Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Havana and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Havana: $860 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Havana
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Havana Living Index
59

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

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Havana

🇨🇺 Cuba

$860

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $860 in Havana versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Havana $860
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,388 in Havana versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Havana $1,388
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,916 in Havana versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Havana $1,916
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Havana costs roughly 29% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Havana 36% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.59 CUP 86.3

$10.76 MX$199

-66.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.63 CUP 663

$43.03 MX$795

-35.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.88 CUP 117

$11.79 MX$218

-58.61%

Cappuccino

$1.06 CUP 25.42

$3.87 MX$71.4

-72.61%

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

$1.51 CUP 36.33

$1.37 MX$25.29

10.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 CUP 23.80

$0.84 MX$15.44

17.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.24 CUP 29.66

$3.10 MX$57.3

-60.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 CUP 49.10

$5.07 MX$93.6

-59.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.68 CUP 64.3

$1.44 MX$26.55

86.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.22 CUP 29.26

$2.23 MX$41.23

-45.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.76 CUP 42.35

$1.47 MX$27.17

19.73%

Eggs

$3.50 CUP 83.9

$2.53 MX$46.71

38.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.52 CUP 108

$7.30 MX$135

-38.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.66 CUP 112

$7.86 MX$145

-40.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.56 CUP 205

$12.79 MX$236

-33.07%

Apples (1kg)

$6.20 CUP 149

$2.90 MX$53.6

113.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.02 CUP 24.55

$1.44 MX$26.53

-29.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.83 CUP 92.0

$2.55 MX$47.07

50.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.24 CUP 53.8

$2.06 MX$38.03

8.74%

Potato (1kg)

$2.93 CUP 70.2

$2.00 MX$36.97

46.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.74 CUP 65.7

$2.01 MX$37.07

36.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 CUP 17.33

$1.19 MX$22.02

-39.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 CUP 13.60

$1.26 MX$23.23

-54.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.61 CUP 38.72

$4.40 MX$81.4

-63.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.37 CUP 129

$9.59 MX$177

-44.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 CUP 42.38

$1.59 MX$29.41

11.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 CUP 49.30

$2.81 MX$51.9

-27.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 CUP 15.17

$0.57 MX$10.47

10.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.13 CUP 531

$27.82 MX$514

-20.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.63 CUP 63.1

$4.98 MX$92.1

-47.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.33 CUP 7.98

$3.50 MX$64.6

-90.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.63 CUP 471

$5.40 MX$99.8

263.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 CUP 30.50

$1.47 MX$27.08

-13.61%

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

$60.4K CUP 1.5M

$21.0K MX$387.8K

187.91%

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

$59.1K CUP 1.4M

$23.9K MX$441.8K

147.27%

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

$46.62 CUP 1,119

$84.2 MX$1,556

-44.64%

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

$39.24 CUP 942

$23.99 MX$443

63.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$89.3 CUP 2,144

$29.02 MX$536

207.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.35 CUP 392

$63.0 MX$1,164

-74.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.84 CUP 308

$29.14 MX$539

-55.94%

Cinema Ticket

$0.83 CUP 19.99

$4.94 MX$91.3

-83.20%

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

$156 CUP 3,752

$204 MX$3,763

-23.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.5K CUP 298.9K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

216.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.2 CUP 1,253

$43.60 MX$806

19.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.71 CUP 1,001

$43.12 MX$797

-3.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.0 CUP 1,919

$75.8 MX$1,400

5.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.6 CUP 1,623

$88.6 MX$1,637

-23.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$246 CUP 5,911

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-75.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$219 CUP 5,245

$374 MX$6,911

-41.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$872 CUP 20.9K

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-48.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$508 CUP 12.2K

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-54.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$314 CUP 7,545

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-92.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$407 CUP 9,762

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-93.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$29.60 CUP 710

$754 MX$13.9K

-96.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.1

11.45

-20.52%

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

Last update for Havana: October 10, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Havana

$234 27.2%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 10.5% $25

Accommodation & Living

Havana

$219 25.4%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 71.1% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Havana

$175 20.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 21.7% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Havana

$109 12.6%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 4% $4.3

Eating Out

Havana

$76 8.9%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 165% $126

Getting Around

Havana

$29 3.4%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 81.6% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Havana

$18 2.1%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 304% $55

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $246 in Havana and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 2448% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $28.00 in Havana vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $258 per month, with Havana cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇺 Havana

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

13:28 1:28 PM

12:28 12:28 PM

1 h behind Havana

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,141,993 Capital

149,923

💱 Currency

Cuban Peso CUP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.71 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CUP – Cuban Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇺 Cuban Peso ($)

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.98 CUP (100 CUP = 3.71 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to CUP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Havana Playa del Carmen 560 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Havana
Playa del Carmen

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

Havana and Playa del Carmen differ by about 41% in total monthly costs ($860 vs $1,210 including rent). Havana is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 2448% lower in Playa del Carmen. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $246 in Havana versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Havana – a meal for two runs $28.00 versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $860 per month in Havana versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – a 41% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $860 in Havana versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Havana but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Havana 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 Havana gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.