

14:35 2:35 PM

08:35 8:35 AM

6 h behind Cartagena

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

218,050

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.33 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cartagena Playa del Carmen 8,290 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cartagena
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 15% lower than in Cartagena. 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 in Cartagena is about 2.3 times higher, 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: $596 in Cartagena versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $56 in Cartagena. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,425 per month in Cartagena versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 15% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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, Cartagena on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.