Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Griffith and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,713 in Griffith, rent and utilities included – about $18,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

122

Cost of Living Index in Griffith
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Griffith Living Index
58

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

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Griffith

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,713

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,713 in Griffith versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Griffith $2,713
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,626 in Griffith versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Griffith $3,626
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,539 in Griffith versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Griffith $4,539
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Griffith is roughly 125% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Griffith is 99% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.96 A$24.21

$10.92 MX$205

55.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.3 A$129

$43.37 MX$813

108.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.61 A$13.71

$11.78 MX$221

-18.42%

Cappuccino

$3.79 A$5.40

$3.81 MX$71.4

-0.52%

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

$2.89 A$4.12

$1.28 MX$24.03

125.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 A$2.90

$0.78 MX$14.67

160.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.40 A$11.99

$3.17 MX$59.3

164.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.97 A$9.95

$4.93 MX$92.5

41.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 A$1.92

$1.41 MX$26.35

-4.26%

White Bread (500g)

$2.32 A$3.31

$2.22 MX$41.54

4.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.54 A$3.63

$1.42 MX$26.56

78.87%

Eggs

$4.86 A$6.94

$2.52 MX$47.27

92.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.17 A$14.52

$7.26 MX$136

40.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.45 A$13.49

$7.70 MX$144

22.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.25 A$21.77

$12.69 MX$238

20.17%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.81

$2.78 MX$52.2

46.40%

Banana (1kg)

$3.26 A$4.65

$1.37 MX$25.64

137.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.47 A$4.96

$2.55 MX$47.80

36.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.94 A$7.05

$2.12 MX$39.78

133.02%

Potato (1kg)

$2.45 A$3.50

$1.94 MX$36.32

26.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.34 A$3.34

$1.89 MX$35.34

23.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.15 A$3.07

$1.15 MX$21.49

86.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 A$1.99

$1.18 MX$22.09

17.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$42.37 A$60.5

$4.30 MX$80.5

885.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.41 A$17.72

$9.95 MX$186

24.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.53 A$6.47

$1.58 MX$29.67

186.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.98 A$8.54

$2.67 MX$50.1

123.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.55 A$3.64

$0.55 MX$10.37

363.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.5 A$123

$26.62 MX$499

224.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.18 A$4.53

$4.97 MX$93.1

-36.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.65 A$2.35

$3.33 MX$62.4

-50.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$36.01 A$51.4

$5.36 MX$100

571.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.08

$1.44 MX$27.06

1.39%

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

$30.8K A$44.0K

$20.7K MX$387.3K

49.16%

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

$29.6K A$42.3K

$23.5K MX$439.7K

26.23%

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

$228 A$326

$84.8 MX$1,589

169.16%

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

$25.59 A$36.52

$23.41 MX$439

9.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.2 A$81.7

$28.66 MX$537

99.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.4 A$92.0

$57.1 MX$1,069

12.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.21 A$21.70

$28.91 MX$542

-47.39%

Cinema Ticket

$13.33 A$19.03

$5.14 MX$96.3

159.34%

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

$2,118 A$3,023

$207 MX$3,871

925.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.1K A$30.1K

$3,927 MX$73.6K

436.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$82.2 A$117

$43.35 MX$812

89.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.00 A$69.9

$41.44 MX$777

18.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 A$151

$74.2 MX$1,390

42.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 A$160

$89.3 MX$1,672

25.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,379 A$1,968

$980 MX$18.4K

40.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,395 A$1,991

$381 MX$7,136

266.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,130 A$3,040

$1,708 MX$32.0K

24.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,580 A$2,256

$1,075 MX$20.1K

46.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,232 A$7,468

$3,943 MX$73.9K

32.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,126 A$7,317

$6,158 MX$115.4K

-16.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

11.45

-48.47%

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

Last update for Griffith: 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

Griffith

$1.4K 51.4%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 72.7% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Griffith

$365 13.5%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 30.2% $110

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Griffith

$311 11.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 56% $174

Eating Out

Griffith

$286 10.5%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 29.1% $83

Clothing & Footwear

Griffith

$157 5.8%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 28.9% $45

Getting Around

Griffith

$108 4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 53.3% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Griffith

$91 3.4%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 26.1% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,379 in Griffith and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $90 in Griffith vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $365 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Griffith

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

21:10 9:10 PM

05:10 5:10 AM

16 h behind Griffith

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,799

149,923

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.701 USD

1 AUD = 0.626 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 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 3, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.701 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.626 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Griffith Playa del Carmen 14,620 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

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Griffith
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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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,713 in Griffith and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Playa del Carmen is about 56% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $4,069 in Griffith and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,379 in Griffith versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 69% less than in Griffith. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $2,118 in Griffith versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,713 in Griffith, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Griffith. 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 56% less than in Griffith. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.