Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Granada, Nicaragua and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Granada: $924 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

44

Cost of Living Index in Granada
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Granada Living Index
57

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

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Granada

🇳🇮 Nicaragua

$924

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $924 per month in Granada vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Granada $924
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $1,288 per month in Granada vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Granada $1,288
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $1,652 per month in Granada vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Granada $1,652
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Granada is about 23% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Granada and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Granada 32% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.30 NIO 157

$10.67 MX$201

-59.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.84 NIO 873

$43.80 MX$824

-45.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.81 NIO 250

$11.79 MX$222

-42.24%

Cappuccino

$1.76 NIO 64.6

$3.79 MX$71.2

-53.56%

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

$0.87 NIO 31.78

$1.30 MX$24.41

-33.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 NIO 24.87

$0.83 MX$15.69

-18.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.33 NIO 48.60

$3.15 MX$59.2

-57.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 NIO 74.9

$4.93 MX$92.9

-58.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 NIO 44.33

$1.41 MX$26.51

-14.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 NIO 56.5

$2.20 MX$41.32

-30.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.54 NIO 19.74

$1.47 MX$27.71

-63.27%

Eggs

$1.18 NIO 43.28

$2.50 MX$46.99

-52.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.01 NIO 184

$7.29 MX$137

-31.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.94 NIO 181

$7.95 MX$150

-37.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.92 NIO 290

$12.86 MX$242

-38.41%

Apples (1kg)

$4.08 NIO 149

$2.90 MX$54.5

40.69%

Banana (1kg)

$0.63 NIO 22.97

$1.38 MX$26.03

-54.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.81 NIO 66.4

$2.49 MX$46.88

-27.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.98 NIO 36.07

$2.03 MX$38.20

-51.72%

Potato (1kg)

$2.84 NIO 104

$2.02 MX$38.11

40.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 NIO 37.46

$1.90 MX$35.82

-46.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 NIO 37.20

$1.14 MX$21.54

-10.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 NIO 38.62

$1.24 MX$23.32

-15.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.76 NIO 101

$4.27 MX$80.4

-35.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.18 NIO 373

$9.81 MX$185

3.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 NIO 54.5

$1.59 MX$29.85

-6.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 NIO 64.8

$2.75 MX$51.7

-35.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.11 NIO 4.07

$0.51 MX$9.69

-78.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$3.92 NIO 144

$27.39 MX$515

-85.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.62 NIO 22.71

$4.76 MX$89.6

-86.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.58 NIO 58.0

$3.25 MX$61.1

-51.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.93 NIO 254

$5.39 MX$101

28.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 NIO 47.30

$1.53 MX$28.76

-15.69%

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

$22.9K NIO 837.4K

$21.2K MX$399.2K

7.78%

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

$26.3K NIO 964.4K

$23.3K MX$437.8K

13.20%

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

$149 NIO 5,439

$83.5 MX$1,571

77.89%

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

$19.89 NIO 728

$23.19 MX$436

-14.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.03 NIO 1,173

$27.61 MX$520

16.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

Cinema Ticket

$8.95 NIO 328

$5.00 MX$94.1

79.00%

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

$235 NIO 8,599

$207 MX$3,897

13.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,063 NIO 222.1K

$5,231 MX$98.4K

15.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$14.82 NIO 543

$43.45 MX$818

-65.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.25 NIO 1,108

$42.54 MX$801

-28.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$34.31 NIO 1,256

$72.8 MX$1,369

-52.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$35.30 NIO 1,293

$88.4 MX$1,663

-60.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$421 NIO 15.4K

$995 MX$18.7K

-57.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$355 NIO 13.0K

$382 MX$7,197

-7.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$791 NIO 29.0K

$1,674 MX$31.5K

-52.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$517 NIO 18.9K

$1,081 MX$20.3K

-52.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$134 NIO 4,892

$832 MX$15.7K

-83.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.92

11.45

4.10%

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

Last update for Granada: 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.

Accommodation & Living

Granada

$355 38.4%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 7.7% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Granada

$200 21.7%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 33% $66

Groceries & Markets

Granada

$193 20.9%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 33.5% $65

Eating Out

Granada

$93 10.1%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 116% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Granada

$52 5.6%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 116% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Granada

$18 * 1.9%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 271% $49

Getting Around

Granada

$13 1.4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 291% $38

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $421 in Granada 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.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 6.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $24 in Granada versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $193 vs $257 – making Granada the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇮 Granada

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

13:38 1:38 PM

14:38 2:38 PM

1 h ahead of Granada

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

128,937

149,923

💱 Currency

Nicaraguan Córdoba NIO C$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 NIO = 2.73 USD

100 NIO = 2.43 EUR

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.72 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to NIO – Nicaraguan Córdoba Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇮 Nicaraguan Córdoba (C$)

Nicaraguan Córdoba exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 36.62 NIO (100 NIO = 2.73 USD). 1 EUR = 41.23 NIO (100 NIO = 2.43 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.19 MXN (100 MXN = 4.72 EUR).

USD to NIO in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Granada Playa del Carmen 970 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Granada
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $924 in Granada, $1,202 in Playa del Carmen – Granada comes out roughly 23% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,385 per month in Granada 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 Granada, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $421 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Public transport costs about 86% less in Granada. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $235 per month in Granada 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 $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Granada, where all-in costs run around $924, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Granada it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Granada costs $924 versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Granada. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.