Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Grafton and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,424 in Grafton, rent and utilities included – about $14,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Grafton
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Grafton Living Index
57

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

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Grafton

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,424

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,424 in Grafton versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Grafton $2,424
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,460 in Grafton versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Grafton $3,460
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,496 in Grafton versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Grafton $4,496
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Grafton is roughly 102% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Grafton is 79% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.28 A$24.64

$10.67 MX$199

61.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$72.4 A$103

$43.80 MX$815

65.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.26 A$16.06

$11.79 MX$219

-4.50%

Cappuccino

$3.37 A$4.80

$3.79 MX$70.5

-11.08%

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

$2.88 A$4.11

$1.30 MX$24.14

121.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 A$3.44

$0.83 MX$15.51

190.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.62 A$12.29

$3.15 MX$58.6

173.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.25 A$11.76

$4.93 MX$91.8

67.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 A$1.58

$1.41 MX$26.22

-21.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.62 A$3.74

$2.20 MX$40.86

19.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 A$3.17

$1.47 MX$27.40

51.70%

Eggs

$3.68 A$5.25

$2.50 MX$46.47

47.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.57 A$13.64

$7.29 MX$136

31.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.50 A$10.69

$7.95 MX$148

-5.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.36 A$20.47

$12.86 MX$239

11.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.86 A$4.07

$2.90 MX$53.9

-1.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 A$2.01

$1.38 MX$25.74

2.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.95 A$4.21

$2.49 MX$46.36

18.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.78 A$6.81

$2.03 MX$37.78

135.47%

Potato (1kg)

$2.08 A$2.96

$2.02 MX$37.69

2.97%

Onion (1kg)

$2.25 A$3.21

$1.90 MX$35.42

18.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 A$2.43

$1.14 MX$21.30

49.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 A$1.62

$1.24 MX$23.06

-8.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$30.29 A$43.19

$4.27 MX$79.5

609.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.42 A$17.70

$9.81 MX$183

26.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.18 A$7.38

$1.59 MX$29.51

225.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.17 A$7.37

$2.75 MX$51.1

88.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.82 A$4.01

$0.51 MX$9.58

452.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$84.9 A$121

$27.39 MX$510

210.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.05 A$4.35

$4.76 MX$88.6

-35.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.79 A$2.55

$3.25 MX$60.5

-44.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.71 A$58.0

$5.39 MX$100

655.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 A$1.89

$1.53 MX$28.44

-13.73%

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

$28.9K A$41.2K

$21.2K MX$394.8K

36.09%

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

$24.5K A$35.0K

$23.3K MX$432.9K

5.46%

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

$158 A$225

$83.5 MX$1,554

88.93%

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

$26.75 A$38.13

$23.19 MX$431

15.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.18 A$70.1

$27.61 MX$514

78.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.2 A$80.1

$56.4 MX$1,050

-0.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.04 A$25.72

$28.19 MX$525

-36.01%

Cinema Ticket

$11.82 A$16.85

$5.00 MX$93.1

136.40%

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

$700 A$997

$207 MX$3,854

237.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,199 A$4,561

$5,231 MX$97.4K

-38.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.6 A$121

$43.45 MX$809

94.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.34 A$64.6

$42.54 MX$792

6.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 A$161

$72.8 MX$1,354

55.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 A$161

$88.4 MX$1,645

27.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,412 A$2,014

$995 MX$18.5K

41.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,228 A$1,751

$382 MX$7,116

221.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 A$3,220

$1,674 MX$31.2K

34.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,816 A$2,589

$1,081 MX$20.1K

68.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,769 A$8,224

$3,909 MX$72.7K

47.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,933 A$7,032

$6,138 MX$114.2K

-19.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,511 A$3,580

$832 MX$15.5K

201.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.81

11.45

-49.26%

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

Last update for Grafton: 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

Grafton

$1.2K 50.7%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 68.9% $846

Groceries & Markets

Grafton

$321 13.2%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 19.8% $64

Eating Out

Grafton

$293 12.1%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 31.7% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Grafton

$234 9.6%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 42.5% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Grafton

$160 6.6%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 30.6% $49

Getting Around

Grafton

$108 4.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 53.4% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Grafton

$80 3.3%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 16.8% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,412 in Grafton and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Grafton pays about 3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $72 in Grafton vs $44 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $321 vs $257 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Grafton

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

10:13 10:13 AM

18:13 6:13 PM

16 h behind Grafton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

19,255

149,923

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.701 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.701 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Grafton Playa del Carmen 13,960 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Grafton
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,424 in Grafton and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, so Playa del Carmen is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Grafton is about 3 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: $1,412 in Grafton versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 25% higher in Grafton. 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 $44 versus $72 in Grafton. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,424 in Grafton, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Grafton. 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 50% less than in Grafton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.