Cost of Living Comparison Between Cuenca and Playa del Carmen Cost of Living Comparison Between Cuenca and Playa del Carmen

😐 Solo nomad: Cuenca is 7.5% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 16.2% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Cuenca is 9.4% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 8.4% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cuenca
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$16.66 €14.36
$11.85 MX$211
40.59%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$46.40 €40.00
$42.16 MX$750
10.06%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$9.37 €8.08
$10.75 MX$191
-12.84%
Cappuccino
$2.28 €1.96
$3.47 MX$61.8
-34.29%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.94 €1.68
$1.45 MX$25.85
33.79%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.51 €1.30
$0.90 MX$16.06
67.78%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.29 €1.97
$3.05 MX$54.3
-24.92%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.57 €3.07
$4.42 MX$78.6
-19.23%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cuenca
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.05 €0.91
$1.37 MX$24.36
-23.36%
White Bread (500g)
$1.39 €1.20
$1.87 MX$33.31
-25.67%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.44 €1.24
$1.54 MX$27.46
-6.49%
Eggs
$2.60 €2.24
$2.50 MX$44.53
4.00%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$16.34 €14.09
$8.61 MX$153
89.78%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.83 €8.48
$8.63 MX$154
13.90%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$14.08 €12.14
$11.02 MX$196
27.77%
Apples (1kg)
$2.95 €2.54
$2.75 MX$48.91
7.27%
Banana (1kg)
$1.60 €1.38
$1.43 MX$25.41
11.89%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.56 €1.35
$1.87 MX$33.32
-16.58%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.27 €2.82
$2.17 MX$38.56
50.69%
Potato (1kg)
$1.83 €1.58
$1.88 MX$33.50
-2.66%
Onion (1kg)
$1.97 €1.70
$2.25 MX$39.96
-12.44%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.40 €1.21
$1.07 MX$18.99
30.84%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.11 €0.96
$1.07 MX$19.10
3.74%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$5.87 €5.06
$4.15 MX$73.9
41.45%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.59 €5.68
$10.34 MX$184
-36.27%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.25 €1.08
$1.68 MX$29.87
-25.60%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.72 €1.48
$2.48 MX$44.19
-30.65%
🚌 Getting Around
Cuenca
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.31 €1.13
$0.55 MX$9.87
138.18%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$33.99 €29.30
$26.53 MX$472
28.12%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.71 €4.06
$3.22 MX$57.2
46.27%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.03 €0.89
$2.48 MX$44.15
-58.47%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$28.55 €24.61
$3.11 MX$55.3
818.01%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.81 €1.56
$1.26 MX$22.34
43.65%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$38.3K €33.0K
$30.7K MX$545.4K
24.90%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$30.5K €26.3K
$24.0K MX$427.6K
27.02%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cuenca
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$136 €117
$82.5 MX$1,467
64.71%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$19.24 €16.59
$22.29 MX$396
-13.68%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$27.76 €23.93
$30.02 MX$534
-7.53%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cuenca
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$46.70 €40.26
$51.4 MX$915
-9.21%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$14.61 €12.60
$18.29 MX$325
-20.12%
Cinema Ticket
$8.54 €7.36
$4.98 MX$88.7
71.49%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cuenca
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$353 €304
$200 MX$3,558
76.47%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$9,804 €8,451
$5,304 MX$94.4K
84.82%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cuenca
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$68.6 €59.1
$35.71 MX$635
92.08%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$39.49 €34.04
$39.56 MX$704
-0.18%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$98.0 €84.4
$80.6 MX$1,433
21.60%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$117 €101
$88.3 MX$1,571
32.99%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cuenca
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$692 €596
$969 MX$17.2K
-28.65%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$523 €451
$482 MX$8,579
8.51%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$806 €695
$1,595 MX$28.4K
-49.48%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$638 €550
$1,184 MX$21.1K
-46.10%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,442 €2,967
$4,050 MX$72.1K
-15.02%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,374 €2,046
$6,522 MX$116.0K
-63.60%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cuenca
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,470 €1,267
$756 MX$13.5K
94.34%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.62
11.42
-68.30%

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

Last update for Cuenca: February 28, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: March 3, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.
Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Similar cities