Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Guaynabo and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $1,857 in Guaynabo, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Guaynabo
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Guaynabo Living Index
57

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

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Guaynabo

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$1,857

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,857 per month in Guaynabo vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Guaynabo $1,857
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $2,934 per month in Guaynabo vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Guaynabo $2,934
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $4,011 per month in Guaynabo vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Guaynabo $4,011
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Guaynabo costs about 54% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Guaynabo sits 37% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.91 $18.91

$10.67 MX$199

77.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.1 $79.1

$43.80 MX$815

80.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.02 $9.02

$11.79 MX$219

-23.49%

Cappuccino

$1.80 $1.80

$3.79 MX$70.5

-52.51%

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

$1.34 $1.34

$1.30 MX$24.14

3.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.22 $1.22

$0.83 MX$15.51

46.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.96 $1.96

$3.15 MX$58.6

-37.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.97 $3.97

$4.93 MX$91.8

-19.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.22 $2.22

$1.41 MX$26.22

57.45%

White Bread (500g)

$3.27 $3.27

$2.20 MX$40.86

48.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 $2.32

$1.47 MX$27.40

57.82%

Eggs

$6.15 $6.15

$2.50 MX$46.46

146.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.38 $12.38

$7.29 MX$136

69.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 $9.66

$7.95 MX$148

21.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.29 $13.29

$12.86 MX$239

3.34%

Apples (1kg)

$5.18 $5.18

$2.90 MX$53.9

78.62%

Banana (1kg)

$2.51 $2.51

$1.38 MX$25.74

81.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.81 $4.81

$2.49 MX$46.35

93.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.67 $4.67

$2.03 MX$37.77

130.05%

Potato (1kg)

$2.60 $2.60

$2.02 MX$37.68

28.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.03 $2.03

$1.90 MX$35.42

6.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 $1.52

$1.14 MX$21.30

33.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 $1.61

$1.24 MX$23.05

29.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.17 $11.17

$4.27 MX$79.5

161.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.69 $15.69

$9.81 MX$183

59.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.83 $2.83

$1.59 MX$29.51

77.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 $2.91

$2.75 MX$51.1

5.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.47 $2.47

$4.76 MX$88.6

-48.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 $1.54

$3.25 MX$60.5

-52.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$42.38 $42.38

$5.39 MX$100

686.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.53 MX$28.44

-33.33%

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

$34.3K $34.3K

$21.2K MX$394.8K

61.80%

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

$27.4K $27.4K

$23.3K MX$432.9K

17.76%

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

$319 $319

$83.5 MX$1,554

282.15%

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

$49.62 $49.62

$23.19 MX$431

113.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.1 $69.1

$27.61 MX$514

150.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$10.30 $10.30

$5.00 MX$93.1

106.00%

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

$817 $817

$207 MX$3,854

294.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.4K $12.4K

$5,231 MX$97.3K

137.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.3 $57.3

$43.45 MX$809

31.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.1 $50.1

$42.54 MX$792

17.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.1 $99.1

$72.8 MX$1,354

36.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 $114

$88.4 MX$1,645

28.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$892 $892

$995 MX$18.5K

-10.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$630 $630

$382 MX$7,116

64.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,530 $2,530

$1,674 MX$31.2K

51.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,379 $1,379

$1,081 MX$20.1K

27.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,467 $3,467

$832 MX$15.5K

316.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.55

11.45

-42.79%

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

Last update for Guaynabo: 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

Guaynabo

$630 33.9%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 39.3% $248

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Guaynabo

$438 23.6%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 69.3% $304

Groceries & Markets

Guaynabo

$386 20.8%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 33.4% $129

Eating Out

Guaynabo

$228 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 12.1% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Guaynabo

$144 7.8%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 22.8% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Guaynabo

$21 * 1.1%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 223% $46

Getting Around

Guaynabo

$10 * 0.6%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 397% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $892 in Guaynabo 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 Guaynabo are about 4.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $79 in Guaynabo versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $386 vs $257 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇷 Guaynabo

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

16:03 4:03 PM

15:03 3:03 PM

1 h behind Guaynabo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

68,491

149,923

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.894 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.894 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Guaynabo Playa del Carmen 2,210 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Guaynabo
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $1,857 in Guaynabo, $1,202 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen comes out roughly 35% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,786 per month in Guaynabo 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 Guaynabo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $892 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $79 in Guaynabo and $44 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 50% more in Guaynabo, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,202, than in Guaynabo at $1,857. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Guaynabo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,202 in Playa del Carmen to $1,857 in Guaynabo. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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