Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Darwin and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,073 in Darwin, rent and utilities included – about $22,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

148

Cost of Living Index in Darwin
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Darwin Living Index
58

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

Jump to prices

Darwin

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,073

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,073 in Darwin versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Darwin $3,073
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,118 in Darwin versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Darwin $4,118
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,163 in Darwin versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Darwin $5,163
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Darwin is roughly 155% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Darwin is 126% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.40 A$31.84

$10.92 MX$205

105.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.7 A$129

$43.37 MX$814

109.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 A$16.15

$11.78 MX$221

-3.57%

Cappuccino

$4.23 A$6.01

$3.81 MX$71.5

11.02%

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

$3.46 A$4.91

$1.28 MX$24.07

170.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 A$4.28

$0.78 MX$14.70

285.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.57 A$10.76

$3.17 MX$59.5

138.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.57 A$10.76

$4.93 MX$92.7

53.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 A$2.19

$1.41 MX$26.40

9.22%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 A$4.32

$2.22 MX$41.62

36.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 A$3.13

$1.42 MX$26.61

54.93%

Eggs

$4.47 A$6.35

$2.52 MX$47.36

77.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.92 A$12.67

$7.26 MX$136

22.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.31 A$11.81

$7.70 MX$144

7.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.85 A$12.58

$12.69 MX$238

-30.26%

Apples (1kg)

$3.85 A$5.47

$2.78 MX$52.3

38.49%

Banana (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.09

$1.37 MX$25.68

110.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.80 A$3.98

$2.55 MX$47.89

9.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.03 A$7.14

$2.12 MX$39.86

137.26%

Potato (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.62

$1.94 MX$36.39

31.44%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.27

$1.89 MX$35.41

21.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.06 A$2.93

$1.15 MX$21.53

79.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 A$3.09

$1.18 MX$22.13

83.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.35 A$64.5

$4.30 MX$80.6

954.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.15 A$17.27

$9.95 MX$187

22.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$10.13 A$14.40

$1.58 MX$29.73

541.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.87 A$11.19

$2.67 MX$50.1

194.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.37 A$68.8

$26.62 MX$500

81.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 A$5.25

$4.97 MX$93.3

-25.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.35 A$1.91

$3.33 MX$62.5

-59.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$48.52 A$69.0

$5.36 MX$101

805.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 A$1.89

$1.44 MX$27.11

-7.64%

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

$30.0K A$42.6K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

44.98%

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

$33.4K A$47.4K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

42.26%

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

$215 A$305

$84.8 MX$1,592

153.01%

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

$33.49 A$47.60

$23.41 MX$439

43.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.9 A$86.6

$28.66 MX$538

112.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.0 A$104

$57.1 MX$1,071

27.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.22 A$40.12

$28.91 MX$543

-2.39%

Cinema Ticket

$16.99 A$24.15

$5.14 MX$96.5

230.54%

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

$1,939 A$2,755

$207 MX$3,878

838.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,442 A$12.0K

$3,927 MX$73.7K

114.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.2 A$121

$43.35 MX$814

96.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.52 A$66.1

$41.44 MX$778

12.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 A$150

$74.2 MX$1,393

42.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$138 A$196

$89.3 MX$1,676

54.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,719 A$2,443

$980 MX$18.4K

75.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,429

$381 MX$7,150

348.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,803 A$3,984

$1,708 MX$32.1K

64.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,124 A$3,020

$1,075 MX$20.2K

97.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,771 A$5,361

$3,943 MX$74.0K

-4.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,536 A$5,026

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-42.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,223 A$6,003

$735 MX$13.8K

474.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.14

11.45

-46.38%

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

Last update for Darwin: October 27, 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

Darwin

$1.7K 55.6%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 77.7% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Darwin

$377 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 32.5% $123

Eating Out

Darwin

$343 11.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 41% $141

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Darwin

$309 10.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 55.7% $172

Clothing & Footwear

Darwin

$169 5.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 33.8% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Darwin

$107 3.5%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 37% $40

Getting Around

Darwin

$59 * 1.9%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 14.2% $8.3

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 $1,719 in Darwin and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Darwin pays about 5.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $91 in Darwin vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $377 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Darwin

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

16:32 4:32 PM

02:02 2:02 AM

14 h 30 min behind Darwin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

122,207

149,923

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.63 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 AUD (1 AUD = 0.63 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Darwin Playa del Carmen 15,880 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Darwin
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

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

Playa del Carmen is about 61% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Darwin is about 5.7 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: $1,719 in Darwin 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 48% higher in Darwin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $91 in Darwin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,073 in Darwin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Darwin. 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.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 61% less than in Darwin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.