Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cusco and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Cusco: $692 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in Cusco
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Cusco Living Index
59

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

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Cusco

🇵🇪 Peru

$692

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $692 in Cusco versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Cusco $692
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,102 in Cusco versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Cusco $1,102
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,512 in Cusco versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Cusco $1,512
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Cusco costs roughly 43% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cusco 49% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.07 PEN 7.11

$10.76 MX$199

-80.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$20.09 PEN 69.0

$43.03 MX$795

-53.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.49 PEN 22.28

$11.79 MX$218

-44.95%

Cappuccino

$2.18 PEN 7.48

$3.87 MX$71.4

-43.67%

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

$0.78 PEN 2.67

$1.37 MX$25.29

-43.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 PEN 1.12

$0.84 MX$15.44

-60.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.70 PEN 5.83

$3.10 MX$57.3

-45.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.23 PEN 14.51

$5.07 MX$93.6

-16.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 PEN 4.33

$1.44 MX$26.55

-12.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.31 PEN 7.92

$2.23 MX$41.23

3.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.30 PEN 4.46

$1.47 MX$27.17

-11.56%

Eggs

$3.52 PEN 12.07

$2.53 MX$46.71

39.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.68 PEN 16.07

$7.30 MX$135

-35.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 PEN 15.08

$7.86 MX$145

-44.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.12 PEN 24.44

$12.79 MX$236

-44.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.66 PEN 9.15

$2.90 MX$53.6

-8.28%

Banana (1kg)

$0.82 PEN 2.81

$1.44 MX$26.53

-43.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.42 PEN 4.89

$2.55 MX$47.07

-44.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.90 PEN 3.09

$2.06 MX$38.03

-56.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 PEN 3.55

$2.00 MX$36.97

-48.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 PEN 3.85

$2.01 MX$37.07

-44.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.53 PEN 1.84

$1.19 MX$22.02

-55.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 PEN 2.57

$1.26 MX$23.23

-40.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

Wine (Bottle)

$5.86 PEN 20.13

$9.59 MX$177

-38.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 PEN 6.63

$1.59 MX$29.41

21.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 PEN 14.18

$2.81 MX$51.9

46.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 PEN 0.96

$0.57 MX$10.47

-50.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.73 PEN 5.94

$4.98 MX$92.1

-65.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.92 PEN 6.58

$3.50 MX$64.6

-45.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.94 PEN 10.10

$5.40 MX$99.8

-45.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 PEN 5.39

$1.47 MX$27.08

6.80%

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)

$29.2K PEN 100.3K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

22.21%

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

$28.88 PEN 99.2

$84.2 MX$1,556

-65.70%

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

$14.39 PEN 49.41

$23.99 MX$443

-40.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.08 PEN 151

$29.02 MX$536

51.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.16 PEN 100

$63.0 MX$1,164

-53.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.47 PEN 15.35

$4.94 MX$91.3

-9.51%

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)

$37.01 PEN 127

$43.60 MX$806

-15.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.94 PEN 117

$43.12 MX$797

-21.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$54.6 PEN 187

$75.8 MX$1,400

-28.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.3 PEN 252

$88.6 MX$1,637

-17.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$214 PEN 736

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-78.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$194 PEN 666

$374 MX$6,911

-48.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$539 PEN 1,850

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-68.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$421 PEN 1,446

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-61.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,183 PEN 10.9K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-19.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,825 PEN 6,269

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-70.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$420 PEN 1,442

$754 MX$13.9K

-44.31%

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 Cusco: 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

Cusco

$194 28%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 92.9% $180

Groceries & Markets

Cusco

$187 27%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 38.4% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Cusco

$89 12.9%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 26.3% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cusco

$87 12.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 57.1% $50

Eating Out

Cusco

$84 12.1%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 142% $119

Sport & Entertainment

Cusco

$38 5.5%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 91.3% $35

Getting Around

Cusco

$12 * 1.8%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 323% $40

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 $214 in Cusco and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 80% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $20.00 in Cusco vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $187 vs $258 per month, with Cusco cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Cusco

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

11:40 11:40 AM

Same time as Cusco

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

428,450

149,923

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cusco Playa del Carmen 4,140 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cusco
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

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

Cusco is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 75% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 80% 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: $214 in Cusco versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 38% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cusco – a meal for two runs $20.00 versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $692 in Cusco versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cusco but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Cusco the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cusco is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Playa del Carmen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Cusco gentler on the wallet – expenses run 75% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.