Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Fort-de-france and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,203 a month against $2,108 in Fort-de-france, rent and utilities included – about $10,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

100

Cost of Living Index in Fort-de-france
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Fort-de-france Living Index
57

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

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Fort-de-france

🇲🇶 Martinique

$2,108

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,203

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,108 in Fort-de-france versus $1,203 in Playa del Carmen.

Fort-de-france $2,108
Playa del Carmen $1,203

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,613 in Fort-de-france versus $2,084 in Playa del Carmen.

Fort-de-france $3,613
Playa del Carmen $2,084

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,118 in Fort-de-france versus $2,965 in Playa del Carmen.

Fort-de-france $5,118
Playa del Carmen $2,965

Living in Fort-de-france is roughly 75% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Fort-de-france is 58% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.36 €19.93

$10.72 MX$198

108.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$101 €89.7

$42.71 MX$790

135.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.18 €13.53

$11.86 MX$219

27.99%

Cappuccino

$4.89 €4.36

$3.80 MX$70.3

28.68%

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

$4.45 €3.97

$1.29 MX$23.80

244.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.99 €3.55

$0.82 MX$15.23

386.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.05 €7.17

$3.07 MX$56.8

162.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 €5.08

$4.99 MX$92.2

14.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 €1.53

$1.49 MX$27.53

14.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.70

$2.26 MX$41.85

-15.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.52 €3.14

$1.40 MX$25.83

151.43%

Eggs

$6.18 €5.51

$2.47 MX$45.72

150.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.97 €16.90

$7.25 MX$134

161.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$21.75 €19.38

$8.09 MX$150

168.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.17 €17.98

$12.87 MX$238

56.72%

Apples (1kg)

$3.74 €3.33

$2.89 MX$53.5

29.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.34 €1.19

$1.44 MX$26.62

-6.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.95 €2.63

$2.61 MX$48.27

13.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.76 €6.02

$2.13 MX$39.41

217.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.99 MX$36.80

-4.52%

Onion (1kg)

$2.29 €2.04

$1.89 MX$35.03

21.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.64 €1.46

$1.15 MX$21.35

42.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 €0.65

$1.23 MX$22.84

-40.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.96 €10.66

$4.45 MX$82.3

168.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.22 €7.32

$9.61 MX$178

-14.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 €1.51

$1.60 MX$29.60

5.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.83 €2.52

$2.68 MX$49.63

5.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 €1.43

$0.57 MX$10.46

180.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$49.68 €44.28

$26.54 MX$491

87.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.28 €3.81

$4.79 MX$88.6

-10.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 €1.90

$3.29 MX$60.9

-35.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$42.33 €37.73

$5.39 MX$99.7

685.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.56 €2.28

$1.46 MX$27.08

75.34%

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

$35.0K €31.2K

$21.1K MX$390.0K

66.14%

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

$33.3K €29.7K

$23.4K MX$433.5K

42.17%

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

$158 €141

$83.9 MX$1,552

88.62%

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

$11.04 €9.84

$23.11 MX$428

-52.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.12 €42.00

$28.32 MX$524

66.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.75 €34.53

$52.7 MX$975

-26.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.03 €16.07

$30.94 MX$572

-41.73%

Cinema Ticket

$11.14 €9.92

$4.96 MX$91.8

124.60%

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

$509 €454

$203 MX$3,761

150.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,975 €3,543

$5,245 MX$97.0K

-24.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$110 €97.8

$44.12 MX$816

148.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.28 €25.20

$41.37 MX$765

-31.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$153 €137

$73.8 MX$1,366

107.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$213 €190

$90.0 MX$1,665

136.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 €1,040

$988 MX$18.3K

18.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$735 €655

$382 MX$7,074

92.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,972 €1,758

$1,667 MX$30.8K

18.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,841 €1,641

$1,085 MX$20.1K

69.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,298 €2,048

$3,942 MX$72.9K

-41.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,690 €2,397

$6,102 MX$112.9K

-55.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,244 €2,000

$907 MX$16.8K

147.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.45

11.45

-87.34%

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

Last update for Fort-de-france: November 9, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 8, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Fort-de-france

$735 34.9%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 48% $353

Groceries & Markets

Fort-de-france

$430 20.4%

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.6% 39.5% $170

Eating Out

Fort-de-france

$368 17.5%

Playa del Carmen

$201 16.7% 45.5% $168

Clothing & Footwear

Fort-de-france

$227 10.8%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 50.5% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Fort-de-france

$216 10.3%

Playa del Carmen

$135 11.3% 37.5% $81

Getting Around

Fort-de-france

$71 3.4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 29.5% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Fort-de-france

$61 2.9%

Playa del Carmen

$63 5.2% 2.6% $1.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,167 in Fort-de-france and $988 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Fort-de-france pays about 2.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $101 in Fort-de-france vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $430 vs $260 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇶 Fort-de-france

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

11:55 11:55 AM

10:55 10:55 AM

1 h behind Fort-de-france

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

76,512 Capital

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.5 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.76 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Fort-de-france Playa del Carmen 2,830 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Fort-de-france
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

Fort-de-france vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 43% lower than in Fort-de-france. 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 Fort-de-france is about 2.5 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: $1,167 in Fort-de-france versus $988 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 65% higher in Fort-de-france. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $101 in Fort-de-france. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,203 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,108 in Fort-de-france, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Fort-de-france. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Playa del Carmen delivers better value at $1,203 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Playa del Carmen hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 43% less than in Fort-de-france. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.