Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Granada and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,215 a month against $1,656 in Granada, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Granada outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

80

Cost of Living Index in Granada
Learn more

Granada Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Granada

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,656

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,215

/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 $1,656 per month in Granada vs $1,215 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Granada $1,656
Playa del Carmen $1,215

A couple spends around $2,314 per month in Granada vs $2,144 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Granada $2,314
Playa del Carmen $2,144

A family of three spends $2,973 per month in Granada vs $3,072 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Granada $2,973
Playa del Carmen $3,072

Granada costs about 36% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Granada sits 24% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 9% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.83 €14.13

$10.97 MX$201

44.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.88 €34.70

$44.85 MX$823

-13.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.22 €8.22

$11.92 MX$219

-22.65%

Cappuccino

$2.31 €2.07

$3.80 MX$69.9

-39.21%

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

$2.98 €2.66

$1.31 MX$24.08

127.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 €2.01

$0.86 MX$15.72

161.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.43 €3.06

$3.21 MX$59.0

6.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.51 €4.03

$5.01 MX$92.0

-9.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 €1.12

$1.46 MX$26.77

-13.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 €1.29

$2.33 MX$42.72

-38.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.67 €1.49

$1.44 MX$26.48

15.97%

Eggs

$3.25 €2.90

$2.46 MX$45.20

32.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.24 €15.38

$7.70 MX$141

123.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.40 €6.61

$7.89 MX$145

-6.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.94 €13.33

$12.80 MX$235

16.72%

Apples (1kg)

$2.54 €2.26

$2.92 MX$53.6

-13.01%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.42 MX$26.11

50.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 €1.71

$2.57 MX$47.10

-25.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.39 €2.13

$2.14 MX$39.24

11.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 €1.74

$1.95 MX$35.75

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.94 MX$35.55

10.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 €0.95

$1.15 MX$21.13

-6.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 €0.65

$1.22 MX$22.42

-40.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.55 €5.84

$4.38 MX$80.3

49.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.90 €4.37

$9.85 MX$181

-50.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.54 MX$28.23

-29.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 €1.45

$2.72 MX$49.86

-40.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.78 €1.59

$0.52 MX$9.64

242.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.72 €35.44

$27.42 MX$503

44.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.47 €4.88

$4.91 MX$90.2

11.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.23 €1.99

$3.52 MX$64.7

-36.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.29 €25.25

$5.69 MX$104

397.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.70 €1.52

$1.54 MX$28.27

10.39%

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

$35.2K €31.4K

$21.2K MX$389.9K

65.57%

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

$29.3K €26.2K

$24.5K MX$449.6K

19.80%

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

$162 €145

$83.6 MX$1,535

94.13%

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

$12.97 €11.57

$24.03 MX$441

-46.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.81 €23.93

$29.33 MX$539

-8.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.90 €40.07

$64.9 MX$1,191

-30.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.92 €17.78

$29.46 MX$541

-32.38%

Cinema Ticket

$8.97 €8.00

$5.09 MX$93.4

76.23%

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

$347 €310

$208 MX$3,813

67.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,876 €7,029

$4,045 MX$74.3K

94.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.5 €56.7

$44.55 MX$818

42.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.05 €29.50

$42.06 MX$772

-21.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.0 €67.8

$75.5 MX$1,387

0.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.4 €79.7

$91.4 MX$1,678

-2.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$882 €788

$986 MX$18.1K

-10.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$718 €641

$385 MX$7,072

86.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,257 €1,122

$1,713 MX$31.5K

-26.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$955 €853

$1,108 MX$20.4K

-13.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,351 €2,990

$4,016 MX$73.7K

-16.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,239 €1,998

$6,247 MX$114.7K

-64.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,870 €1,669

$758 MX$13.9K

146.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.32

11.45

-71.00%

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

Last update for Granada: October 6, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Granada

$718 43.3%

Playa del Carmen

$385 31.4% 46.4% $333

Groceries & Markets

Granada

$267 16.1%

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.2% 2.5% $6.7

Eating Out

Granada

$229 13.8%

Playa del Carmen

$204 16.6% 11% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Granada

$202 12.2%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.2% 32.2% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Granada

$118 7.1%

Playa del Carmen

$114 9.3% 3.2% $3.8

Getting Around

Granada

$63 3.8%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.2% 18% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Granada

$63 3.8%

Playa del Carmen

$75 6.1% 19.4% $12

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $882 in Granada versus $986 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 run about 147% higher in Granada, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $39.00 in Granada versus $45.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $267 in Granada vs $260 in Playa del Carmen – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Granada

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

07:37 7:37 AM

00:37 12:37 AM

7 h behind Granada

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

230,595

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Granada Playa del Carmen 8,080 km ≈ 11 h 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

Granada costs about 36% more than Playa del Carmen, 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 $2,484 per month in Granada and $1,823 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 Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 3% more in Granada, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $39.00 in Granada and $45.00 in Playa del Carmen. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,215, than in Granada at $1,656. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Granada it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,215 versus $1,656 in Granada. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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