Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Etten-Leur and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,416 in Etten-Leur, rent and utilities included – about $14,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Etten-Leur
🇳🇱 Netherlands
$2,416
/mo nomad
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,210
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,416 in Etten-Leur versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

  • Etten-Leur $2,416
  • Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,764 in Etten-Leur versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

  • Etten-Leur $3,764
  • Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,113 in Etten-Leur versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

  • Etten-Leur $5,113
  • Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Etten-Leur is roughly 100% 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: Etten-Leur is 79% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Etten-Leur
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$22.50 €20.01
$10.76 MX$199
109.11%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$95.6 €85.1
$43.03 MX$795
122.24%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$13.34 €11.86
$11.79 MX$218
13.15%
Cappuccino
$4.04 €3.59
$3.87 MX$71.4
4.39%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.54 €3.15
$1.37 MX$25.29
158.39%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.99 €2.66
$0.84 MX$15.44
255.95%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$6.12 €5.45
$3.10 MX$57.3
97.42%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.34 €4.75
$5.07 MX$93.6
5.33%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Etten-Leur
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.34 €1.19
$1.44 MX$26.55
-6.94%
White Bread (500g)
$2.06 €1.83
$2.23 MX$41.23
-7.62%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.50 €2.22
$1.47 MX$27.17
70.07%
Eggs
$4.87 €4.33
$2.53 MX$46.71
92.49%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$14.77 €13.14
$7.30 MX$135
102.33%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$14.40 €12.81
$7.86 MX$145
83.21%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$18.13 €16.13
$12.79 MX$236
41.75%
Apples (1kg)
$2.68 €2.39
$2.90 MX$53.6
-7.59%
Banana (1kg)
$2.38 €2.11
$1.44 MX$26.53
65.28%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.82 €1.62
$2.55 MX$47.07
-28.63%
Tomato (1kg)
$5.90 €5.25
$2.06 MX$38.03
186.41%
Potato (1kg)
$2.02 €1.80
$2.00 MX$36.97
1.00%
Onion (1kg)
$2.13 €1.89
$2.01 MX$37.07
5.97%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.36 €1.21
$1.19 MX$22.02
14.29%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.73 €0.65
$1.26 MX$23.23
-42.06%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$14.13 €12.57
$4.40 MX$81.4
221.14%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.98 €6.21
$9.59 MX$177
-27.22%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.51 €1.35
$1.59 MX$29.41
-5.03%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.53 €2.25
$2.81 MX$51.9
-9.96%
🚌 Getting Around
Etten-Leur
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.52 €3.13
$0.57 MX$10.47
517.54%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$89.5 €79.6
$27.82 MX$514
221.71%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.40 €3.02
$4.98 MX$92.1
-31.73%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.65 €1.46
$3.50 MX$64.6
-52.86%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$22.17 €19.72
$5.40 MX$99.8
310.56%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.37 €2.11
$1.47 MX$27.08
61.22%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$41.3K €36.7K
$21.0K MX$387.8K
96.68%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$37.9K €33.7K
$23.9K MX$441.8K
58.59%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Etten-Leur
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$190 €169
$84.2 MX$1,556
125.91%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$26.59 €23.65
$23.99 MX$443
10.84%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$47.04 €41.84
$29.02 MX$536
62.10%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Etten-Leur
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$19.50 €17.35
$63.0 MX$1,164
-69.04%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$26.27 €23.37
$29.14 MX$539
-9.85%
Cinema Ticket
$15.18 €13.50
$4.94 MX$91.3
207.29%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Etten-Leur
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$679 €604
$204 MX$3,763
233.60%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,341 €4,751
$3,941 MX$72.8K
35.53%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Etten-Leur
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$84.9 €75.5
$43.60 MX$806
94.63%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$49.65 €44.16
$43.12 MX$797
15.14%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$89.3 €79.4
$75.8 MX$1,400
17.84%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$148 €132
$88.6 MX$1,637
67.04%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Etten-Leur
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,340 €1,192
$1,008 MX$18.6K
32.87%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,134 €1,009
$374 MX$6,911
203.29%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,392 €2,128
$1,708 MX$31.6K
40.00%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,098 €1,866
$1,106 MX$20.4K
89.71%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,242 €3,773
$3,944 MX$72.9K
7.54%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$4,330 €3,851
$6,169 MX$114.0K
-29.82%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Etten-Leur
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$754 MX$13.9K
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.89
11.45
-66.03%

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

Last update for Etten-Leur: 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
Etten-Leur
$1.1K
Playa del Carmen
$374 67% $760
Groceries & Markets
Etten-Leur
$350
Playa del Carmen
$258 26.1% $91
Eating Out
Etten-Leur
$336
Playa del Carmen
$202 39.8% $134
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Etten-Leur
$264
Playa del Carmen
$137 48% $127
Clothing & Footwear
Etten-Leur
$167
Playa del Carmen
$113 32.5% $54
Getting Around
Etten-Leur
$115
Playa del Carmen
$53 54.4% $63
Sport & Entertainment
Etten-Leur
$50
Playa del Carmen
$73 46.1% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,340 in Etten-Leur and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $96.0 in Etten-Leur vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $350 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇳🇱 Etten-Leur
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🕒 Local time
04:04 4:04 AM
21:04 9:04 PM
7 h behind Etten-Leur
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
43,027
149,923
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Etten-Leur Playa del Carmen 8,340 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Etten-Leur
  • 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
Etten-Leur vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Playa del Carmen cheaper than Etten-Leur?
Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 100% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
What income do you need for each city?
You'd need roughly $3,624 in Etten-Leur and $1,816 in Playa del Carmen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.
What is the rent difference between Etten-Leur and Playa del Carmen?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,340 in Etten-Leur versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Is eating out cheaper in Etten-Leur or in Playa del Carmen?
Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $96.0 in Etten-Leur. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
What are total monthly expenses in Etten-Leur and in Playa del Carmen?
All in, you'll spend $2,416 per month in Etten-Leur versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – a 100% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Etten-Leur or in Playa del Carmen?
At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,416 in Etten-Leur, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Etten-Leur. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is Etten-Leur or Playa del Carmen more family-friendly?
For families, Playa del Carmen is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Etten-Leur, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.
Which city is safer, Etten-Leur or Playa del Carmen?
Safety-wise, Etten-Leur and Playa del Carmen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 100% less than in Etten-Leur. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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