Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Herceg Novi and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living costs are similar in Herceg Novi and in Playa del Carmen: $1,257 and $1,204 a month, rent and utilities included.

61

Cost of Living Index in Herceg Novi
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Herceg Novi Living Index
59

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

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Herceg Novi

🇲🇪 Montenegro

$1,257

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,257 in Herceg Novi versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Herceg Novi $1,257
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,997 in Herceg Novi versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Herceg Novi $1,997
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,737 in Herceg Novi versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Herceg Novi $2,737
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Herceg Novi is roughly 4% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Herceg Novi 7% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.23 €9.99

$10.86 MX$201

3.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.29 €32.28

$44.21 MX$817

-17.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.16 €8.15

$11.76 MX$217

-22.11%

Cappuccino

$2.65 €2.36

$3.68 MX$68.0

-27.99%

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

$2.50 €2.23

$1.34 MX$24.79

86.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 €1.45

$0.82 MX$15.24

98.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.84 €2.53

$3.06 MX$56.6

-7.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.34 €2.97

$4.94 MX$91.2

-32.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.20 €1.07

$1.47 MX$27.17

-18.37%

White Bread (500g)

$1.01 €0.90

$2.22 MX$40.95

-54.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.93 €2.61

$1.48 MX$27.32

97.97%

Eggs

$2.98 €2.65

$2.49 MX$45.99

19.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.02 €8.02

$7.52 MX$139

19.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.43 €6.61

$7.96 MX$147

-6.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.99 €11.56

$12.57 MX$232

3.34%

Apples (1kg)

$1.33 €1.18

$2.78 MX$51.3

-52.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 €1.39

$1.43 MX$26.37

9.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.63 €1.45

$2.62 MX$48.37

-37.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.96 €2.63

$2.14 MX$39.49

38.32%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 €0.85

$2.02 MX$37.38

-52.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.99 MX$36.74

-35.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.14 MX$21.01

35.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 €0.85

$1.20 MX$22.18

-20.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.00 €3.56

$4.26 MX$78.7

-6.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.37 €3.89

$10.02 MX$185

-56.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.54 MX$28.41

-16.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$2.66 MX$49.17

-34.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 €1.46

$0.53 MX$9.73

209.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.46 €39.55

$27.51 MX$508

61.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.84 €2.53

$4.90 MX$90.6

-42.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.10 €0.97

$3.43 MX$63.5

-67.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.09 €15.20

$5.38 MX$99.4

217.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 €1.53

$1.45 MX$26.76

18.62%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

52.78%

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

$21.4K €19.0K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

-7.09%

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

$136 €121

$85.4 MX$1,577

59.57%

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

$13.14 €11.69

$23.46 MX$434

-43.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.88 €30.14

$28.43 MX$525

19.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.6 €50.3

$62.2 MX$1,149

-9.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.39 €10.13

$28.68 MX$530

-60.29%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 €6.94

$5.10 MX$94.3

53.14%

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

$444 €395

$201 MX$3,715

120.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,024 €6,248

$3,947 MX$72.9K

77.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.3 €75.0

$44.39 MX$820

89.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.74 €30.01

$41.35 MX$764

-18.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 €64.7

$72.7 MX$1,344

-0.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.8 €85.2

$89.6 MX$1,656

6.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$651 €579

$979 MX$18.1K

-33.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$399 €355

$373 MX$6,887

6.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,257 €1,118

$1,681 MX$31.1K

-25.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$888 €790

$1,095 MX$20.2K

-18.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,685 €3,278

$3,949 MX$73.0K

-6.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,421 €2,153

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-60.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,031 €917

$738 MX$13.6K

39.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-56.33%

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

Last update for Herceg Novi: October 19, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Herceg Novi

$399 31.7%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 6.5% $26

Groceries & Markets

Herceg Novi

$228 18.1%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 13.3% $30

Eating Out

Herceg Novi

$187 14.8%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 7.3% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Herceg Novi

$183 14.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 25.1% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Herceg Novi

$129 10.3%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 13.4% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Herceg Novi

$72 5.7%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 0.3% $0.2

Getting Around

Herceg Novi

$59 4.7%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 12.9% $7.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $651 in Herceg Novi and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Herceg Novi pays 40% 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: $36.00 in Herceg Novi vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $228 vs $258 per month, with Herceg Novi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇪 Herceg Novi

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

14:36 2:36 PM

07:36 7:36 AM

7 h behind Herceg Novi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,059

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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 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

Herceg Novi Playa del Carmen 9,680 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Herceg Novi
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

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

Herceg Novi and Playa del Carmen differ by about 4% in total monthly costs ($1,257 vs $1,204 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 40% higher in Herceg Novi, 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: $651 in Herceg Novi versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Herceg Novi pay roughly 13% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $36.00 in Herceg Novi. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,257 in Herceg Novi, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Herceg Novi. 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.

Safety-wise, Herceg Novi 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 4% less than in Herceg Novi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.