Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Denia and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,859 in Denia, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Denia outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

90

Cost of Living Index in Denia
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Denia Living Index
58

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

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Denia

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,859

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,859 in Denia versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Denia $1,859
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,667 in Denia versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Denia $2,667
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,476 in Denia versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Denia $3,476
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Denia is roughly 54% 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: Denia is 37% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.83 €12.43

$10.92 MX$204

26.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.08 €43.20

$43.37 MX$810

10.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.18 €9.15

$11.78 MX$220

-13.58%

Cappuccino

$2.36 €2.12

$3.81 MX$71.2

-38.06%

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

$2.41 €2.17

$1.28 MX$23.96

88.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 €1.62

$0.78 MX$14.63

132.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.05

$3.17 MX$59.2

6.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.41 €3.06

$4.93 MX$92.2

-30.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.03 €0.93

$1.41 MX$26.28

-26.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.23 €1.10

$2.22 MX$41.43

-44.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 €1.43

$1.42 MX$26.48

12.68%

Eggs

$2.97 €2.67

$2.52 MX$47.14

17.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.85 €10.65

$7.26 MX$136

63.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.88 €7.08

$7.70 MX$144

2.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.93 €13.42

$12.69 MX$237

17.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 €2.32

$2.78 MX$52.0

-7.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.37 MX$25.56

39.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.62 €1.46

$2.55 MX$47.66

-36.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 €1.87

$2.12 MX$39.67

-1.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.94 MX$36.22

-29.90%

Onion (1kg)

$2.12 €1.91

$1.89 MX$35.24

12.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 €1.03

$1.15 MX$21.42

-0.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 €0.52

$1.18 MX$22.03

-50.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.64 €5.97

$4.30 MX$80.3

54.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.87 €3.47

$9.95 MX$186

-61.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 €0.92

$1.58 MX$29.59

-34.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 €2.40

$2.67 MX$49.91

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.77 €1.59

$0.55 MX$10.34

221.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.89 €25.06

$26.62 MX$497

4.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 €5.01

$4.97 MX$92.9

12.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.18 €1.95

$3.33 MX$62.2

-34.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.14 €30.68

$5.36 MX$100

536.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.83 €1.65

$1.44 MX$26.98

27.08%

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

$35.7K €32.1K

$20.7K MX$386.2K

72.89%

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

$29.5K €26.5K

$23.5K MX$438.5K

25.89%

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

$115 €103

$84.8 MX$1,584

35.31%

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

$13.51 €12.13

$23.41 MX$437

-42.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.07 €22.52

$28.66 MX$535

-12.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.08 €41.40

$57.1 MX$1,066

-19.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.17 €19.92

$28.91 MX$540

-23.31%

Cinema Ticket

$8.47 €7.61

$5.14 MX$96.0

64.79%

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

$587 €527

$207 MX$3,860

184.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.2K €9,147

$3,927 MX$73.4K

159.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.9 €47.52

$43.35 MX$810

22.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.42 €22.84

$41.44 MX$774

-38.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$66.9 €60.1

$74.2 MX$1,386

-9.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 €79.2

$89.3 MX$1,668

-1.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,155 €1,038

$980 MX$18.3K

17.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 €931

$381 MX$7,116

171.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,620 €1,456

$1,708 MX$31.9K

-5.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,583 €1,422

$1,075 MX$20.1K

47.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,961 €2,660

$3,943 MX$73.7K

-24.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,752 €2,473

$6,158 MX$115.1K

-55.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,094 €1,882

$735 MX$13.7K

185.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.3

11.45

-71.18%

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

Last update for Denia: 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

Denia

$1K 55.7%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 63.2% $655

Groceries & Markets

Denia

$240 12.9%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 6.2% $15

Eating Out

Denia

$210 11.3%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 3.7% $7.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Denia

$153 8.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 10.7% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Denia

$105 5.7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 6.4% $6.7

Sport & Entertainment

Denia

$63 3.4%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 6.8% $4.3

Getting Around

Denia

$51 2.8%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 1.9% $1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,155 in Denia and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Denia pays about 2.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Denia vs $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $240 vs $255, with Denia cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Denia

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

17:07 5:07 PM

11:07 11:07 AM

6 h behind Denia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

45,622

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Denia Playa del Carmen 8,350 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Denia
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 35% lower than in Denia. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Denia is about 2.9 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: $1,155 in Denia versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $48 in Denia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,859 per month in Denia versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – a 54% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,859 in Denia, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Denia. 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, Denia on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.