Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Coronado and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,349 in Coronado, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Coronado outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

67

Cost of Living Index in Coronado
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Coronado Living Index
59

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

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Coronado

🇵🇦 Panama

$1,349

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Coronado versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Coronado $1,349
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,172 in Coronado versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Coronado $2,172
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,996 in Coronado versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Coronado $2,996
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Coronado is roughly 11% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Coronado is 0% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.23 PAB 12.23

$10.76 MX$199

13.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.3 PAB 55.3

$43.03 MX$795

28.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.94 PAB 8.94

$11.79 MX$218

-24.17%

Cappuccino

$3.83 PAB 3.83

$3.87 MX$71.4

-1.03%

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

$1.23 PAB 1.23

$1.37 MX$25.29

-10.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.92 PAB 0.92

$0.84 MX$15.44

9.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.02 PAB 1.02

$3.10 MX$57.3

-67.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 PAB 2.57

$5.07 MX$93.6

-49.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 PAB 1.94

$1.44 MX$26.55

34.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.59 PAB 1.59

$2.23 MX$41.23

-28.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

Eggs

$2.36 PAB 2.36

$2.53 MX$46.71

-6.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.62 PAB 11.62

$7.30 MX$135

59.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.87 PAB 6.87

$7.86 MX$145

-12.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.34 PAB 9.34

$12.79 MX$236

-26.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 PAB 0.90

$1.44 MX$26.53

-37.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.97 PAB 2.97

$2.55 MX$47.07

16.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 PAB 2.88

$2.06 MX$38.03

39.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 PAB 1.83

$2.00 MX$36.97

-8.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.86 PAB 1.86

$2.01 MX$37.07

-7.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.54 PAB 2.54

$1.19 MX$22.02

113.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

Wine (Bottle)

$8.75 PAB 8.75

$9.59 MX$177

-8.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 PAB 0.73

$1.59 MX$29.41

-54.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.70 PAB 0.70

$2.81 MX$51.9

-75.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.67 PAB 0.67

$0.57 MX$10.47

17.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.49 PAB 1.49

$4.98 MX$92.1

-70.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 PAB 1.49

$3.50 MX$64.6

-57.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.94 PAB 0.94

$1.47 MX$27.08

-36.05%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

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

$33.3K PAB 33.3K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

39.41%

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

$172 PAB 172

$84.2 MX$1,556

104.13%

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

$21.06 PAB 21.06

$23.99 MX$443

-12.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.8 PAB 58.8

$29.02 MX$536

102.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$59.9 PAB 59.9

$63.0 MX$1,164

-4.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$3.43 PAB 3.43

$4.94 MX$91.3

-30.57%

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

$204 MX$3,763

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.03 PAB 45.03

$43.60 MX$806

3.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$64.4 PAB 64.4

$88.6 MX$1,637

-27.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$773 PAB 773

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-23.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$565 PAB 565

$374 MX$6,911

51.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,241 PAB 1,241

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-27.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,285 PAB 1,285

$1,106 MX$20.4K

16.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,970 PAB 1,970

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-68.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$443 PAB 443

$754 MX$13.9K

-41.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

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

Last update for Coronado: October 11, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Coronado

$565 41.9%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 33.8% $191

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Coronado

$252 18.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 45.5% $115

Groceries & Markets

Coronado

$216 * 16%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 19.9% $43

Eating Out

Coronado

$189 14%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 6.8% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Coronado

$67 5%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 9.2% $6.1

Clothing & Footwear

Coronado

$49 * 3.7%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 129% $64

Getting Around

Coronado

$12 * 0.9%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 353% $41

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 $773 in Coronado and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 70% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $55.0 in Coronado vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $216 vs $258, with Coronado cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇦 Coronado

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

08:02 8:02 AM

Same time as Coronado

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,444

149,923

💱 Currency

Panamanian Balboa PAB B/.

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PAB = 1 USD

1 PAB = 0.89 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to PAB – Panamanian Balboa Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇦 Panamanian Balboa (B/.)

Panamanian Balboa exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1 PAB (1 PAB = 1 USD). 1 EUR = 1.12 PAB (1 PAB = 0.89 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to PAB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Coronado Playa del Carmen 1,550 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Coronado
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 11% lower than in Coronado. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 70% lower in Playa del Carmen. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $773 in Coronado versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,349 per month in Coronado versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – a 11% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Shoppers in Coronado pay roughly 20% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,349 in Coronado, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Coronado. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Playa del Carmen delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,210 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Playa del Carmen hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Coronado and Playa del Carmen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 11% less than in Coronado. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.