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

🙂 Solo nomad: Cartagena is 15.3% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 13.6% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Cartagena is 7% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 28.7% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.89 COP 22.1K

$11.85 MX$211

-50.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 COP 175.0K

$42.16 MX$750

10.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 35.6K

$10.75 MX$191

-11.91%

Cappuccino

$1.64 COP 6,164

$3.47 MX$61.8

-52.74%

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

$0.86 COP 3,230

$1.45 MX$25.85

-40.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 COP 2,480

$0.90 MX$16.06

-26.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.24 COP 4,679

$3.05 MX$54.3

-59.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 COP 11.1K

$4.42 MX$78.6

-33.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 COP 4,278

$1.37 MX$24.36

-16.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.93 COP 7,244

$1.87 MX$33.31

3.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 COP 4,996

$1.54 MX$27.46

-13.64%

Eggs

$2.13 COP 8,002

$2.50 MX$44.53

-14.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.78 COP 25.5K

$8.61 MX$153

-21.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.11 COP 23.0K

$8.63 MX$154

-29.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.05 COP 30.3K

$11.02 MX$196

-26.95%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 COP 12.4K

$2.75 MX$48.91

20.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 COP 7,192

$1.43 MX$25.41

33.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.44 COP 5,431

$1.87 MX$33.32

-22.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.65 COP 6,214

$2.17 MX$38.56

-23.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 COP 5,749

$1.88 MX$33.50

-18.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 COP 4,205

$2.25 MX$39.96

-50.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.01 COP 3,806

$1.07 MX$18.99

-5.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 COP 2,255

$1.07 MX$19.10

-43.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.35 COP 8,835

$4.15 MX$73.9

-43.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.67 COP 66.5K

$10.34 MX$184

70.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 COP 3,512

$1.68 MX$29.87

-44.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 COP 3,672

$2.48 MX$44.19

-60.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.06 COP 3,991

$0.55 MX$9.87

92.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.38 COP 106.7K

$26.53 MX$472

6.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.36 COP 8,891

$3.22 MX$57.2

-26.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.47 COP 9,287

$2.48 MX$44.15

-0.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.70 COP 17.7K

$3.11 MX$55.3

51.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.03 COP 3,891

$1.26 MX$22.34

-18.25%

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

$21.6K COP 81.1M

$30.7K MX$545.4K

-29.61%

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

$23.8K COP 89.3M

$24.0K MX$427.6K

-1.15%

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

$140 COP 527.6K

$82.5 MX$1,467

70.14%

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

$10.86 COP 40.8K

$22.29 MX$396

-51.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.12 COP 94.5K

$30.02 MX$534

-16.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.78 COP 130.8K

$51.4 MX$915

-32.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.55 COP 32.2K

$18.29 MX$325

-53.25%

Cinema Ticket

$2.94 COP 11.1K

$4.98 MX$88.7

-40.96%

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

$140 COP 526.3K

$200 MX$3,558

-30.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,849 COP 22.0M

$5,304 MX$94.4K

10.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.55 COP 182.5K

$35.71 MX$635

35.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.87 COP 146.2K

$39.56 MX$704

-1.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$126 COP 475.1K

$80.6 MX$1,433

56.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 COP 424.0K

$88.3 MX$1,571

27.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$735 COP 2.8M

$969 MX$17.2K

-24.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$330 COP 1.2M

$482 MX$8,579

-31.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,266 COP 4.8M

$1,595 MX$28.4K

-20.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$476 COP 1.8M

$1,184 MX$21.1K

-59.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,950 COP 11.1M

$4,050 MX$72.1K

-27.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,914 COP 7.2M

$6,522 MX$116.0K

-70.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$393 COP 1.5M

$756 MX$13.5K

-48.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

31.35%

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

Last update for Cartagena: February 28, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: March 3, 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

Similar cities

Bangkok

🇹🇭 Thailand

Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

Kuala Lumpur

🇲🇾 Malaysia

Almaty

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

Skopje

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

Beijing (Pekin)

🇨🇳 China

Durban

🇿🇦 South Africa

Nis

🇷🇸 Serbia