Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Grez-Doiceau and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,099 in Grez-Doiceau, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in Grez-Doiceau
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Grez-Doiceau Living Index
58

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

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Grez-Doiceau

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,099

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,099 in Grez-Doiceau versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Grez-Doiceau $2,099
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,037 in Grez-Doiceau versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Grez-Doiceau $3,037
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,974 in Grez-Doiceau versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Grez-Doiceau $3,974
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Grez-Doiceau is roughly 74% 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: Grez-Doiceau is 54% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.08 €18.04

$10.92 MX$204

83.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.8 €78.0

$43.37 MX$808

100.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.70 €12.30

$11.78 MX$220

16.30%

Cappuccino

$3.69 €3.32

$3.81 MX$71.0

-3.15%

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

$2.98 €2.68

$1.28 MX$23.90

132.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.96 €2.66

$0.78 MX$14.59

279.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.22 €4.69

$3.17 MX$59.0

64.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 €4.44

$4.93 MX$92.0

0.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 €1.13

$1.41 MX$26.22

-10.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.72 €2.45

$2.22 MX$41.33

22.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.15 €1.93

$1.42 MX$26.42

51.41%

Eggs

$3.92 €3.52

$2.52 MX$47.03

55.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.80 €14.19

$7.26 MX$135

117.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.07 €10.84

$7.70 MX$143

56.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.25 €17.29

$12.69 MX$237

51.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.79 €2.51

$2.78 MX$51.9

0.36%

Banana (1kg)

$2.26 €2.03

$1.37 MX$25.50

64.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 €2.29

$2.55 MX$47.55

Tomato (1kg)

$2.79 €2.51

$2.12 MX$39.58

31.60%

Potato (1kg)

$2.17 €1.95

$1.94 MX$36.13

11.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 €1.61

$1.89 MX$35.16

-5.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.39

$1.15 MX$21.37

33.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 €0.92

$1.18 MX$21.98

-12.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.79 €11.49

$4.30 MX$80.1

197.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.16 €7.33

$9.95 MX$185

-17.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 €1.73

$1.58 MX$29.52

21.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 €2.08

$2.67 MX$49.79

-13.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.07 €2.76

$0.55 MX$10.31

458.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.7 €49.17

$26.62 MX$496

105.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.50 €4.94

$4.97 MX$92.6

10.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.90 €2.60

$3.33 MX$62.1

-12.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.15 €26.18

$5.36 MX$99.8

443.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.98 €1.78

$1.44 MX$26.92

37.50%

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

$40.4K €36.3K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

95.27%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

35.18%

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

$183 €164

$84.8 MX$1,581

115.28%

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

$20.96 €18.82

$23.41 MX$436

-10.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.4 €46.13

$28.66 MX$534

79.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.22 €32.54

$57.1 MX$1,063

-36.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.96 €19.73

$28.91 MX$539

-24.04%

Cinema Ticket

$14.28 €12.82

$5.14 MX$95.8

177.82%

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

$706 €634

$207 MX$3,851

241.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.4K €18.3K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

419.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.8 €89.7

$43.35 MX$808

130.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.49 €39.07

$41.44 MX$772

4.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 €104

$74.2 MX$1,383

55.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$147 €132

$89.3 MX$1,664

64.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 €919

$980 MX$18.3K

4.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$863 €776

$381 MX$7,099

126.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,524 €1,369

$1,708 MX$31.8K

-10.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,110 €997

$1,075 MX$20.0K

3.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,946 €3,544

$3,943 MX$73.5K

0.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,514 €2,258

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-59.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,857 €2,566

$735 MX$13.7K

288.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.53

11.45

-69.17%

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

Last update for Grez-Doiceau: October 26, 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

Grez-Doiceau

$863 41.1%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 55.9% $483

Groceries & Markets

Grez-Doiceau

$341 16.2%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 25.2% $86

Eating Out

Grez-Doiceau

$306 14.6%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 33.8% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Grez-Doiceau

$255 12.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 46.3% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Grez-Doiceau

$183 8.7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 38.9% $71

Getting Around

Grez-Doiceau

$87 4.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 42% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Grez-Doiceau

$65 3.1%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 3.9% $2.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,023 in Grez-Doiceau and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Grez-Doiceau pays about 3.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $87 in Grez-Doiceau vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $341 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Grez-Doiceau

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

21:34 9:34 PM

15:34 3:34 PM

6 h behind Grez-Doiceau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,288

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Grez-Doiceau Playa del Carmen 8,370 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Grez-Doiceau
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

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

Playa del Carmen is about 43% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Grez-Doiceau is about 3.9 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: $1,023 in Grez-Doiceau 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 34% higher in Grez-Doiceau. 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 $43 versus $87 in Grez-Doiceau. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,099 in Grez-Doiceau, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Grez-Doiceau. 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 43% less than in Grez-Doiceau. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.