Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between George and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in George: $1,110 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

54

Cost of Living Index in George
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George Living Index
58

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

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George

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,110

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,110 in George versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

George $1,110
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,847 in George versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

George $1,847
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,584 in George versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

George $2,584
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in George costs roughly 8% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: George 18% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.85 R 181

$10.92 MX$205

-0.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.91 R 700

$43.37 MX$815

-3.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.95 R 82.6

$11.78 MX$221

-57.98%

Cappuccino

$2.13 R 35.57

$3.81 MX$71.6

-44.09%

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

$1.05 R 17.59

$1.28 MX$24.10

-17.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 R 12.95

$0.78 MX$14.71

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.70 R 45.10

$3.17 MX$59.5

-14.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 R 54.3

$4.93 MX$92.7

-34.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R 19.15

$1.41 MX$26.43

-18.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.01 R 16.92

$2.22 MX$41.66

-54.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 R 25.09

$1.42 MX$26.64

5.63%

Eggs

$2.79 R 46.63

$2.52 MX$47.41

10.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.68 R 145

$7.26 MX$137

19.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.29 R 88.2

$7.70 MX$145

-31.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.70 R 112

$12.69 MX$239

-47.20%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 R 27.99

$2.78 MX$52.3

-39.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.80

$1.37 MX$25.71

13.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.86

$2.55 MX$47.94

-41.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 R 28.89

$2.12 MX$39.90

-18.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.71 R 28.48

$1.94 MX$36.43

-11.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.40 R 23.32

$1.89 MX$35.44

-25.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 R 20.82

$1.15 MX$21.55

8.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 R 16.61

$1.18 MX$22.16

-16.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.20 R 53.4

$4.30 MX$80.7

-25.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.97 R 83.0

$9.95 MX$187

-50.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 R 21.44

$1.58 MX$29.76

-18.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 R 29.17

$2.67 MX$50.2

-34.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.48 R 24.63

$0.55 MX$10.40

169.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.91 R 466

$26.62 MX$500

4.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 R 10.67

$4.97 MX$93.4

-87.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.48 R 7.95

$3.33 MX$62.6

-85.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.64 R 144

$5.36 MX$101

61.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 R 20.87

$1.44 MX$27.14

-13.19%

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

$29.9K R 499.3K

$20.7K MX$388.4K

44.75%

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

$30.0K R 500.5K

$23.5K MX$441.0K

27.76%

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

$123 R 2,052

$84.8 MX$1,594

45.01%

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

$17.56 R 293

$23.41 MX$440

-24.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.26 R 772

$28.66 MX$539

61.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.43 R 508

$57.1 MX$1,072

-46.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.78 R 180

$28.91 MX$543

-62.71%

Cinema Ticket

$5.93 R 98.9

$5.14 MX$96.6

15.37%

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

$139 R 2,324

$207 MX$3,882

-32.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,219 R 87.1K

$3,927 MX$73.8K

32.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 R 1,203

$43.35 MX$815

66.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.64 R 645

$41.44 MX$779

-6.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 R 1,864

$74.2 MX$1,394

50.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 R 1,448

$89.3 MX$1,677

-2.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$429 R 7,163

$980 MX$18.4K

-56.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$362 R 6,051

$381 MX$7,157

-4.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$770 R 12.9K

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-54.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$935 R 15.6K

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-13.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$855 R 14.3K

$3,943 MX$74.1K

-78.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$690 R 11.5K

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-88.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,339 R 22.4K

$735 MX$13.8K

82.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.92

11.45

-4.63%

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

Last update for George: October 24, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

George

$362 32.6%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 5.1% $18

Groceries & Markets

George

$188 17%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 35.3% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

George

$187 16.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 26.7% $50

Eating Out

George

$155 13.9%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 30.9% $48

Clothing & Footwear

George

$139 12.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 19.7% $27

Sport & Entertainment

George

$42 3.8%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 59.2% $25

Getting Around

George

$37 3.3%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 37% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $429 in George and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

George pays 82% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $42 in George vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $188 vs $255 per month, with George cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 George

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

06:13 6:13 AM

23:13 11:13 PM

7 h behind George

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

188,580

149,923

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.69 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.64 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

George Playa del Carmen 13,030 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

George
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

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

George is about 8% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 82% higher in George, 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: $429 in George versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,110 per month in George versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – George is about 8% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though George gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.