Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Forster and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,595 in Forster, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Forster
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Forster Living Index
57

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

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Forster

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,595

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,595 in Forster versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Forster $2,595
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,737 in Forster versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Forster $3,737
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,879 in Forster versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Forster $4,879
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Forster is roughly 116% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Forster is 92% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.58 A$25.05

$10.67 MX$198

64.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$92.1 A$131

$43.80 MX$813

110.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.66 A$15.19

$11.79 MX$219

-9.58%

Cappuccino

$3.90 A$5.56

$3.79 MX$70.3

2.90%

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

$2.82 A$4.02

$1.30 MX$24.07

116.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 A$3.17

$0.83 MX$15.47

167.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.87 A$9.79

$3.15 MX$58.4

118.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.45 A$7.76

$4.93 MX$91.6

10.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 A$2.34

$1.41 MX$26.14

16.31%

White Bread (500g)

$2.91 A$4.15

$2.20 MX$40.75

32.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.38 A$3.39

$1.47 MX$27.33

61.90%

Eggs

$5.62 A$8.01

$2.50 MX$46.34

124.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.01 A$17.11

$7.29 MX$135

64.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.38 A$13.37

$7.95 MX$148

17.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.88 A$24.05

$12.86 MX$239

31.26%

Apples (1kg)

$3.90 A$5.56

$2.90 MX$53.8

34.48%

Banana (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.42

$1.38 MX$25.67

124.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.40 A$4.85

$2.49 MX$46.23

36.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.22 A$6.02

$2.03 MX$37.67

107.88%

Potato (1kg)

$3.24 A$4.62

$2.02 MX$37.58

60.40%

Onion (1kg)

$2.48 A$3.54

$1.90 MX$35.32

30.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.38 A$3.39

$1.14 MX$21.24

108.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.73

$1.24 MX$22.99

-2.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.92 A$64.0

$4.27 MX$79.3

951.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.05 A$20.03

$9.81 MX$182

43.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.96 A$5.65

$1.59 MX$29.43

149.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 A$5.80

$2.75 MX$51.0

48.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.83 A$4.03

$0.51 MX$9.56

454.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$84.7 A$121

$27.39 MX$508

209.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.50 A$4.98

$4.76 MX$88.4

-26.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.65 A$2.35

$3.25 MX$60.3

-49.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.37 A$57.5

$5.39 MX$100

648.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 A$2.15

$1.53 MX$28.36

-1.31%

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

$30.0K A$42.7K

$21.2K MX$393.7K

41.30%

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

$27.9K A$39.8K

$23.3K MX$431.7K

19.93%

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

$252 A$360

$83.5 MX$1,549

202.34%

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

$27.69 A$39.46

$23.19 MX$430

19.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.6 A$80.6

$27.61 MX$512

104.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.0 A$81.2

$56.4 MX$1,047

0.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.43 A$24.83

$28.19 MX$523

-38.17%

Cinema Ticket

$17.45 A$24.87

$5.00 MX$92.8

249.00%

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

$2,354 A$3,354

$207 MX$3,843

1036.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.9K A$39.7K

$5,231 MX$97.1K

432.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.3 A$114

$43.45 MX$806

84.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$71.4 A$102

$42.54 MX$789

67.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 A$162

$72.8 MX$1,350

55.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$186

$88.4 MX$1,640

47.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,391 A$1,982

$995 MX$18.5K

39.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 A$1,734

$382 MX$7,097

218.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,287 A$3,259

$1,674 MX$31.1K

36.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,794 A$2,556

$1,081 MX$20.1K

66.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,826 A$8,303

$3,909 MX$72.5K

49.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,884 A$6,959

$6,138 MX$113.9K

-20.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.92

11.45

-48.30%

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

Last update for Forster: November 2, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Forster

$1.2K 46.9%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 68.6% $835

Groceries & Markets

Forster

$379 14.6%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 32% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Forster

$337 13%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 60.1% $202

Eating Out

Forster

$285 11%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 29.7% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Forster

$178 6.9%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 37.5% $67

Getting Around

Forster

$108 4.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 53.2% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Forster

$92 3.5%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 27.7% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,391 in Forster and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $92 in Forster vs $44 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $379 vs $257 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Forster

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

16:41 4:41 PM

00:41 12:41 AM

16 h behind Forster

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,554

149,923

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.702 USD

1 AUD = 0.625 EUR

100 MXN = 5.39 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 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 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.625 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.56 MXN (100 MXN = 5.39 USD). 1 EUR = 20.83 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Forster Playa del Carmen 14,020 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Forster
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,595 in Forster and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, so Playa del Carmen is about 54% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,893 in Forster and $1,804 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: $1,391 in Forster versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,354 in Forster versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 47% higher in Forster. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,595 in Forster, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Forster. 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 54% less than in Forster. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.