Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Foca and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Foca: $949 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Foca
Learn more

Foca Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Foca

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$949

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $949 in Foca versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Foca $949
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,367 in Foca versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Foca $1,367
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,786 in Foca versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Foca $1,786
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Foca costs roughly 21% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Foca 30% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.31 BAM 9.27

$10.86 MX$203

-51.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.24 BAM 38.82

$44.21 MX$826

-49.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.61 BAM 8.05

$11.76 MX$220

-60.80%

Cappuccino

$1.49 BAM 2.60

$3.68 MX$68.8

-59.51%

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

$1.35 BAM 2.36

$1.34 MX$25.06

0.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 BAM 1.46

$0.82 MX$15.41

2.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.69 BAM 2.95

$3.06 MX$57.2

-44.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 BAM 4.04

$4.94 MX$92.2

-53.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 BAM 2.06

$1.47 MX$27.46

-19.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 BAM 1.96

$2.22 MX$41.39

-49.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 BAM 2.77

$1.48 MX$27.62

7.43%

Eggs

$2.01 BAM 3.50

$2.49 MX$46.50

-19.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.93 BAM 12.11

$7.52 MX$140

-7.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.41 BAM 11.19

$7.96 MX$149

-19.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.18 BAM 17.77

$12.57 MX$235

-19.01%

Apples (1kg)

$0.83 BAM 1.45

$2.78 MX$51.9

-70.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 BAM 3.06

$1.43 MX$26.66

22.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 BAM 3.74

$2.62 MX$48.90

-18.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.68 BAM 2.94

$2.14 MX$39.92

-21.50%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 BAM 1.72

$2.02 MX$37.79

-50.99%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 BAM 2.38

$1.99 MX$37.14

-31.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 BAM 1.98

$1.14 MX$21.24

-0.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 BAM 1.59

$1.20 MX$22.42

-24.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.39 BAM 5.92

$4.26 MX$79.6

-20.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.39 BAM 14.65

$10.02 MX$187

-16.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 BAM 1.46

$1.54 MX$28.72

-45.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.16 BAM 2.03

$2.66 MX$49.71

-56.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.27 BAM 2.21

$0.53 MX$9.84

139.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.75 BAM 3.06

$4.90 MX$91.6

-64.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.59 BAM 1.04

$3.43 MX$64.2

-82.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.31 BAM 30.22

$5.38 MX$100

221.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 BAM 2.66

$1.45 MX$27.05

4.83%

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

$30.6K BAM 53.5K

$21.2K MX$395.3K

44.72%

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

$21.8K BAM 38.1K

$23.0K MX$430.0K

-5.23%

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

$156 BAM 273

$85.4 MX$1,595

83.32%

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

$16.28 BAM 28.43

$23.46 MX$438

-30.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.80 BAM 59.0

$28.43 MX$531

18.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.52 BAM 58.5

$62.2 MX$1,162

-46.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$536

Cinema Ticket

$5.83 BAM 10.17

$5.10 MX$95.4

14.31%

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

$286 BAM 500

$201 MX$3,756

42.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,587 BAM 6,262

$3,947 MX$73.7K

-9.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$83.2 BAM 145

$44.39 MX$829

87.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.42 BAM 61.9

$41.35 MX$773

-14.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.2 BAM 119

$72.7 MX$1,359

-6.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 BAM 244

$89.6 MX$1,674

56.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$154 BAM 269

$979 MX$18.3K

-84.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$248 BAM 433

$373 MX$6,963

-33.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$516 BAM 901

$1,681 MX$31.4K

-69.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$366 BAM 640

$1,095 MX$20.5K

-66.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,407 BAM 4,202

$3,949 MX$73.8K

-39.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,763 BAM 3,078

$6,137 MX$114.6K

-71.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.44

11.45

-61.22%

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

Last update for Foca: October 18, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Foca

$248 26.1%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 50.4% $125

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Foca

$207 21.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 33.6% $69

Groceries & Markets

Foca

$197 20.7%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 31.3% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Foca

$147 15.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 24% $35

Eating Out

Foca

$96 10.1%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 109% $104

Sport & Entertainment

Foca

$45 4.8%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 60.3% $27

Getting Around

Foca

$9.8 * 1%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 428% $42

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 $154 in Foca and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $22 in Foca vs $44 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $197 vs $258 per month, with Foca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇦 Foca

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

15:30 3:30 PM

09:30 9:30 AM

6 h behind Foca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,334

149,923

💱 Currency

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BAM = 0.573 USD

1 BAM = 0.511 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to BAM – Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark (KM)

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BAM (1 BAM = 0.573 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BAM (1 BAM = 0.511 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 18.68 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to BAM in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Foca Playa del Carmen 9,640 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Foca
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

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

Foca is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. The 27% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,424 in Foca and $1,806 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $154 in Foca versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $286 in Foca versus $201 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Foca – a meal for two runs $22 versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.