Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between General Trias and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in General Trias: $618 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in General Trias
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General Trias Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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General Trias

🇵🇭 Philippines

$618

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $618 per month in General Trias vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

General Trias $618
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $990 per month in General Trias vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

General Trias $990
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $1,362 per month in General Trias vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

General Trias $1,362
Playa del Carmen $2,962

General Trias is about 49% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both General Trias and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – General Trias 54% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.00 ₱254

$10.67 MX$201

-62.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.20 ₱1,029

$43.80 MX$824

-63.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.45 ₱155

$11.79 MX$222

-79.22%

Cappuccino

$1.83 ₱116

$3.79 MX$71.2

-51.72%

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

$0.40 ₱25.40

$1.30 MX$24.41

-69.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 ₱18.83

$0.83 MX$15.69

-63.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.01 ₱64.2

$3.15 MX$59.2

-67.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.51 ₱95.9

$4.93 MX$92.9

-69.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 ₱104

$1.41 MX$26.51

16.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.15 ₱72.9

$2.20 MX$41.32

-47.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.91 ₱57.9

$1.47 MX$27.71

-38.10%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱129

$2.50 MX$46.99

-18.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.79 ₱304

$7.29 MX$137

-34.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.39 ₱215

$7.95 MX$150

-57.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.61 ₱483

$12.86 MX$242

-40.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.19 ₱139

$2.90 MX$54.5

-24.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 ₱100

$1.38 MX$26.03

14.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.29 ₱146

$2.49 MX$46.88

-8.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.01 ₱64.0

$2.03 MX$38.20

-50.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.66 ₱106

$2.02 MX$38.11

-17.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.70 ₱108

$1.90 MX$35.82

-10.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 ₱55.5

$1.14 MX$21.54

-23.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ₱32.86

$1.24 MX$23.32

-58.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.94 ₱187

$4.27 MX$80.4

-31.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.42 ₱535

$9.81 MX$185

-14.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 ₱61.2

$1.59 MX$29.85

-39.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 ₱131

$2.75 MX$51.7

-25.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.24 ₱15.29

$0.51 MX$9.69

-52.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.30 ₱781

$27.39 MX$515

-55.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.76 ₱48.01

$4.76 MX$89.6

-84.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 ₱12.70

$3.25 MX$61.1

-93.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 ₱122

$5.39 MX$101

-64.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 ₱77.8

$1.53 MX$28.76

-20.26%

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

$11.6K ₱737.1K

$21.2K MX$399.2K

-45.27%

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

$18.7K ₱1.2M

$23.3K MX$437.8K

-19.42%

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

$31.73 ₱2,014

$83.5 MX$1,571

-62.00%

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

$17.15 ₱1,089

$23.19 MX$436

-26.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.95 ₱1,330

$27.61 MX$520

-24.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.30 ₱1,987

$56.4 MX$1,062

-44.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.25 ₱333

$28.19 MX$531

-81.38%

Cinema Ticket

$5.01 ₱318

$5.00 MX$94.1

0.20%

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

$129 ₱8,211

$207 MX$3,897

-37.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.8K ₱688.4K

$5,231 MX$98.4K

107.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.39 ₱1,802

$43.45 MX$818

-34.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.41 ₱1,232

$42.54 MX$801

-54.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.9 ₱4,499

$72.8 MX$1,369

-2.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.8 ₱3,543

$88.4 MX$1,663

-36.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$95.0 ₱6,032

$995 MX$18.7K

-90.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$168 ₱10.7K

$382 MX$7,197

-55.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$484 ₱30.7K

$1,674 MX$31.5K

-71.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$353 ₱22.4K

$1,081 MX$20.3K

-67.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,636 ₱167.4K

$3,909 MX$73.6K

-32.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,111 ₱70.6K

$6,138 MX$115.5K

-81.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

11.45

-41.05%

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

Last update for General Trias: November 1, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

General Trias

$172 27.9%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 49.4% $85

Accommodation & Living

General Trias

$168 27.3%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 127% $214

Clothing & Footwear

General Trias

$79 12.7%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 41.7% $33

Eating Out

General Trias

$72 11.7%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 177% $128

Monthly Utilities & Internet

General Trias

$70 11.3%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 92.3% $64

Sport & Entertainment

General Trias

$41 6.7%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 60.8% $25

Getting Around

General Trias

$15 2.4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 236% $35

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $95 in General Trias versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $16 in General Trias versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $172 vs $257 – making General Trias the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇭 General Trias

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

09:46 9:46 AM

20:46 8:46 PM

13 h behind General Trias

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

450,583

149,923

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.58 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 63.49 PHP (100 PHP = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 71 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.05 MXN (100 MXN = 4.75 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

General Trias Playa del Carmen 15,070 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

General Trias
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

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

Playa del Carmen costs about 95% more than General Trias, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $926 per month in General Trias and $1,804 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in General Trias, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $95 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Public transport costs about 55% less in General Trias. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $129 per month in General Trias and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in General Trias, where all-in costs run around $618, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In General Trias it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward General Trias – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

For expats, General Trias is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 49% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.