Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Castello de la Plana and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,477 in Castello de la Plana, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Castello de la Plana outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

71

Cost of Living Index in Castello de la Plana
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Castello de la Plana Living Index
58

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

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Castello de la Plana

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,477

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,477 per month in Castello de la Plana vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Castello de la Plana $1,477
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $2,147 per month in Castello de la Plana vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Castello de la Plana $2,147
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,818 per month in Castello de la Plana vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Castello de la Plana $2,818
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Castello de la Plana costs about 23% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Castello de la Plana sits 8% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.54 €13.03

$10.92 MX$205

33.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.4 €49.64

$43.37 MX$815

27.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.89 €7.07

$11.78 MX$221

-33.02%

Cappuccino

$2.20 €1.97

$3.81 MX$71.6

-42.26%

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

$2.23 €2.00

$1.28 MX$24.10

74.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 €1.21

$0.78 MX$14.71

73.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.45 €3.09

$3.17 MX$59.5

8.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 €2.92

$4.93 MX$92.7

-34.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.41 MX$26.43

-20.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 €1.42

$2.22 MX$41.66

-28.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 €1.44

$1.42 MX$26.64

13.38%

Eggs

$2.95 €2.64

$2.52 MX$47.41

17.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.82 €13.28

$7.26 MX$137

104.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.21 €7.36

$7.70 MX$145

6.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.94 €13.39

$12.69 MX$239

17.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.57 €2.30

$2.78 MX$52.3

-7.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 €1.75

$1.37 MX$25.71

42.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 €1.49

$2.55 MX$47.94

-34.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.48 €2.22

$2.12 MX$39.90

16.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.94 MX$36.43

-7.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 €1.70

$1.89 MX$35.44

0.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 €1.06

$1.15 MX$21.55

2.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 €0.56

$1.18 MX$22.16

-47.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.63 €5.94

$4.30 MX$80.7

54.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.75 €5.15

$9.95 MX$187

-42.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 €0.90

$1.58 MX$29.76

-36.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 €1.90

$2.67 MX$50.2

-20.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 €1.23

$0.55 MX$10.40

149.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.82 €15.97

$26.62 MX$500

-33.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$4.97 MX$93.4

-39.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.31 €1.18

$3.33 MX$62.6

-60.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.72 €13.19

$5.36 MX$101

174.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.78 €1.59

$1.44 MX$27.14

23.61%

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

$30.8K €27.6K

$20.7K MX$388.4K

49.00%

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

$31.1K €27.8K

$23.5K MX$441.0K

32.38%

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

$114 €102

$84.8 MX$1,594

33.98%

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

$13.52 €12.12

$23.41 MX$440

-42.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.57 €22.91

$28.66 MX$539

-10.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.10 €40.42

$57.1 MX$1,072

-20.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$8.33 €7.46

$5.14 MX$96.6

62.06%

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

$558 €500

$207 MX$3,882

170.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,464 €8,481

$3,927 MX$73.8K

140.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.1 €56.5

$43.35 MX$815

45.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.61 €19.37

$41.44 MX$779

-47.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.4 €84.6

$74.2 MX$1,394

27.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 €92.4

$89.3 MX$1,677

15.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$732 €656

$980 MX$18.4K

-25.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$637 €571

$381 MX$7,157

67.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,024 €918

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-40.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$863 €774

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-19.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,806 €1,618

$3,943 MX$74.1K

-54.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,390 €1,245

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-77.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,763 €1,579

$735 MX$13.8K

139.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.99

11.45

-73.89%

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

Last update for Castello de la Plana: October 26, 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

Castello de la Plana

$637 43.1%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 40.2% $256

Groceries & Markets

Castello de la Plana

$261 17.7%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 2.5% $6.5

Eating Out

Castello de la Plana

$204 13.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 1% $2.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Castello de la Plana

$153 10.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 10.4% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Castello de la Plana

$127 8.6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 12% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Castello de la Plana

$62 4.2%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 9% $5.6

Getting Around

Castello de la Plana

$33 2.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 53.6% $18

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $732 in Castello de la Plana versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Castello de la Plana are about 2.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $55 in Castello de la Plana versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $261 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Castello de la Plana

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

03:09 3:09 AM

21:09 9:09 PM

6 h behind Castello de la Plana

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

176,238

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.32 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Castello de la Plana Playa del Carmen 8,310 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Castello de la Plana
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

Castello de la Plana vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,477 in Castello de la Plana, $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen comes out roughly 18% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,215 per month in Castello de la Plana and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Castello de la Plana, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $732 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,477 in Castello de la Plana and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 18% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $558 per month in Castello de la Plana and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,477 in Castello de la Plana. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Castello de la Plana makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.