Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cento and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,638 in Cento, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Cento
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Cento Living Index
57

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

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Cento

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,638

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,638 in Cento versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Cento $1,638
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,655 in Cento versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Cento $2,655
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,672 in Cento versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Cento $3,672
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Cento is roughly 36% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cento is 21% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.05 €17.81

$10.67 MX$199

87.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.2 €80.2

$43.80 MX$815

106.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.35 €11.86

$11.79 MX$219

13.23%

Cappuccino

$2.27 €2.02

$3.79 MX$70.5

-40.11%

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

$3.45 €3.06

$1.30 MX$24.14

165.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 €1.45

$0.83 MX$15.51

97.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.09 €5.41

$3.15 MX$58.6

93.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$4.93 MX$91.8

14.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 €1.27

$1.41 MX$26.22

1.42%

White Bread (500g)

$2.76 €2.45

$2.20 MX$40.86

25.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.72 €2.41

$1.47 MX$27.40

85.03%

Eggs

$3.87 €3.44

$2.50 MX$46.47

54.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.13 €16.10

$7.29 MX$136

148.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.27 €10.90

$7.95 MX$148

54.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.32 €15.39

$12.86 MX$239

34.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 €1.99

$2.90 MX$53.9

-22.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 €1.51

$1.38 MX$25.74

23.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 €1.73

$2.49 MX$46.36

-21.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.46 €2.18

$2.03 MX$37.78

21.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.35 €1.20

$2.02 MX$37.69

-33.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.41 €1.25

$1.90 MX$35.42

-25.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.63 €1.45

$1.14 MX$21.30

42.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 €0.50

$1.24 MX$23.06

-54.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.67 €5.92

$4.27 MX$79.5

56.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.91

$9.81 MX$183

-20.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 €1.38

$1.59 MX$29.51

-1.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.68

$2.75 MX$51.1

-31.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.63 €1.45

$0.51 MX$9.58

219.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.22 €37.51

$27.39 MX$510

54.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.48 €3.98

$4.76 MX$88.6

-5.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$3.25 MX$60.5

-54.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.78 €24.68

$5.39 MX$100

415.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.10 €1.86

$1.53 MX$28.44

37.25%

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

$35.5K €31.6K

$21.2K MX$394.8K

67.45%

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

$37.9K €33.7K

$23.3K MX$432.9K

63.06%

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

$237 €211

$83.5 MX$1,554

183.85%

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

$11.28 €10.02

$23.19 MX$431

-51.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.99 €24.86

$27.61 MX$514

1.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.5 €47.56

$56.4 MX$1,050

-5.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.42 €20.80

$28.19 MX$525

-16.92%

Cinema Ticket

$10.15 €9.02

$5.00 MX$93.1

103.00%

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

$425 €377

$207 MX$3,854

105.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,424 €3,930

$5,231 MX$97.4K

-15.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.3 €78.4

$43.45 MX$809

103.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.51 €38.65

$42.54 MX$792

2.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.5 €83.0

$72.8 MX$1,354

28.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$150 €133

$88.4 MX$1,645

69.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$536 €476

$995 MX$18.5K

-46.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$444 €394

$382 MX$7,116

15.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,062 €943

$1,674 MX$31.2K

-36.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$915 €813

$1,081 MX$20.1K

-15.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,942 €2,613

$3,909 MX$72.7K

-24.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,022 €1,796

$6,138 MX$114.2K

-67.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,779 €1,580

$832 MX$15.5K

113.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

11.45

-72.14%

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

Last update for Cento: November 1, 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

Cento

$444 27.1%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 13.8% $61

Groceries & Markets

Cento

$325 19.8%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 20.7% $67

Eating Out

Cento

$290 17.7%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 30.9% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cento

$276 16.9%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 51.4% $142

Clothing & Footwear

Cento

$169 10.3%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 34.2% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Cento

$74 4.5%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 10% $7.4

Getting Around

Cento

$61 3.7%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 16.8% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $536 in Cento and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cento pays about 2.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $90 in Cento vs $44 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $257 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Cento

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

05:06 5:06 AM

23:06 11:06 PM

6 h behind Cento

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

35,582

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.13 USD

100 MXN = 5.37 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.888 EUR (1 EUR = 1.13 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cento Playa del Carmen 9,040 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cento
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 27% lower than in Cento. 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 Cento is about 2.1 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: $536 in Cento versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 35% less than in Cento. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $425 in Cento versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,638 in Cento, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Cento. 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, Cento on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.