Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chilanga and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Chilanga: $585 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

28

Cost of Living Index in Chilanga
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Chilanga Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Chilanga

🇿🇲 Zambia

$585

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $585 in Chilanga versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Chilanga $585
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $928 in Chilanga versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Chilanga $928
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,271 in Chilanga versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Chilanga $1,271
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Chilanga costs roughly 51% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Chilanga 57% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.65 ZMW 112

$10.86 MX$201

-47.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.59 ZMW 589

$44.21 MX$817

-33.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.12 ZMW 102

$11.76 MX$217

-56.46%

Cappuccino

$2.76 ZMW 54.9

$3.68 MX$68.0

-25.00%

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

$0.74 ZMW 14.64

$1.34 MX$24.79

-44.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.48 ZMW 9.57

$0.82 MX$15.24

-41.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 ZMW 24.49

$3.06 MX$56.6

-59.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 ZMW 46.00

$4.94 MX$91.2

-53.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 ZMW 33.83

$1.47 MX$27.17

15.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.17 ZMW 23.22

$2.22 MX$40.95

-47.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 ZMW 41.80

$1.48 MX$27.32

41.89%

Eggs

$1.92 ZMW 38.10

$2.49 MX$45.99

-22.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.24 ZMW 204

$7.52 MX$139

36.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.36 ZMW 126

$7.96 MX$147

-20.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.65 ZMW 132

$12.57 MX$232

-47.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.44 ZMW 68.5

$2.78 MX$51.3

23.74%

Banana (1kg)

$2.37 ZMW 47.19

$1.43 MX$26.37

65.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.56 ZMW 70.8

$2.62 MX$48.37

35.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.51 ZMW 29.94

$2.14 MX$39.49

-29.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.49 ZMW 49.46

$2.02 MX$37.38

23.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 ZMW 35.65

$1.99 MX$36.74

-10.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 ZMW 21.99

$1.14 MX$21.01

-2.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 ZMW 15.67

$1.20 MX$22.18

-34.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.95 ZMW 58.7

$4.26 MX$78.7

-30.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.91 ZMW 197

$10.02 MX$185

-1.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 ZMW 28.20

$1.54 MX$28.41

-7.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 ZMW 46.41

$2.66 MX$49.17

-12.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.56 ZMW 50.9

$4.90 MX$90.6

-47.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.47 ZMW 29.24

$3.43 MX$63.5

-57.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.87 ZMW 96.9

$5.38 MX$99.4

-9.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 ZMW 29.40

$1.45 MX$26.76

2.07%

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

$7,420 ZMW 147.6K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

-64.93%

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

$27.4K ZMW 544.4K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

18.91%

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

$80.1 ZMW 1,592

$85.4 MX$1,577

-6.22%

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

$10.46 ZMW 208

$23.46 MX$434

-55.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 ZMW 1,110

$28.43 MX$525

96.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$6.05 ZMW 120

$5.10 MX$94.3

18.63%

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

$139 ZMW 2,768

$201 MX$3,715

-30.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ZMW 331.0K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

321.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.71 ZMW 472

$44.39 MX$820

-46.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.19 ZMW 302

$41.35 MX$764

-63.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$45.76 ZMW 910

$72.7 MX$1,344

-37.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.2 ZMW 1,415

$89.6 MX$1,656

-20.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

153.28%

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

Last update for Chilanga: October 17, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Chilanga

$237 40.5%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 9.1% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chilanga

$146 25%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 6.2% $9.1

Eating Out

Chilanga

$109 18.7%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 83% $91

Clothing & Footwear

Chilanga

$70 12%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 59.2% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Chilanga

$12 * 2.1%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 498% $60

Getting Around

Chilanga

$9.9 * 1.7%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 422% $42

Accommodation & Living

Chilanga

- * 0%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $30.00 in Chilanga vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $258 per month, with Chilanga cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇲 Chilanga

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

12:51 12:51 PM

05:51 5:51 AM

7 h behind Chilanga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

107,051

149,923

💱 Currency

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZMW = 5.03 USD

100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to ZMW – Zambian Kwacha Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇲 Zambian Kwacha (ZK)

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 19.89 ZMW (100 ZMW = 5.03 USD). 1 EUR = 22.36 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to ZMW in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chilanga Playa del Carmen 13,200 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Chilanga
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

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

Chilanga and Playa del Carmen differ by about 106% in total monthly costs ($585 vs $1,204 including rent). Chilanga is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $877 in Chilanga and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $139 in Chilanga versus $201 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Chilanga – a meal for two runs $30.00 versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $585 in Chilanga versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Chilanga but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Chilanga 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.

Expats usually find Chilanga gentler on the wallet – expenses run 106% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.