Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cayenne and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,353 in Cayenne, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

112

Cost of Living Index in Cayenne
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Cayenne Living Index
57

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

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Cayenne

🇬🇫 French Guiana

$2,353

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,353 in Cayenne versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Cayenne $2,353
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,829 in Cayenne versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Cayenne $3,829
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,305 in Cayenne versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Cayenne $5,305
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Cayenne is roughly 96% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cayenne is 74% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.08 €11.68

$10.67 MX$198

22.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$111 €99.6

$43.80 MX$813

154.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.65 €9.52

$11.79 MX$219

-9.67%

Cappuccino

$3.98 €3.56

$3.79 MX$70.3

5.01%

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

$3.48 €3.11

$1.30 MX$24.09

167.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 €2.67

$0.83 MX$15.48

260.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 €3.51

$3.15 MX$58.4

24.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 €3.91

$4.93 MX$91.6

-11.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.95 €3.53

$1.41 MX$26.16

180.14%

White Bread (500g)

$4.99 €4.46

$2.20 MX$40.77

126.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.00 €2.68

$1.47 MX$27.35

104.08%

Eggs

$7.33 €6.55

$2.50 MX$46.37

193.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$30.25 €27.02

$7.29 MX$135

314.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.32 €14.57

$7.95 MX$148

105.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$29.83 €26.64

$12.86 MX$239

131.96%

Apples (1kg)

$4.80 €4.28

$2.90 MX$53.8

65.52%

Banana (1kg)

$4.34 €3.88

$1.38 MX$25.69

214.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.32 €4.75

$2.49 MX$46.26

113.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$9.77 €8.73

$2.03 MX$37.70

381.28%

Potato (1kg)

$4.70 €4.19

$2.02 MX$37.61

132.67%

Onion (1kg)

$5.68 €5.07

$1.90 MX$35.35

198.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.98 €3.56

$1.14 MX$21.25

249.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.70

$1.24 MX$23.01

53.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.31 €8.31

$4.27 MX$79.3

118.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.74 €9.59

$9.81 MX$182

9.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.89 €2.59

$1.59 MX$29.45

81.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.15 €1.02

$2.75 MX$51.0

-58.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.18 €1.95

$0.51 MX$9.56

327.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.96 €30.33

$27.39 MX$509

23.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.72 €5.11

$4.76 MX$88.4

20.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.06 €3.63

$3.25 MX$60.3

24.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.86 €7.02

$5.39 MX$100

45.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.22 €1.98

$1.53 MX$28.38

45.10%

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

$44.8K €40.0K

$21.2K MX$393.9K

111.14%

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

$45.5K €40.6K

$23.3K MX$432.0K

95.40%

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

$219 €195

$83.5 MX$1,550

162.04%

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

$43.82 €39.14

$23.19 MX$431

88.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$68.0 €60.7

$27.61 MX$513

146.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.53 €31.74

$56.4 MX$1,048

-37.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.48 €25.44

$28.19 MX$524

1.03%

Cinema Ticket

$9.45 €8.44

$5.00 MX$92.9

89.00%

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

$676 €604

$207 MX$3,846

226.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.4K €9,280

$5,231 MX$97.1K

98.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.4 €88.8

$43.45 MX$807

128.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$66.3 €59.2

$42.54 MX$790

55.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 €114

$72.8 MX$1,351

75.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 €88.2

$88.4 MX$1,641

11.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$946 €845

$995 MX$18.5K

-4.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$869 €777

$382 MX$7,102

127.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,800 €1,608

$1,674 MX$31.1K

7.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,767 €1,579

$1,081 MX$20.1K

63.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,065 €2,738

$3,909 MX$72.6K

-21.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,448 €3,080

$6,138 MX$114.0K

-43.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,192 €1,958

$832 MX$15.5K

163.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.5

11.45

-60.70%

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

Last update for Cayenne: November 2, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Cayenne

$869 36.9%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 56% $487

Groceries & Markets

Cayenne

$615 26.1%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 58.1% $358

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cayenne

$331 14.1%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 59.4% $196

Eating Out

Cayenne

$239 10.1%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 16.1% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Cayenne

$176 7.5%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 37% $65

Getting Around

Cayenne

$69 2.9%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 26.6% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Cayenne

$54 2.3%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 22.1% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $946 in Cayenne and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cayenne pays about 2.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $111 in Cayenne vs $44 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $615 vs $257 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇫 Cayenne

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

12:20 12:20 PM

10:20 10:20 AM

2 h behind Cayenne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

65,493 Capital

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.38 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.893 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.57 MXN (100 MXN = 5.38 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cayenne Playa del Carmen 4,140 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cayenne
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

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

Playa del Carmen is about 49% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Cayenne is about 2.6 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: $946 in Cayenne versus $995 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 $44 versus $111 in Cayenne. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $2,353 per month in Cayenne versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 49% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,353 in Cayenne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Cayenne. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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