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

😐 Solo nomad: Essen is 28.8% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 61.9% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Essen is 82.6% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 36.3% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.22 €15.71

$11.88 MX$210

53.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.6 €60.0

$41.90 MX$740

66.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.90 €11.98

$10.55 MX$186

31.75%

Cappuccino

$3.53 €3.05

$3.60 MX$63.5

-1.94%

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

$2.40 €2.07

$1.50 MX$26.45

60.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 €2.05

$0.91 MX$16.09

161.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.71 €4.06

$3.08 MX$54.4

52.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.59 €3.96

$4.47 MX$78.8

2.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.11

$1.39 MX$24.54

-7.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.82

$1.90 MX$33.47

11.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.26 €2.81

$1.60 MX$28.27

103.75%

Eggs

$3.78 €3.26

$2.60 MX$45.97

45.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.63 €12.61

$8.36 MX$148

75.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.07 €12.13

$8.64 MX$152

62.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.41 €19.31

$10.91 MX$192

105.41%

Apples (1kg)

$3.26 €2.81

$2.61 MX$45.98

24.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.87 €1.61

$1.44 MX$25.46

29.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.35 €2.02

$1.96 MX$34.55

19.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.93 €4.25

$2.12 MX$37.34

132.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.62 €1.40

$1.86 MX$32.87

-12.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.70 €1.47

$2.22 MX$39.20

-23.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.86 €1.60

$1.02 MX$17.99

82.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 €1.00

$1.04 MX$18.36

10.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.42 €8.12

$4.05 MX$71.5

132.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.81 €5.87

$10.18 MX$180

-33.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 €0.94

$1.69 MX$29.79

-35.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 €1.47

$2.62 MX$46.25

-35.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.94 €3.40

$0.51 MX$9.09

672.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$62.1 €53.5

$26.52 MX$468

134.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.19 €4.47

$3.15 MX$55.7

64.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.88 €2.49

$2.46 MX$43.49

17.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.90 €35.26

$3.26 MX$57.5

1154.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 €1.79

$1.32 MX$23.36

57.58%

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

$31.7K €27.3K

$30.1K MX$531.0K

5.33%

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

$37.8K €32.6K

$23.8K MX$419.3K

59.07%

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

$398 €343

$83.5 MX$1,474

376.12%

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

$34.35 €29.61

$22.86 MX$404

50.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.9 €45.62

$30.04 MX$530

76.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.87 €31.78

$51.9 MX$916

-28.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 €30.10

$18.30 MX$323

90.77%

Cinema Ticket

$17.64 €15.20

$5.12 MX$90.4

244.53%

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

$454 €391

$201 MX$3,541

126.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,873 €8,511

$5,318 MX$93.9K

85.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$97.2 €83.8

$35.73 MX$631

171.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$74.4 €64.1

$40.27 MX$711

84.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €88.6

$79.2 MX$1,398

29.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 €121

$89.3 MX$1,576

57.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$740 €637

$947 MX$16.7K

-21.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$595 €513

$483 MX$8,525

23.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,527 €1,316

$1,599 MX$28.2K

-4.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,085 €935

$1,211 MX$21.4K

-10.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,853 €4,184

$3,996 MX$70.5K

21.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,102 €2,674

$6,402 MX$113.0K

-51.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,476 €2,996

$730 MX$12.9K

376.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.97

11.42

-65.24%

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

Last update for Essen: January 11, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: January 13, 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

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