Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Coffs Harbour and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,468 in Coffs Harbour, rent and utilities included – about $15,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

118

Cost of Living Index in Coffs Harbour
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Coffs Harbour Living Index
58

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

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Coffs Harbour

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,468

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,468 in Coffs Harbour versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Coffs Harbour $2,468
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,579 in Coffs Harbour versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Coffs Harbour $3,579
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,690 in Coffs Harbour versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Coffs Harbour $4,690
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Coffs Harbour is roughly 105% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Coffs Harbour is 81% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.25 A$20.27

$10.92 MX$204

30.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$104 A$147

$43.37 MX$810

139.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.87 A$12.62

$11.78 MX$220

-24.70%

Cappuccino

$3.77 A$5.36

$3.81 MX$71.2

-1.05%

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

$2.86 A$4.07

$1.28 MX$23.96

123.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 A$2.77

$0.78 MX$14.63

150.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.37 A$7.64

$3.17 MX$59.2

69.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.48 A$7.80

$4.93 MX$92.2

11.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 A$2.17

$1.41 MX$26.28

7.80%

White Bread (500g)

$2.64 A$3.75

$2.22 MX$41.43

18.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.40 A$3.41

$1.42 MX$26.48

69.01%

Eggs

$3.36 A$4.78

$2.52 MX$47.14

33.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.69 A$12.36

$7.26 MX$136

19.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.11 A$10.11

$7.70 MX$144

-7.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.76 A$19.57

$12.69 MX$237

8.43%

Apples (1kg)

$3.98 A$5.66

$2.78 MX$52.0

43.17%

Banana (1kg)

$3.09 A$4.40

$1.37 MX$25.56

125.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.47 A$4.94

$2.55 MX$47.66

36.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.16 A$5.91

$2.12 MX$39.67

96.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.43 A$2.03

$1.94 MX$36.22

-26.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.47

$1.89 MX$35.24

29.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.52 A$3.59

$1.15 MX$21.42

119.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.37 A$3.37

$1.18 MX$22.03

100.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$32.01 A$45.51

$4.30 MX$80.3

644.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.22 A$20.21

$9.95 MX$186

42.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$6.05 A$8.60

$1.58 MX$29.59

282.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.63 A$9.42

$2.67 MX$49.91

148.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.72 A$6.71

$0.55 MX$10.34

758.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$497

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.11 A$3.00

$4.97 MX$92.9

-57.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.59 A$2.26

$3.33 MX$62.2

-52.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.69 A$50.7

$5.36 MX$100

565.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 A$1.87

$1.44 MX$26.98

-8.33%

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

$28.9K A$41.2K

$20.7K MX$386.2K

40.07%

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

$26.7K A$38.0K

$23.5K MX$438.5K

13.76%

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

$175 A$248

$84.8 MX$1,584

106.07%

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

$10.59 A$15.06

$23.41 MX$437

-54.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.9 A$76.6

$28.66 MX$535

88.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$108 A$153

$57.1 MX$1,066

88.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$540

Cinema Ticket

$13.45 A$19.13

$5.14 MX$96.0

161.67%

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

$2,183 A$3,105

$207 MX$3,860

957.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.8K A$16.7K

$3,927 MX$73.4K

199.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.2 A$110

$43.35 MX$810

77.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.5 A$76.1

$41.44 MX$774

29.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 A$146

$74.2 MX$1,386

38.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 A$176

$89.3 MX$1,668

38.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,399 A$1,990

$980 MX$18.3K

42.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 A$1,851

$381 MX$7,116

241.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,111 A$3,001

$1,708 MX$31.9K

23.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,945 A$2,766

$1,075 MX$20.1K

80.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,566 A$5,070

$3,943 MX$73.7K

-9.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,623 A$5,152

$6,158 MX$115.1K

-41.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,275 A$4,657

$735 MX$13.7K

345.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.69

11.45

-50.31%

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

Last update for Coffs Harbour: 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

Coffs Harbour

$1.3K 52.7%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 70.7% $921

Groceries & Markets

Coffs Harbour

$360 14.6%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 29.3% $106

Eating Out

Coffs Harbour

$243 9.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 16.7% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Coffs Harbour

$239 9.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 42.8% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Coffs Harbour

$161 6.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 30.4% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Coffs Harbour

$135 5.5%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 50% $67

Getting Around

Coffs Harbour

$29 * 1.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 74.3% $22

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,399 in Coffs Harbour and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Coffs Harbour pays about 4.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $104 in Coffs Harbour vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Coffs Harbour

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

03:56 3:56 AM

11:56 11:56 AM

16 h behind Coffs Harbour

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,759

149,923

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.703 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Coffs Harbour Playa del Carmen 13,950 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Coffs Harbour
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

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

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and clothing. The 105% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Coffs Harbour is about 4.5 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: $1,399 in Coffs Harbour versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Coffs Harbour. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,468 per month in Coffs Harbour versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – a 105% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,468 in Coffs Harbour, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Coffs Harbour. 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, Coffs Harbour on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.