Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Heraklion and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,594 in Heraklion, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Heraklion
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Heraklion Living Index
59

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

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Heraklion

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,594

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,594 in Heraklion versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Heraklion $1,594
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,499 in Heraklion versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Heraklion $2,499
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,403 in Heraklion versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Heraklion $3,403
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Heraklion is roughly 32% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Heraklion is 18% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.89 €11.47

$10.76 MX$199

19.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.1 €49.86

$43.03 MX$795

30.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.92 €8.82

$11.79 MX$218

-15.86%

Cappuccino

$3.83 €3.41

$3.87 MX$71.4

-1.03%

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

$2.44 €2.17

$1.37 MX$25.29

78.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.79 €0.70

$0.84 MX$15.44

-5.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.42 €4.82

$3.10 MX$57.3

74.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.27 €4.69

$5.07 MX$93.6

3.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 €1.51

$1.44 MX$26.55

17.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.42 €1.27

$2.23 MX$41.23

-36.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.58 €2.29

$1.47 MX$27.17

75.51%

Eggs

$4.46 €3.97

$2.53 MX$46.71

76.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.91 €14.15

$7.30 MX$135

117.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.54 €9.38

$7.86 MX$145

34.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.14 €13.46

$12.79 MX$236

18.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 €1.93

$2.90 MX$53.6

-25.17%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.44 MX$26.53

48.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$2.55 MX$47.07

-46.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.68 €1.50

$2.06 MX$38.03

-18.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 €1.09

$2.00 MX$36.97

-38.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.23 €1.09

$2.01 MX$37.07

-38.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 €0.83

$1.19 MX$22.02

-21.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.64

$1.26 MX$23.23

-42.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.94 €4.39

$4.40 MX$81.4

12.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.60 €6.76

$9.59 MX$177

-20.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.34 €2.08

$1.59 MX$29.41

47.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 €2.54

$2.81 MX$51.9

1.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.57 MX$10.47

156.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.6 €60.1

$27.82 MX$514

143.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.37 €3.89

$4.98 MX$92.1

-12.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 €1.01

$3.50 MX$64.6

-67.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.14 €9.91

$5.40 MX$99.8

106.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.47 MX$27.08

46.94%

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

$27.3K €24.3K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

30.22%

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

$24.0K €21.3K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

0.33%

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

$194 €173

$84.2 MX$1,556

130.76%

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

$30.65 €27.26

$23.99 MX$443

27.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.76 €34.48

$29.02 MX$536

33.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.10 €43.68

$63.0 MX$1,164

-22.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$39.52 €35.15

$29.14 MX$539

35.62%

Cinema Ticket

$8.74 €7.77

$4.94 MX$91.3

76.92%

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

$409 €364

$204 MX$3,763

100.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,997 €3,555

$3,941 MX$72.8K

1.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.1 €80.1

$43.60 MX$806

106.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.03 €37.39

$43.12 MX$797

-2.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.2 €75.8

$75.8 MX$1,400

12.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$136 €121

$88.6 MX$1,637

53.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$640 €569

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-36.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$498 €443

$374 MX$6,911

33.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,089 €969

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-36.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$987 €878

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-10.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,043 €3,597

$3,944 MX$72.9K

2.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,746 €2,442

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-55.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,128 €1,004

$754 MX$13.9K

49.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.44

11.45

-61.22%

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

Last update for Heraklion: October 11, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Heraklion

$498 31.2%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 24.9% $124

Groceries & Markets

Heraklion

$294 18.4%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 12.1% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Heraklion

$264 16.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 48% $127

Eating Out

Heraklion

$229 14.4%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 11.8% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Heraklion

$159 10%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 28.9% $46

Getting Around

Heraklion

$83 5.2%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 37% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Heraklion

$67 4.2%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 9.5% $6.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $640 in Heraklion and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Heraklion pays 50% 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: $56.0 in Heraklion vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $294 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Heraklion

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

16:22 4:22 PM

08:22 8:22 AM

8 h behind Heraklion

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

140,730

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Heraklion Playa del Carmen 10,550 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Heraklion
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

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

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 32% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 50% higher in Heraklion, 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: $640 in Heraklion versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $409 in Heraklion versus $204 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 14% higher in Heraklion. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,594 in Heraklion, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Heraklion. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Playa del Carmen is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Heraklion, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Heraklion and Playa del Carmen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Heraklion. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.